God does things simply and speaks to the heart of mankind. These were the words of Pope Francis during his homily at Casa Santa Marta this morning.
The Holy Father reflected on today’s Gospel from St. Luke, in which the people of Nazareth drove Christ out of his native town after rebuking their lack of faith.
According to Pope Francis, the Pope compared the inhabitants to Naaman who wanted a spectacle, rather than God’s humble way of doing things.
The first reading from the second book of Kings recalled the healing of Naaman, the commander of the Syrian army, from his leprosy. Naaman his healed after the prophet Elisha told him to wash himself in the Jordan river seven times.
The Pope said that this humble way of acting can be seen throughout the history of salvation.
“When He desired to free His people, He freed them through the faith and confidence of a man, Moses,” he said.
“When He desired to cause the fall of the powerful city of Jericho, He did so through a prostitute. And for the conversion of the Samaritans He required the work of another sinner. When He invited David to fight against Goliath, it seemed crazy: the little David standing before that giant, who had a sword, who had so many things, while David had only a sling and the stones. When He told the Magi that a King was born to them, the Great King, what did they find? A little child, a manger. The simple things, the humility of God… this is the divine style, never the spectacle.”
The Pope went on to say Christ also faced the temptation by Satan to make a spectacle, telling Him to perform a miracle so that people may believe. However, Jesus revealed Himself in simplicity and in humility.
“It would do us good this Lent to consider how the Lord has helped us in our lives, and how the Lord has led us onward. We will find that the Lord has always done this with simple things,” he said.
Concluding his homily, Pope Francis called on the faithful to remember the feeling of the Lord’s humble and simple style. This is especially reflected in the sacraments.
“It would do us good to journey through our life and to consider the many times the Lord has visited us with His grace, and always with this humble style, the style He calls us, too, to have: humility,” he said.
