When Elisha did not “come out, invoke the Lord and move his hand over the spot” where his leprosy was, he lost whatever faith he had in his ability to help him. He wouldn’t even follow the simple direction, “Go and wash seven times in the Jordan.” 

Fortunately, he let his servants talk sense to him. “If the prophet had told you to do something extraordinary, would you not have done it? So what do you lose?”  Naaman did what he was told and was cured. But we don’t and aren’t. 

Remember, being a disciple means doing something, down-to-earth and daily, such as putting a Bible on the pillow where we will have to pick it up at least once a day, and beginning to actually read it.  

We have talked many times in these reflections about discipleship and have suggested putting a bible on your pillow. Did you do that? Or did you take some other small action perhaps? To be a disciple, begin small: 

Get a copy of the Bible, a cheap one you are not afraid to write in and underline. Don’t put it on the nightstand. Put it on your pillow…and tell God you will read one line every night before you go to bed. 

If you didn’t do that (and assuming you are not reading the Bible every day already), was your reason the same as Naaman’s? No “signs and wonders” accompanied the suggestion? It didn’t sound exotic or “mystical” enough to promise any significant effect on your life? So you treated it as unimportant? 

What might you have gained if you had done it? So why not do it now? 

People make this same mistake all the time. They even made it with Jesus! In Luke 4: 24-30 the people he grew up with wouldn’t believe this “hometown boy” could be the Messiah. He wasn’t “different” enough—at least, not in the way they expected him to be. 

Have we made our churches places where people are too much “at home” in? Should we make them less “user- friendly”? More intimidating? Forbid laity to enter the sanctuary? Require fasting, even from water, for several hours before Communion? Insist people dress up for Mass? Put everything into a special language nobody understands? Make children afraid to open their mouths in church?  

It might “work.” But would it be Christian? Jesus could have acted so divine that no one would believe he was human. Instead, he acted so human they found it hard to believe he was divine. 

Maybe the answer is to stop depending on appearances and learn to see with the eyes of faith.  Let faith tell us what we see instead of letting what we see determine what we believe. Isn’t that the core experience of Eucharist? 

Today’s Psalm Response (Psalms 42-43): “My soul is thirsting for the living God. When shall I see him face to face?” (Hint: the answer is, “Whenever you accept to find him where he is.”) 

Prayer Prompt: Do something unimpressive. For starters, put the Bible on your pillow!

— Fr. David M. Knight

View today’s Mass readings, Lectionary #237, on the USCCB website here

Fr. David M. Knight (1931-2021) was a priest of the Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee, a prolific writer, and a highly sought after confessor, spiritual director, and retreat master. He authored more than 40 books and hundreds of articles that focus primarily on lay spirituality and life-long spiritual growth.