Looking for the Spectacular

The first reading at Mass tells us the story of Naaman the Syrian who was seeking a cure for leprosy. When he was told that all he had to do was wash in the river Jordan, he scoffed, saying that he could just as well wash in one of the rivers in his native Damascus rather than travel all the way to Israel. He wanted something spectacular, something thrilling and "different." The simple was not good enough for him, yet in the end, that's what worked. Are we not the same? And our current "culture" fosters this appetite for the grandiose, the extraordinary, so we are easily caught up in this mentality, literally trapped by it. It is similar to the prophet Elijah, who sought God in the hurricane, or thunder and lightning, but found him in the gentle breeze. Humility and simplicity are the characteristics of a good Marist who looks not for the limelight for his or her own deeds, nor seeks miracles with every prayer. No, by steadfastly and quietly carrying out the day's tasks, the day's prayer and good works, he or she finds God in the ordinary. A catch phrase in AA is "Keep it simple, stupid." Keeping it simple is keeping it Marist.
Bro. Rene