4 March, Monday — I want to see old rocks and ruins

Monday of the 3^rd Week of Lent

2 Kgs 5:1-15
Lk 4:24-30

Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel.

Hallow.com and catholicproductions.com. Just remember these two URLs and I will explain.

Naaman, the army general of the King of Aram was a leper. Swallowing his haughty pride, he obeyed Elisha and bathed seven times in the river Jordan. He was cured and believed.   

Who are the Arameans? Conclusive archaelogical evidence showed the Aram kingdom centred around modern-day Damascus. Their language was Aramaic, which they introduced to the Jewish people. Its use became so widespread that by the time of Jesus (1000 years later), he spoke Aramaic instead of Hebrew. Aram kings fought several wars against the Northern Kingdom before it was eventually conquered by the Assyrians. Subsequent oral traditions state that they embraced Christianity and are the descendants of Syraic Christians.

I am fascinated by these historical facts and how many of the events mentioned in the bible have been proven to exist. Indeed, archaeology has confirmed thirty-seven other significant biblical events and persons. As for the prophet Elisha, in 2013, a prominent Israeli archaeologist, Amihai Mazar, found a shard of pottery with ancient red ink. The word was in Hebrew and conclusively translated as ‘Elisha’. This was truly amazing as Elisha is a very uncommon Jewish name. The pottery was dated to the 9th century BC (same period as the prophet) and found in the Tel Rehov Jordan valley, where the bible recorded he lived most of his life. Elisha the prophet, was active towards the end of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel’s infamous rein. Assyrian artifacts have confirmed both of their existence.

In the gospel reading today, Jesus was preaching in the synagogue of his hometown, Nazareth. He was amazed and disappointed by the peoples’ lack of faith in him as a man of God. They knew him well as the son of a carpenter, hence their disbelief. No prophet is accepted in his native place. I always remember this bible quote well. I worked in a local, private bank for a decade. From working with many local Singaporeans in middle to upper management, I started to see many ‘foreign talents’ come in and replace them, including myself. I can state confidently that the majority were definitely not better than local talent. Yet we were deemed as ‘inferior’ and cast aside.

Like Jesus in Nazareth, the bible has faced centuries of disbelief as the written word of the Jewish and Christian God. Sadly, the worst critics are those who used to believe. Their faith, once lost, turned them into deep skeptics, who relentlessly attacked the authenticity of the bible. On the contrary, (as written above) archaeologists have consistently found extraneous scientific truth of significant events written in the holy book. Many of these eminent explorers are atheists/agnostics. Yet, they regard the Bible as an authority to decide the location of their expeditions. Just like King Cyrus of Persia, the ‘unbelievers’ have faith that the bible records the truth. 

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we have a precious gift in the bible. Try the two Catholic resources I mentioned at the beginning of this reflection to enhance your understanding. You might be amazed.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Andrew Sia)

Prayer: Give us the desire to read the bible and pray every day. Then our faith can sprout and grow.

Thanksgiving: Thanks be to you Lord, for giving us our faith and belief.