Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordn seven times...Book of Kings

How symbolic! How contemporary! How timely are today's first reading and the Gospel/

Of course the Gospel is about gratitude.

But there is more.

In the first reading we are introduced to Naaman. He is a General in the army of a foreign land.

And he is a leper.

 But what is his foreign land?

Syria!

What a fitting symbol for a land that has itself bcome a "nation of suffering lepers."

A half million casualties and still counting!

And what is to be done?

The next president will have that on HIS/HER plate right off.

And in the complicated world in which we live there is no easy answer.

Consider:

Assad is a bloody dictator guilty of war crimes.

And yet the Christian minority in Syria whose roots lie with Saint Paul himself, would be safer under Assad than under ISIS.

Then there is Russia and Iran backing Assad.

Then there are a variety of factions trying to topple Assad, SOME OF WHOM ARE BACKED BY THE USA., but not all.

THEN YOU HAVE THE KURDS FIGHTING ASSAD, BUT WHO ARE IN CONFLICT WITH TURKEY. SO TURKEY IS FIGHTING BOTH OUR ALLIES THE KURDS and ISIS!

A perfect storm!

So far, Obama has kept U.S. ground troops out of this storm.

The next president? We shall see soon.

Naaman came far away from his homeland seeking a cure from his leprosy. He obeyed the Jewish prophet and bathed in the Jordan River and was cleansed.

He was so grateful, he wanted to take Jewish soil back to Syria.

We should lift up our prayers today for all the "Naamans" suffering in that tortured land.

And so we pray:

Holy Sprit brood over that tortured land.

Our brothers and sisters are on that Road to Damascus,

just as was Saint Paul.

Comfort the wounded,

give balm to the dying.

protect the innocent children.

From this cauldron of violence,

deliver the innocent people

who still walk in the footsteps of Saint Paul.

Amen