Saint Elisha, Prophet - From a sermon of St Ambrose, bishop

Saint Elisha, Prophet

From a sermon of St Ambrose, bishop

The healing of the waters, a type of the Church

What shall we say about the merits of Elisha? The first thing we praise him for is that he wanted to surpass his father [Elijah] in grace, for he asked for more than Elijah was able to bestow. Although he was greedy in his request, he was nonetheless worthy to have it granted. For while he demanded more from his father than Elijah had to give, through his own merits he enabled him to bestow more than he possessed.

  Following his master’s ascent, when Elisha arrived in Jericho, he was invited by the townspeople to remain with them; they said: this is an excellent site for the town, except that the water is bad and causes sterility. He then asked for a clay jar, filled it with salt, and went to the place where the water was coming up out of the ground; he threw it into the water saying: “Thus says the Lord: ‘I have purified these waters; never again shall death or sterility come from them.’” And those waters remain pure even to this day.

  So we see how remarkable Elisha’s merits are: in response to the citizens’ hospitality his very first gift to them was great fruitfulness. For by healing the water, he provided for their posterity. What he did was not for the benefit of any one person, or any one family: it was for all the people of the entire city. Had he delayed, they would all have been sterile and grown old without descendants, and the city would have been left deserted. Thus, by healing the waters Elisha healed the people; and by blessing the spring, he provided them as it were with a fountain of life. For just as through his blessing good water came forth from the unseen veins in the earth, so too from the seclusion of their wombs mothers gave birth to healthy children.

  For Elisha did not bless only the water that was already flowing into the spring’s basin, but rather all the water without distinction which was yet to flow little by little from the earth’s hidden moisture even until now. As Scripture has it, Elisha blessed the place where the water was coming up out of the earth, to indicate that it was the flowing water rather than the basin of the spring that he had sanctified. Thus, as the Apostle Paul says, all these things happened as signs; let us try to discover, therefore, the truth contained in this sign.

  The church is the sterile city which, before the coming of Christ, suffered from sterility due to the pollution of the waters – that is, to the idolatry of the gentiles – and was unable to bring forth children for God. But when Christ came and took on the fragile clay of the human body, he healed the pollution of the waters; that is, he banished the idolatries of the gentiles, and immediately the church, which had been sterile, began to be fertile.

  Thus the Apostle also says: Rejoice, you barren one who bear no children; break into song, you stranger to the pains of childbirth! For many are the children of the wife deserted-far more than of her who has a husband! For Christ brought to birth more children from the church which had been sterile than he had from the synagogue which had been fertile.

---

Inheritance? Complacency? Rich!? Inactivity kills!

 

A mouse was put at the top of a jar filled with grains. He was too happy to find so much of food around him. Now he doesn't need to run around searching for food and can happily lead his life.

As he enjoyed the grains, in few days time, he reached to the bottom of the jar. Now he is trapped and he cannot come out of it. He has to solely depend upon someone to put grains in the same jar for him to survive.

He may even not get the grain of his choice and he cannot choose either. If he has to live, he has to feed on whatever has been put into the jar.

The story ends here.. However, this is not much different from the corporate groups. Once you join a new job with a hefty salary, you keep working for those deliverable, forgetting that we are getting trapped in the jar. Later when we wish to move out, it becomes very difficult and growth in the same company now depends not on your skills but more on management wills.

Hence, never depend on a single source for your well being. Keep developing your skills outside your job so that whenever you wish to leap there are opportunities available and you are not at the mercy of one employer.

Supervisor and worker

Supervisor and worker

A Construction Supervisor from 16th Floor of a Building was calling a Worker on Ground Floor.
Because of noise
the Worker
did not hear his Call.

To draw Attention,
the Supervisor threw a 10 Rupee Note
in Front of Worker.
He picked up the Note, put it in His Pocket &
Continued to Work.
Again to Draw Attention the Supervisor threw 500 Rupee Note & the Worker did the same,
Now the Supervisor picked a small Stone & threw on the Worker.
The Stone hit the Worker.
This time the Worker looked Up &
the Supervisor Communicated with Him.
.
.
This Story is same as to our 'LIFE'...
God from Up,
wants to Communicate with Us,
but We are Busy doing our Worldly Jobs.
Then, he give Us Small Gifts & Big Gifts......
We just keep them without looking from Where We Got it.
We are the Same.
Just keeping the gifts
without Thanking him,
We just say
We are LUCKY.
And when we are Hit with a Small Stone, which We call PROBLEMS,
then only We look Up & Communicate with him.
Thts y it is said. .....
He gives, gives n forgives
N
We get, get n forget.......