Sometimes our Gospel
reading can be comforting. Sometimes it
can be challenging or it can shake us out of our complacency. However, sometimes the message in the Gospel
can be very shocking, which how I see today’s Gospel. Jesus meets a non-Jewish woman, a Greek woman who was Syrophoenician by
birth. This desperate, courageous woman seeks out Jesus in order to heal her daughter, who
was possessed by an unclean spirit. She would have been seen as an unclean
person to the Jews of Jesus' day. Jesus
dismisses her at first, saying that he should first take care of the children
of Israel, that helping this woman instead of a Jew would be akin to taking the
food out of the mouth of a child to give it to a dog. However, because of her persistence and great
faith, Jesus heals her daughter.
Sometimes,
we come to God, thinking that we know exactly what we want. We might not
know how God is going to answer our prayers, we might not know how we are going
to receive a call from God or experience healing in our lives. Yet, we might
ask ourselves if we have the faith and courage to trust in God, to ask him to
heal us and guide us in life. Are we as
tenacious as the Greek woman who begged Jesus to heal her daughter? Are we willing to go out on a limb and to take
a risk in our life of faith.?
Through the example of people of great faith like this woman
in today's Gospel, & through the intercessions of the Blessed Virgin Mary
and the saints, may we trust in God & have faith in his ability to heal us
& guide us along our journey of faith.
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