Matthew 15:28
"O
woman, great is your faith! Let it be
done for you as you wish." And the
woman's daughter was healed from that hour.
Today’s gospel dwells on a Gentile woman
asking the Lord to cast a demon out of her daughter. Not being a Jew, she was
totally rejected by Jesus, even comparing her to a dog that ate scraps under
her master’s table. The woman was not
insulted by the words of Jesus. She
accepts His judgment. And then she asks Him again for His help. There is no false pride here. She does not become offended. She recognizes her unworthiness, even as she
continues her request. Against all odds,
the woman had come to Jesus and had continued to petition Him until her prayers
were answered. And she is doing it not
for herself, but for her daughter. Total
humility, indeed! She had faced a
challenge to her faith and she had persisted, wrestling with the Lord until she
received the blessing she sought.
The reason God doesn’t answer our prayers
is because we really don't believe that He will. There is a sense in which this woman
represents the Gentile world. Jesus had
come to His own people - the House of Israel.
But the leaders of the Jews rejected Him.
That bread of heaven which was rejected and
thrown away by the Jews is now received by the Gentiles. But there is a warning. If we do not receive that same bread of life
from the hands of Jesus, then it will be taken from us. If you are going to Christ because you want
Him to tell you how wonderful you are, then don’t bother. But if you are a loser, then call out to Him
and He will help you. An answered prayer
because we believed!
Let us pray +
Almighty Father, into your most holy hands
I commit the keeping of my heart, asking you for health of soul and body, in
the certain hope that you, my most loving Lord, will hear my prayer. To you I entrust all my hopes and
consolations, all my trials and miseries, my life and the end of my life, that
all my actions may be ordered and disposed according to your will and that of
your Divine Son, Jesus Christ.
Amen +
Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
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