Holyrood Church 715 West 179 Street, Upper West side Manhattan, USA, 212-923-3770

Have you every felt like you were "at the end and of you rope, and barely holding on?

 

Good morning, happy Wednesday, and many blessings.
 
When I am reflecting on today's gospel (Matthew 15:21-28), two themes came to my mind: Learning from the stranger in our midst and a faith that won’t give up!
 
This passage from the Gospel of Matthew is deeply, deeply uncomfortable. If we don’t find it uncomfortable, we have missed the point. And it should be uncomfortable for us for two reasons:
Firstly, we are confronted by a Jesus who is not very likeable: a Jesus who ignores a woman in pain, a Jesus who speaks over a woman in derogatory terms, a Jesus who seems to take a racist attitude in his dealings with this situation. This is not a nice portrayal of Jesus, is it? We would much rather have a Jesus who is cozy and warm and loving; a Jesus ready to show compassion and mercy at the drop of a hat. But we would be twisting the text considerably to portray Jesus like that.
 
Secondly, we are confronted by a group of disciples who show a distinct lack of compassion; disciples who are racist, disciples who think they are better than everyone else, disciples who are annoyed by the presence of others outside their group. We want to have disciples sitting earnestly at the feet of Jesus, learning from him and showing the love of God to others in need. But we would be twisting the text considerably to portray the disciples like that.
 
So who is challenged and stretched in this story? The woman? No. It is Jesus who is challenged. It is Jesus who is having his sense of identity and role as Messiah stretched.
Who is converting who in this passage? The truth is, there is a sense in which the woman is converting Jesus - not the other way round.
 
Jesus is having to enlarge the boundaries of his mission to encompass the outsider; it is not the case that the outsider comes into Jesus’ pre-set mission boundaries.
 
I said at the beginning that this is a deeply, deeply uncomfortable passage - and I believe that to be true. It is uncomfortable because we don’t really like the arrogance of the disciples. It is uncomfortable because we struggle with Jesus’ response. It is uncomfortable because we are confronted with the reality that we have a great deal to learn from ‘outsiders’ and that, if we want to be truly Christlike, we have to embrace ‘outsiders’ not so that they can become like us but so that we can learn about God from them.
 
Jesus saw her faith, commended her, granted her request and completely healed her daughter “from that very hour.” Hers was a great faith that called Him “Lord” or “Master.” Her faith caused her to come on behalf of her daughter. Against all odds, even when it appeared that she was being ignored and even turned away, she trusted, believed and hoped in Jesus! Her tenacious faith kept hanging on to the hope that He would have mercy and help her; and He did!

Have you ever felt like you were “at the end of your rope, and just barely hanging on?” perhaps it a situation at work; with your health or that of a loved one; maybe your family – or one near you – is in crisis. Does it seem, at times, that God is ignoring you, or at least distant and unapproachable? It is at times such as these, against all odds, that God calls us to trust, believe and hope in Jesus!
Blessings
 
Fr. Luis+

Date news: 
Wednesday, August 5, 2020 - 16:00

Ministry at the time of Coronavirus (Covid 19): Prevent, cure and accompany

Now we have to shape what some have started calling; The Church at Home. Although I keep asking myself; What do those who do not have a home do? For this reason, at the same time, I am declaring today in our Holyrood Church a Lenten day of prayer, fasting and reading the Bible in the Time of the Coronavirus.

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