Reflection for THURSDAY, 5th Week, Ordinary Time.
By
Fr. Aloysius Santiago sdb
Rector and Parish Priest
Don Bosco Shrine
Lingarajapuram, Bangalore
Today's Gospel Verse
Mark 7:25
“…a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit, heard about Jesus. She came and fell at His feet”
Today's Reflection
There are many moments in life when we will certainly need help from others.
And at times, it is not just some kind of general help but a real desperate need for help.
And it is not just asking for help; it would be a plea and even begging for that help.
In the gospel, the Syrophoenician woman came to Jesus with a desperate need.
And she expressed that need by falling at His feet and begging Him to cast the devil out of her daughter.
That was certainly a desperate pleading and begging for help, and that woman also knew that it could be her last option..
But all ended well as Jesus eventually granted her desperate request.
It was a contrasting picture in the 1st reading when king Solomon swayed his heart to other gods and did what was displeasing to the Lord.
But instead of asking for forgiveness and asking for the Lord's help to repent, it was the Lord God who had to appear to Solomon twice to try to make him repent.
The Gospel passage is the incident of Jesus’ encounter with a Gentile woman who comes seeking for a cure for her daughter, from a demon.
This person who came to Jesus went through a string of ignominies and exploitations…
She had to face humiliations because she was a woman…
The Jewish society accorded a lowly and highly subjugated status to women
She had to face disgraces because she was a Greek…
The Greeks, who were considered pagans by the Jews, were treated with inferiority.
She had to face dishonour because she was a Syrophoenician…
A Syrophoenician denoted a mixed race – half Syrians and half Phoenician; thus denoting also a crisis in cultural and linguistic identity.
She had to face scandal because she had to approach Jesus who was a pure Jew…
Greeks and especially Greek woman had no interaction at all with Jewish men
She had to face crisis because her child was possessed with an unclean spirit…
A demon-possession in her beloved daughter would have chased away all her peace of mind.
She had to face challenge to her faith when the Lord addressed to her in an apparently disrespectful manner…
Being called as a “dog” would have put off the mind of a weak and frail person
Well… this Syrophoenician Greek woman, had many things to complain in life…
She had a number of reasons to “blame” and get defeated in life…
She could have just “blamed” the society for their inhuman attitudes…
She could have just “blamed” the citizens for their class divisions…
She could have just “blamed” the civilization for their cruel outlooks…
She could have just “blamed” her stars and fate for what happened to her daughter…
She could have just “blamed” Jesus for His challenging and apparently resistant answer…
She could have just kept “blaming” anybody and anything….and get bogged down totally!
But this woman decides to silence this “unseen kid of blaming”
She decides to close her eyes to all humiliations and yet stand strong with a bold face!
She decides to overlook all setbacks and defy the odds with her deep convictions and trust!
As a result, the Lord rewards her immensely and her daughter was delivered of the demon!
Are we people who get easily afflicted by the contagion of “blaming?”
Are we people who are easily paralysed by the virus of “blaming?”
The Syrophoenician woman…
… by her tremendous faith and bold trust is a challenge to us.
… by her amazing determination and resolve is an inspiration for us.
Our society, our families, our own individual selves are often under the grip and possession of this contagion of “blaming”.
It was such an irony that the king of God's people did not ask for the Lord's help, whereas it was the pagan Syrophoenician woman who turned desperately to Jesus for help.
May our faith teach us to be humble and to rely on the Lord's help at all times, and may we also be able to lead those in desperate need for help to turn to the Lord.
GOD BLESS YOU 🙏
Good morning. Have a nice safe day.
Let's pray for peace in Karnataka.
Let's pray for free and fair elections.