Coffee With God

Reflection: Mark 7:24-30

Today the Church celebrates the memoria of St Scholastica, the sister of the great St. Benedict, in whose shadow she lived. Dedicating her life to God, she first lived a life of prayer at home, then stayed near her brother at Subiaco, then Monte Cassino, until Benedict put her in charge of a community of women. Today’s Gospel speaks of a desperate mother who would do anything for the health of her child. The woman in the Gospel did not believe in the God of Israel when she approached Jesus. But for the sake of her daughter she was not ashamed of coming in front of the public and plead before Jesus. Curiously enough, Jesus’ response to this pagan woman was harsh and offensive. But, it wasn’t anything inappropriate in the Jewish world of the time. It perfectly reflected the attitude of Jews to Gentiles. Jews of the days of Jesus commonly referred Gentiles as dogs. However, the refusal to respond to obvious human need seemed uncharacteristic of Jesus. Jesus was gaining recognition as a preacher and miracle-worker. We seldom find Jesus changing his decisions. The Gospel today presents the freedom or flexibility of Jesus for changing his discourse or the way he acted when circumstances called for it. Being in a position that involves power, be it in the Church, in the family or in our work places, we would love to see our desires and decisions are accepted and executed. To have the boss of a company reverse his decision at the request of an ordinary janitor or the parish priest to reconsider his plan of action at the request of his parishioners are not every day experiences. The foreigner woman’s love for her daughter challenges the assumption of Jesus. And Jesus changes his mind. The breaking-in of the Kingdom into the life of the girl was the result not just of the action of Jesus but of the faith and concern of the mother as well. Jesus seemed to allow himself to be subject to the conversion of heart, that he demanded from his disciples. Conversion is so often a process of identifying our prejudices, and letting go of them, and of broadening one’s attitudes. Jesus sets aside his prejudices and healed the daughter of the Syro-Phoenician woman. Today’s gospel invites us to open our homes and hearts to those who differ in many ways from us, that we may do all that we can to integrate them into our Christian community. May there be room in our lives, and in our Christian communities, for all people, whatever their race or religion, their culture or education may be.