It may help us at this time
to realise that the woman we read about in these readings , (The "Syro Phoenician Woman" )
lived in that coastal region to the north of the modern state of Israel
and west of modern Syria
that has often been under the pall of the war.
Bearing in mind that many of those peoples who live there today
trace their antecedents back well over the 2000 years of the common era (CE),
it is conceivable that her living descendants are caught up in today's conflicts.
And the readings reminds us that
tension between different ethnic groups was there at the time of Christ, as it is there today.
It is a sadness but a truth.
They remind us, too,
that we fickle humans are open to prejudice of all sorts,
economic, gender-based, class oriented,
religious and of course the stupidity of racial prejudice
Even Jesus is caught up in it.
"It is not fair, " he says of this woman's daughter,
"that I should take the food that is meant for the Jews and feed it to the dogs!"
None of us would take too kindly to our children being referred to as dogs.
(let alone that some commentators suggest this word "dogs" is slang parlance for prostitutes)
he is no doubt using a common idiom.
Speaking as he had been brought up to speak of his near neighbours.
We fall easily into that trap ourselves
when we talk of Indonesians, Aborigines, even (perhaps in an earlier era) Poms!!
The common bondThere is, however, a resilience about this woman
(which we see in the people of today)
that causes her to persist with Jesus, and her persistence is rewarded.
Coupled with this
we read a story about another persistent man, who was deaf.
And who, like many of the profoundly deaf, had a speech impediment.
Such people, too, have a resilience which is at times admirable
and also a little intimidating
stemming, on their part, from years of prejudice against them
and misunderstanding
with which they have had to deal.
What we see in these two stories is the invitation to transcend our prejudice
and to put our trust in Jesus.
To take the next step of faith and move forward.
Sometimes this will take us quite out of our comfort zone.
Other times it will just be one more step along the road we go!
The woman has to wrestle with Jesus.
Is he trying to establish just how determined she is?
Is he forcing her to get to the root of what she really wants?
Spiritual Directors and the works of the saints will tell us
this is a key understanding
in our journey of faith,
understanding what really makes us tick,
establishing what it is that we really want.
For this woman she really has to fight for her daughter,
for this man he has to be prepared to sit quietly with Jesus
and put aside his anxiety.
I ask myself...what is it that I really want?
Am I so clouded in my vision (prejudice)
that I fail to see what I really want.
Am I so frightened by life, by failure,
by weakness, by depression,
by confusion....you name it, it's there...
that I find it impossible to trust
even God.
The stories remind us
that this would seem the way to go.
Indeed the only way to go!
Not the way of putting your trust in human vanity
of being impressed by wealth or human achievement
as we so easily are,
but rather by taking the next step along the road with Christ.
For this woman
it is quite a vigorous struggle with Jesus.
For this man
it is being taken to one side.
What will it be for me or for you this week?
This weekAllow God the opportunity that we so often deny
to let us take the next small step.
What prejudices are guiding our thinking at this stage in our life
...am I frightened of the future
...am I dictated to by the past
...do I fail to see the goodness in some people because of my bias or narrowness
...am I closed to God because I like the easy life...
God does not demand that our life be turned upside down
every moment of every day
some days will be rough
most days we are just to keep on moving on.
Not, mind you, standing still.
Maybe just the next small step.
For you prayers:
In the time of quiet, perhaps early in the day
LORD LET ME CONFRONT MY OWN SELF TODAY
AND TO ENCOUNTER YOUR CALL TO ME
LET ME HEAR YOUR CHALLENGE
WALK IN FAITH
AND GIVE ME COURAGE TO RESPOND, YES!
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