Thursday of the
Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
(I Kings 11:4-13; Mark 7:24-30)
Inhabitants of the Northern Hemisphere are beginning to
think about their summer vacation.
Spending two to three of recreation in another locale has become so much
part of the contemporary way of life that months of planning and sizeable
resources are given to the project. In
the gospel Jesus seems to be taking a vacation which explains part of his
reluctance to assist the Greek woman.
Mark writes that Jesus hopes to escape notice when he
enters a house in in the foreign city of Tyre.
He is probably worn out from intensive preaching and the never ending
stream of sick persons seeking his cures.
Although he is not inclined to see more people now, he has a better
reason for not going to the woman’s bedeviled daughter. He can honestly tell
the woman that his mission is to Israel, not for the moment to the world. But the woman refuses rejection. She calls Jesus “Lord” and indicates that she
would accept any assistance that he might give.
Ever merciful, Jesus acknowledges her faith by granting her daughter
deliverance.
Faith proves to be a critical element in experiencing the
Kingdom of God. Faith tells us not to
dictate completely what Jesus is to do for us although there is nothing wrong
with some specificity regarding our needs.
More importantly, we are to trust implicitly in his love for us. Almost certainly then we will experience
wonders.
