Your faith have made you well

Jer. 31:1-7, Mt. 15:21-28. In today's first reading, Jeremiah speaks to the people in exile who have been taken across the desert to Babylon. His reassuring words are an allusion to the people of Israel who were slaves in Egypt and eventually found their way back to the Promise Land by going through the desert.  Jeremiah forecasts a time when the whole of Israel, not just the Southern tribes, will be reunited and there will be great rejoicing. In contract, Jesus seems a little uncaring as He first addresses the Canaanite woman who has come to Him so that He might heal her daughter. In today's Gospel, Jesus uses a common remark of His day, referring to this pagan woman as a dog. The pagan woman showed tenacious faith, though the initial response of Jesus to her desperate cry for help was dead silence.

When the woman persisted with her request and Jesus answers, He seems to harshly dismiss her request. Just as the woman was not put off by the silence of Jesus, she is not put off by His first gruff response. She takes up His image of feeding the children rather than the house-dogs, the people of Israel rather than the pagans and turns it to her own advantage. Eventually the Lord rewards her persistent faith and grants her request. This pagan woman encourages us to remain faithful, even when the grounds for faithfulness seem to be very weak. She inspires us to keep seeking the Lord, even when the Lord appears to be silent and distant. Jesus wants us to ask and keep on asking; seek and keep on seeking; knock and keep on knocking. Our relationship with God should not be a one time experience. It should be a constant search to deepen our closeness to Jesus. We must continually turn to Jesus. We need to be fervent in our desire to draw closer to Him and receive His healing touch. We also need to be aware of the promises of God.

May the Lord help us to confidently approach God with our needs, being reassured that He wants what is best for us at all times! Amen!! Stay safe and have a pleasant day!!!