20^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gospel – Matthew 15:21-28

Turning Back?

Walking in Sepphoris

One of my favorite conversations in the Lord of the Rings movies/books is the one below!  Just when Frodo is at his lowest, ready to give up and give in to the evil of the Ring, when all hope seems to be lost, Sam reminds him of the importance of holding on, not giving up, being persistent, keeping the faith!!

By rights we shouldn’t even be here, but we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn’t want to know the end, because how could the end be happy. How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come and when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you - that meant something even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back only they didn’t because they were holding on to something—that there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for."

All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."

Too often we look for faith in heavy tomes of academic learning and come away more confused than before.  But faith can also come to us in simple terms, in the simplicity of life.  We only have to take the time to see it, embrace it and share it! 

And that is what we hear in today’s Gospel – a simple but deep and persistent faith, even in difficult times!  A woman in fear for her daughter’s life who is willing to go toe-to-toe with Jesus in her effort to receive Jesus’ healing touch!  Let’s face it.  In the Jewish world at the time, everything is against her.  She is female; she is Gentile!  She knows she is fighting an uphill battle to be heard, much less engaged in conversation.  And yet she persists!  She insists on not being ignored!  She had no real expectations that Jesus would even notice her, much less respond to her pleas!  But in the end, Jesus praises her for her great faith.  And even though her daughter is quite a distance away, He heals her daughter.  Despite being a Canaanite Gentile, despite the restrictions placed on women at the time, she confronted Jesus and called Him Lord and Son of David!  Such great love for her daughter!  Such faith and hope in Jesus that she believes He will not only hear her prayers but answer them!

BOLDNESS!  PERSISTENCE!  COURAGEOUS FAITH!  That is what we see in the Canaanite woman in today’s Gospel. 

So the question for us today?  How courageous is our faith?  How persistence is our faith?  How bold is our faith?  When life hits us with sickness, loss of job or income, when the world seems to turn against us and we feel alone and abandoned, when all hope seems lost, do we just throw up our hands and give up? 

Do we just sit on the sidelines and throw up our hands in defeat and hopelessness? Or do we stand firm in our faith, believing that there is something worth fighting for, that there is some good in the world?  What do we do with the time that is given us??