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August 17, 2008
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Never Give Up!
We can say many wonderful things about the human spirit: We love, we are compassionate, we are sometimes angry, we sometimes cry out for joy or out of sadness, we defend righteousness, we defend those in whom we believe. Most of all, however, we never give up, even if we feel that our cause has no chance of success.
It all starts even when we are little children: “Ma, can I have another cookie?” No!” “Ma, I have to go to the bathroom!” “Go!” “Dad, may I have the car for the prom?” “I’ll think about it.” Mom, is this dress too risqué?” “Would you wear it to church?”
Think too about congressmen and women who speak endlessly in favor of some political issue? Do they always win their causes? Sometimes yes, mostly no, but does that keep them from pressing on? Not at all. Think about Hillary Clinton and her plea for universal health care! Issues, therefore, are often personally important to them; so, they seldom give up. The fact that they persisted through hours of debate tells you where their passions are
Then, of course, there are Christians, Catholics and many others as well, who pray to God for special religious or personal human causes: “Please, Lord, do not let my daughter die! “ “Please, Lord, give my brother the strength to stop drinking.” “Please, Lord, bring my kids home safely from the prom.”
Perhaps the daughter does die, but the kids do get home safely. The brother somehow does manage to muster the courage to get off the bottle.
In other words, it is easy to thank God when the outcome of our prayer is successful. The question to ask, of course, is this: What happens when a cause does not break our way?
It seems to me that most folks, whether or not they are people of faith, usually can cope with critical issues even though some turn out to be a disaster. Do they stop praying altogether? Not at all. The fact that they persisted with their cause, even in he midst of darkness, is itself an act of faith. If they had stopped pleading with their God, what would that have meant? It would have meant failure, of course, lack of trust in ones own cause.
This is the situation we find in the gospel for this forthcoming Sunday: A lady approaches Jesus to ask if he would (or could) heal her daughter who was mentally ill. First, let me suggest that this was one tough lady. She knew that Jews considered her, a Canaanite, socially second-class. Did that stop her from pleading her cause with Jesus, a Jew? Not at all, not even after Jesus suggested that his healings (like bread) were not meant to be thrown to the “dogs.” At this point, she shows how plucky she can be: “Listen here, sir,” she says, “even the dogs lap up he crumbs that fall under the table, right?”
“You win,” Jesus says; this is obviously a cause that is deeply important to you. How can I say no to a mother who loves her little girl?”
At that point, Jesus makes a peculiar remark: “Lady, you have great faith, your wish will come to pass.” Actually it did! But what sort of faith are we dealing with here? Supernatural faith? Faith in the God of Israel? Faith in Jesus, the Jew who had just insulted her? No, my sense is that Jesus is commending her because of her courage, her persistence, and her conviction regarding the cause of her child. I can just hear Jesus muttering to himself: “Wow, here’s a lady who won’t give up. It would be a shame if I did nothing for her. The fact that she is a woman and a Samaritan means nothing to me. It would be the height of racism if I refused her plea.
Given all this, I believe there may a lesson hidden in this story, namely, if we don’t have a cause to fight for and if we don’t truly believe in it, then don’t pray. That would be an insult to God. My hunch, however, is that most of us can’t bring ourselves to do that! We do have causes and we pray for them, even if the final outcome does not fall our way. Faith in God and in yourself will do that to you.
The scriptures: Isaiah 56 1 6-7; Romans 11: 13-15, 29-32; Matthew 15: 21-28
Posted by Cindy Lentine on August 17, 2008 11:36 AM.
