August 14th, 2011 Gospel Reflection:

Matthew 15: 21-28

Do you ask God for the things you want or need? How does it make you feel to ask God for things?

In today’s Gospel a woman asks Jesus for help when she was in need. The woman though, was not a Jew, one of God’s chosen people in the Old Testament. Jesus responds to her that He came to reach out only to the lost sheep of Israel, the Jewish people, yet the woman remains humble and persistent. Humility and persistence pay off with God.

The woman knew she was not worthy to have Jesus heal her daughter, but she know she needed him to and had faith that He could. We see through this story the heart of God moved and affected because of persistent prayer. As a result of her persistence Jesus teaches his followers and us a very important lesson: Jesus came to save everyone.

While the Old Covenant (Testament) was the story of the Chosen People, the Jews, the New Covenant (Testament) was opened for everyone. As we hear from Paul in the 1^st Reading “God delivered all to disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all”. All of humanity is in need of mercy and redemption and Jesus offers it to all.

It is through the woman’s humility, faith, and perseverance that Jesus reveals this message. Perhaps the best model of the persistent woman is the persistence of a child when they want something, crying out mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom. The child has complete faith that their mom can bring about what is asked for and asks with sometimes mind-numbing persistence.

We have something to learn from the virtue of the asking child, to have faith like a child. If we are persistent and humbly ask for what we need God will answer our prayers. Sometimes this means we have to change ourselves before we are ready to receive the answer, sometimes the answer does not come as we expect, but comes in God’s time and way, but God is always faithful.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Matthew 7: 7-8

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

-What is something I have asked God for?

-Has God answered my prayer? How or how not?

-Is my heart open to receive a different answer than I expect?