Praying for Brothers and Sisters We Didn't Know We Had

The readings this weekend are "right on" for what is going on in our world and Church these days.

Jesus heals the daughter of a Canaanite woman. At this point in the Gospel of Matthew Jesus had only ministered to the folks of his homeland. He calls fishermen and others who were also from Galilee. He heals and exorcizes demons from other Jews. He feeds thousands of fellow Palestinians. He delivers His Sermon on the Mount to men and women who looked and talked like Him. Yes, Jesus' message and ministry in St. Matthew's Gospel embrace the lost and disenfranchised. But to this point in this Gospel the emphasis and compassion of Christ has been directed toward His own kind.

Today's reading shows us a woman from Canaan approaching Jesus asking Him to heal her daughter. AND it seems like Jesus was reluctant to the point that the foreign lady had to talk Him into helping her daughter out. This is a mysterious Jesus to us. Why wouldn't He want to help this lady and her daughter out? No matter where He was from or they were from, wouldn't Jesus want to care for them?

Most modern scripture gurus see this as an example of Jesus learning His full mission as He lived His life. He wasn't playing on the woman's emotions or toying with her over something so serious as her daughter's life. This would be a form of lying. And Jesus would not sin, even in a perhaps playful way. In the Gospel of Luke, after He was found in the Temple talking to the scholars, the writer says that Jesus went home with Mary and Joseph and grew in wisdom, age and grace. So,  like us,  Jesus learned in time what His purpose on this earth was, perhaps even after He had begun His ministry.

The shock to the Jewish audience who were the intended readers of St. Matthew's Gospel was that Jesus would even talk to a woman,  especially a foreign woman. Adult males would jeopardize their status in the synagogue and in the social structure by associating with foreigners or married women. Jesus does both here. After He "was talked into it" by the woman's faith he crossed a huge boundry to help a person in need.

Our Pope and our bishops, led by our own Archbishop Kurtz, are asking us to pray for Iraqi Christians. Why? Most of us are unaware that Christians have lived in the land that is now Iraq since the Apostles Thomas and Thaddeus (Jude) went there after the Pentecost to preach the Gospel to all nations. As few as five years ago there were 1.5 million Christians living in Iraq. But they began running for their safety because of the religious persecutions going on there. This latest persecution by the group called ISIS has driven the last Christians out of the area near Mosul. All of the Christian Churches have been destroyed, the personal property of Christians taken from them, the ultimatum given "leave or be slaughtered". Some have been beheaded because they choose not to convert or leave their homes or Churches. Some have fled to the mountains and held hostage there without water or food. All are in a crisis.

Our Pope and the bishops are asking us to do several things to help these foreign Christians. First they ask us to pray for an end to their persecution and torture. They also ask us to pray for those who are terrorizing these Christians. Finally our faith leaders want us to plead with our own legislators for us as a nation to intervene in order to protect those who are being slain and forced from their homes.

We may think that the plight of someone living completely on the other side of the globe should not be our concern. The fate of Christians (or people of any faith) who may worship differently from us may seem far removed from our list of priorities. We may not want to get involved because of many, many reasons. Yet Jesus was able to learn that His mission was far beyond what He thought His world encompassed. He heard and he healed. Our intervention and our prayer is needed for folks who are in many way very different from us.  Yet,  we are being called now to imitate our Savior in broadening our minds and hearts for more folks who need heading and God's love.

Peace,
Fr. Chuck