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Message of the Day
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Every time you make a choice, you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And, taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a Heaven creature or into a hellish creature — either into a creature that is in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself,
or else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow creatures and with itself. To be the one kind of creature is Heaven: that is, it is joy, and peace, and knowledge, and power. To be the other means madness, horror, idiocy, rage, impotence, and eternal loneliness. Each of us at each moment is progressing to the one state or the other.
… C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (What is it that informs your choosing? Choose well this day.)
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Readings of the Day
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JER 31:1-7; JER 31:10, 11-12AB, 13
MT 15:21-28
At that time Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out,
“Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!
My daughter is tormented by a demon.”
But he did not say a word in answer to
her.
His disciples came and asked him,
“Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.”
He said in reply,
“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
But the woman came and did him homage, saying, “Lord, help me.”
He said in
reply,
“It is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs.”
She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps
that fall from the table of their masters.”
Then Jesus said to her in reply,
“O woman, great is your
faith!
Let it be done for you as you wish.”
And her daughter was healed from that
hour.
USCCB lectionary
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Reflection on the Scripture
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“Lord, Son of David, have pity on me!” —Matthew 15:22
The Canaanite woman obtained the healing she requested of Jesus by referencing scraps (Mt 15:27). She
compared her request to that of a dog which eats the scraps that fall from the table of the chosen ones. Jesus cares about scraps. Twice He had the disciples pick up the scraps that had fallen from the multiplied loaves and fishes (Mt 14:20; Mk 8:8).
God did not send humanity a mere scrap that fell from His table. He sent His Son (Jn 3:16) to redeem us. Sadly, we threw Jesus on the scrap-heap of the cross. Jesus Himself became a
scrap, a broken piece of Bread for us. You may feel like your life is on the scrap heap of this world. Nevertheless, God sees you. God has “age-old love” (Jer 31:3) for you, and has “pity” on you (Mt 9:36). Jesus is the embodiment of that pity and love. No scrap is beyond His notice, beyond His pity, beyond His age-old love. Bring your scraps to Jesus. With the faith of the Canaanite woman, cry out to Him, “Help me, Lord!” (Mt
15:25) Prayer: Help me, Lord! I trust in Your age-old love, Your pity, and Your providence. Promise: “Again I will restore you, and you shall be rebuilt.” —Jer 31:4 Presentation Ministries
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Spiritual Reading
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Readings from Jesus Alive in Our Lives, by Philip St. Romain. Ave Maria Press, 1985. Contemplative Ministries, Inc. 2011. Part Three, Gift of the Spirit Chapter : The Holy Spirit and Christian
Theology - Selected quotes
So far, we have been reflecting on the experience of the Holy Spirit and the works accomplished by the Spirit. At some point, it also becomes helpful to inquire into what the gift of the Spirit means . . . what it signifies? By this, I
mean not simply what the Spirit is doing to individuals and communities, but what is implied in the order of grace, or God’s activities among us.
As with other important experiences in one’s life, one’s intellectual understanding makes a difference unto ongoing consent and integration, so it was inevitable that the early Christians and then later generations reflect on the theological meaning of the coming of the
Spirit. For the first Christians, who were primarily Jewish men and women, they must have looked to their Hebrew scriptures for guidance. The over-arching paradigm for their relationship with God was understood in terms of covenant—how they belonged to God and God to them—through the events, promises, and agreements related in their history. Space does not permit here a detailed treatment of the evolution of Hebrew covenants; we need only note here several points that seemed to
be widely held among Jews of Jesus’ time. - The Mosaic Law and its elaboration through the ages defined the terms of the covenant. To be in covenant with God, one had to keep the Law.
- A promise had been made to David that he would have a successor who would be the great king of the Jews—the Messiah. He would initiate a new covenant between God
and humanity.
- By and large, Jewish history was marred by infidelity to the terms of the covenant. It was very difficult to keep the Law.
- In connection with the coming of the Messiah, a new capacity to keep the Law would be given. God would write the Law on their hearts and give them power to keep it from within. (Jer. 31:
31-34)
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