A Tale of a Healer
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 56:1, 6–7 / Psalm 67:4 / Romans 11:13–15, 29–32 / Matthew 15:21–28
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Reflecting on the Word
By Dr. Karla J. Bellinger
The sun shone as she sat stroking a puppy on the step. The others gathered around. They wanted to hear her story again. “Tell us about when the Master came here to Tyre.” The growing Christian community hungered for stories about Jesus.
“The difficulty started when I was four—my arms and legs began to twitch. Sometimes, I blacked out. My mother began to moan, ‘Oh no, the demon wants her!’ My older brother had writhed and died when that same demon had arrived. I was scared.
“One day, my mother saw a group of Jewish men visiting the city. She glimpsed Jesus the healer. She called out to him, ‘Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.’ The men ignored her. She knew that she didn’t belong there. But she really loved me. Her heart ached from the grief that she might lose me, too. ‘Send her away,’ a man grunted. Jesus didn’t. At that moment, my mother said her heart swelled with hope. Maybe? Could the mercy of the God of Israel extend even north of the border?
“Hope and love made my mother persist. She would not give up. She fell to her knees and cried out, ‘Help me, sir!’
She said that she’ll never forget how gently Jesus said, ‘It is not right to take the children’s bread and give it to the puppies.’ She felt the Holy Spirit swell up within her: “Even the little dogs eat the scraps under the table!” Jesus was astonished. His face shone as he looked her in the eye. At that moment I was healed! Until the day she died, she told everyone about God’s mercy toward me. And she seemed to take in every stray puppy in the city.”
Consider/Discuss
- Think of a time when you persisted in prayer. What was it that made you keep asking?
- How is the mercy of God greater than any of our expectations? Where have you experienced that mercy?
Living and Praying with the Word
God of mercy, be gracious to us. We know that none of us deserve your love. Yet we hope in you. You gather people from all over the world to rejoice in you. In solidarity with the scared and the forlorn, the outcast and the refugee, we praise you for always loving us. Together, bring us to your holy mountain and reconcile this world that you have made.