Persist in Faith

Today’s Gospel Text:  And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and cried, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon." 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying after us." 24 He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." 26 And he answered, "It is not fair to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." 27 She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." 28 Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly. Matt 15:21-28

Reflection: When we pray it is not always a situation of hope, especially when we are feeling low and out.

Our experiences of prayer often make us feel that God is far away from us; far removed from our fragile situation.

To add to our woes we end up distracted by our many thoughts and weaknesses.

Our greatest folly in prayer is to have a diffident attitude; one which easily gives up.

The faith that Jesus calls us to have is a dynamic one, which believes in the great possibilities that God can accomplish in his time and according to his purpose and we have never to lose hope.

It is sure faith sown in love by God, the permanent sign of the proof of his love is the cross on which he hung, the cross on which he assured us that he is the savior of the world no matter how big a crime we commit in this life.

He assures us that there is forgiveness with him and that he gives us, not because of our holiness, but according to his great mercy and love for us.

If we still doubt this then we need to learn from the Canaanite woman for whom the ordeal was much worse.

Concerning her state; she was sinful to the core, because she did not believe in the one true God, she was a Canaanite. (vs. 22)

Hence she couldn't be a candidate to receive God’s mercy and grace; for she did not even belong to the category of the lost sheep of Israel but instead belonged to the category of a dog. (vs. 24, 26)

To add to her woes Jesus remains silent on her first move and still worse, the disciples observing the attitude of the master, even requests him to send her away.  (vs. 23)

Despite all the negation of life, she triumphs with her faith, which is perseverance in the face of all odds.

May the Lord strengthen each one of our hearts to persevere and not give up in his presence as we sit to pray.

Prayer:  Teach me Lord to persist in the faith that you have blessed me with and never give up.

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us

Faithfulness of God

Today’s Gospel Text: In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechari'ah, of the division of Abi'jah; and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, it fell to him by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechari'ah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechari'ah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth; 15 for he will be great before the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Eli'jah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared." 18 And Zechari'ah said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years." 19 And the angel answered him, "I am Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time." 21 And the people were waiting for Zechari'ah, and they wondered at his delay in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he could not speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he made signs to them and remained dumb. 23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home 24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she hid herself, saying, 25 "Thus the Lord has done to me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men."  Luke 1:5-25

Reflection: What is it that enables people to persevere, despite all odds, is a mystery which at times throws up some insights into the beauty of perseverance, when we delve into it deeply.

 We have a beautiful example in Zechariah and Elizabeth as a faith couple: "And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years." (vss. 6-7)

This was definitely not a rosy situation; for this couple to be found righteous before God and walk in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, that too blamelessly.

Anyone else in their place would have given up on God much before their time.

How many of us can say we have been faithful in our basic duty towards God; maybe just that daily fixed time with God, being in his presence in prayer or reading his word prayerfully.

We could be failing in this badly or may have given in to despair.

Satan’s greatest weapon against those who are serious about their walk with Christ is to lead them to despair so as to push them to give up on God or doubt God's faithfulness. 

How often we may have felt with a dejected heart and given in to despair, that God does not answer my prayers or does not respond to my petitions.

The scripture constantly assures us that God is faithful, this does not mean that God will give us whatever we ask for, it means that God always answers our prayers, because he is faithful.

Which means sometimes his answer is no to our request, because he has better things in store for us, even eternity. 

The Holy couple of scripture are shining examples of God’s answer to their prayers which may have been always “No” till an opportune time they had a son who would usher in the Savior of the World.

Prayer: Lord, grant me a spirit of fortitude, that I may never give up on you and trust boldly in  your faithfulness.

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us

Waiting

Today’s Gospel Text: "Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the marriage feast, so that they may open to him at once when he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes; truly, I say to you, he will gird himself and have them sit at table, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those servants! Luke 12:35-38

Reflection: Life is a constant waiting

We have to constantly wait in life, either for our turn to come or for our turn to finish.

We could wait for someone or we could wait for none.

Some waiting is worth the wait and even the process is joyful and the long wait is made easy because of the goodness and beauty of the end goal.

Even those who wish to die have to wait for their turn.

But there are some types of waiting which are crucial to life, sustenance and survival. Among these some are not easy to practice if not made a habit and discipline of daily life. 

It is this difficulty that Jesus is communicating to the general public and the prerequisite for us to have this discipline for our life, sustenance and survival.

The most beautiful part of this waiting is that it is not a mere drudgery or a painful grind, even though it may seem to be. It is a marriage feast in which the master is coming home to and the occasion is abundantly joyful and worth all the trouble.

The wait too is rewarding assures the master, he will spontaneously and humbly serve the ones waiting for him with faithfulness, diligence and perseverance.

Since the relevance of this waiting is very significant, one would only be a fool to procrastinate ones decision making in this waiting.

Get down right now on your knees and implore to him for all the help that you may require to wait. Do not fail to take complete advantage of the help that comes your way  in order to wait on him who is an unavoidable necessity for us; Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Lord as I take my vow to wait on you daily help me by your grace never to backslide in my commitment to you.

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us