Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
–Matthew 15:21-28
We are taught that in Jesus, we see the fullness of God. But sometimes…sometimes…Jesus doesn’t seem at all like the God who loves us (every one of us) while we are yet in our mothers’ wombs. Sometimes, as in this story, Jesus seems all too human, all too prone to narrow-minded blindness. Sometimes – let’s be blunt – he doesn’t see at all like the God of Love with whom we have fallen passionately, irretrievably in love. Sometimes (could it be?) it seems that we have to look at the interruptions in Jesus’ life, rather than at Jesus himself, to see God.
Beloved One, interrupt us when we get caught up
in our own complacency,
in our own conviction that it will never happen to us,
in our certainty that it’s someone else’s responsibility,
in our determination to care only for our own,
in our narrow view that “they” are not “us”.
More than 100 people have been arrested in a city in east Pakistan after thousands of Muslims burned Christian churches and vandalised homes in response to claims that two Christian men had torn pages from a copy of the Quran.
U.S. President Joe Biden is preparing to host South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida at Camp David for their first standalone summit, which U.S. officials say will promote their shared vision of a free and open Asia-Pacific region.
In Ecuador, which is facing presidential elections on August 20, a local party leader in a northern province has been killed by gunmen. Only five days earlier, presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was gunned down in the capital, Quito.
The United Nations has been forced to cut food, cash payments and assistance to millions of people in many countries because of “a crippling funding crisis” that has seen its donations plummet by about half as acute hunger is hitting record levels.
Only 38 out of nearly 100 would be migrants on a boat headed for Spain survived being at sea for over a month before being rescued this week. Most had fled from Senegal “where it’s impossible to make a living.”
The Canaanite woman only had to wait a few minutes before Jesus relented and healed her daughter. Beloved One, interrupt us before the waiting becomes interminable.
In Israel, Ultra-Orthodox members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition want to expand the powers of all-male rabbinical courts, and to bar women and men from mixing in many public arenas.
In Iran, leaders have voted to review a controversial hijab law behind closed doors – meaning it is likely there will be no public debate on the matter. The legislation would impose a raft of new punishments on women who fail to wear the headscarf.
The Canaanite woman found the words to startle Jesus into attention. Beloved One, do not let half of the human race be silenced.
Mass evacuations are underway from wildfires in Yellowknife (Canada), Maui (Hawaii, U.S.), and the Spanish island of Tenerife.
Northeastern China is threatened by flooding as at least 90 rivers have risen above warning levels and 24 have already overflowed their banks.
The Canaanite woman pled for help for her daughter, who was being tormented by forces beyond their control. Beloved One, meet us in the places where the powers of earth and sea; rain, drought, flood and fire besiege us.
Beloved One, interrupt us
in unexpected encounters,
in the midst of our preoccupations,
in the middle of all the “oughts” and “shoulds” of our lives.
Beloved One, interrupt us
that we might meet you.
Interrupt us, that we might bc you
when the world needs to be interrupted.
Amen
[…] heart aches and I find myself praying this prayer from The World in […]