She came and fell at his feet.

 

Scripture for this reflection can be found at Thursday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB

In today’s gospel Jesus originally just wanted to be there unnoticed, but as soon as people heard he was there, it was hard for Jesus to be left alone. The gospel goes on to tell us of Jesus paying attention to a non-Jewish woman who needed her daughter to be healed of the demons that were plaguing her. As we hear, he was reluctant at first to respond to the woman.

Jesus saying to her, “Let the children be fed first. For it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs” sounds harsh to my ears. At this point, Jesus had been mainly ministering to people who were of Jewish background. But what I think was happening here was that Jesus was starting to reach beyond the Jewish circles and reaching out to the Gentiles to bring his teachings of faith in God and the fact that He’s the savior not only of the chosen people, but for everyone. Once she responds that “even dogs get the scraps from the children’s table,” Jesus sees her faith and grants her request. Central to all of Jesus’s healings in the gospels is faith in Him and His power to cure. He saw in this non-Jewish woman faith in His power to cure her daughter and He granted her request.

This woman is also an example for all of us who may have children that may need our prayers. This woman’s daughter is seriously sick with a demon, and Jesus heals her. We may not have children or relatives as sick as this child, but they may be away from the practice of the faith and still need our prayers for healing and to return to the church. This woman serves as an example of what we should be doing for those people we love: our prayers for them.

During this upcoming season of Lent, let us encourage all those in our lives to return to church on Ash Wednesday, or anytime throughout Lent, to receive the healing that is waiting for them in the sacrament of confession and of Holy Communion. Our prayers and encouragement for those away from Church can be all they need to come back into relationship with God through his Holy Church.