Persistence

THIS WEEK’S GOSPEL: MATTHEW 15: 21-28 (MESSAGE)

From there Jesus took a trip to Tyre and Sidon. They had hardly arrived when a Canaanite woman came down from the hills and pleaded, "Mercy, Master, Son of David! My daughter is cruelly afflicted by an evil spirit."

Jesus ignored her. The disciples came and complained, "Now she's bothering us. Would you please take care of her? She's driving us crazy." Jesus refused, telling them, "I've got my hands full dealing with the lost sheep of Israel." Then the woman came back to Jesus, went to her knees, and begged. "Master, help me." He said, "It's not right to take bread out of children's mouths and throw it to dogs." She was quick: "You're right, Master, but beggar dogs do get scraps from the master's table." Jesus gave in. "Oh, woman, your faith is something else. What you want is what you get!" Right then her daughter became well.

Persistence. The widow in this story is persistent in her appeal to Jesus. She may have already been through the proper channels, filled out the appropriate paperwork, and spent hours on end at the doctor’s office. Now she is persistently presenting her case to Jesus.

But Jesus ignores her. He has too much on his plate, too much work to do, too many demands of ministry, too much responsibility. The disciples even take on this ethos of too much, get tired of the persistent widow and whine to Jesus that the woman is getting on their nerves. This sounds a lot like real life. When the demands of work, ministry, family and other responsibilities inhibit our ability to make room for a friend’s pain, a neighbor’s loss, a stranger’s struggle and our lives become myopic with no room for anything or anyone else.

Yet, the woman in our gospel lesson never gives up. She refuses to leave Jesus’ presence without first getting his attention. When he insults her by reminding her that her issue may be urgent but isn’t important, she reminds Jesus that God cares for everyone no matter what. Perhaps like us, even Jesus needed to be reminded that God’s love cannot be restricted by our day to day responsibilities and that God’s mercy overcomes even our own busyness.

Please join us for another Wellesley Ecumenical Service of Worship this Sunday, August 14 at 10:00am at the Wellesley Hills Congregational Church. With Rev. Luckie preaching a sermon called, “We Get By With A Little Help From Our Friends,” we will explore the connection we have as brothers and sisters in faith and we will be invited to make a little room for one another in our overly busy, overly responsible lives. Looking forward to seeing you in Church!