Sparkles of Light (Mk 7:24-30)

9 February 2012, Thursday, 5^th Week of the Year

 FIND JESUS IN ALL THINGS

Jesus went to the district of Tyre. He entered a house and wanted no one to know about it, but he could not escape notice. Soon a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him. She came and fell at his feet. The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth, and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter. He said 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." She replied and said to him, "Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children's scraps." Then he said to her, "For saying this, you may go. The demon has gone out of your daughter." When the woman went home, she found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

Mk 7:24-30

            The Gospel for today presents to us a very human Jesus.  It seems that Jesus wants to take rest and have personal time for himself.  Hence, he doesn’t want anybody to know that he is in Tyre.  Unfortunately, due to his popularity, he really can’t escape the crowd.  Even a Syrophoenician woman, who is considered a pagan, came inside and begged Jesus to drive away the demon that has plagued her daughter.  Jesus, perhaps tired and hungry, at first didn’t give a purely positive response to her request.  Yet despite being a pagan, the woman was able to tell Jesus, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.”  Such begging for compassion moved Jesus to fulfil her request.    

            If we take a closer look at the details of this Gospel passage, it speaks about the reality of the Kingdom of God.  In working for the Kingdom of God, God is at work in the hearts of ALL men and women, not just those who are Christian.  In the story we can see a very persistent woman who wants her daughter to be healed confronts Jesus.  She is so persistent that Jesus gives in to her and fulfils her desire.  Despite that she is a pagan, she has faith in Jesus and what Jesus can do to her daughter.  How was this possible?  This is what the theology of religion is teaching us.  That the Church affirms there are elements of the truth at work in all cultures and religions and that the Church affirms and encourages these aspects of them.  St. Paul said that all people have the ability to know and come to believe in God through the wonder and glory of creation, even without specifically hearing the Gospel proclaimed.

            Some years ago when I was in Thailand, I had a conversation with a “red truck” driver (like jeepney driver here in the Philippines).  Perhaps he noticed that I was a foreigner, so he asked me some questions like who am I and what was I doing there, etc.  And so I said that I was a Jesuit seminarian and I was taking a course in inter-religious dialogue.  As a Buddhist (the majority of Thailand for that matter), he does not know what a seminarian or a priest is.  So I tried to explain to him in my simple ways.  In the middle of the conversation, we came upon a stop sign.  While waiting for the go sign, an old lady (in her bare feet) went to the driver’s window and raised her hands asking for some change.  What happened next really touched my heart.  The driver went out of the “red truck” and gave his slippers to the old lady.  He even gave her a bottle of water and a pouch of biscuits which is perhaps his own baon.  Then we went our way.  I said to the driver that he was so kind and I was touched with his actions.  He simply replied to me, “We must help those who are sick and hungry.”     

            Jesus is very much present and alive in the driver despite that he is a Buddhist.  Though he doesn’t know about Jesus, he is like Jesus through his words and action.  Isn’t this what Jesus is teaching us?  Often times it is quiet saddening when we ourselves as Christians have the notion of “show me first then I will believe” rather than “believe first and you will see.”  The Lord works with each and everyone of us who are humble and obedient to him and his ways.  As Christians, we are the bearers of the light and truth in Jesus.  Hence we invited to live like Jesus and find Jesus in others.