Aug. 16, 2020: 20th Sunday A

 Aug. 16, 2020: 20th Sunday A 

Have you ever had to give advice to a friend or family member who was ready to give up on their faith? At one point or another, we all had moments when tests or trials brought us to the brink of giving up. St. Paul was no stranger to trials and tribulations in his faith journey, and he came to the following realization, “No temptation [tests or trials] has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13) What keeps a person from giving up and continuing to be persistent? If you ask a mother or a father with a child who is sick, the answer is simple: love. 

In January 2015, a St. Louis teenage boy made the news when he slipped through an icy lake and was underwater for 15 minutes. Even after he was rescued out of the icy water, he didn’t have a pulse for 45 minutes. The doctors tried their best to resuscitate him in the hospital without success for 30 minutes. Then the mother of the boy entered the trauma room and started praying to God loudly. Within a matter of a minute or two, the boy’s heart started again. Only 16 days after being in the hospital, the boy walked to his parent’s car when he was discharged from the hospital.  This miraculous story was made into a movie last year called, “Breakthrough.” Five years after the accident, John, the boy who miraculously survived drowning, travels across the country to various churches and high schools to share the story of his death, his mother’s incredible faith, and God’s amazing power. His mother said, "I believe God is who He says He is. I believe God can do what He says He can do. And I'm believing in God." In the Gospel today, we encounter another mother whose persistent faith and incredible love resulted in a miracle for her child.

The Canaanite woman did not even know the God of Israel. From the perspective of the Jewish people, she was a pagan. She didn't even know who Jesus was, other than hearing rumors that he was a miracle worker. Her child was suffering greatly from a demon, and she was determined to free her from suffering. She implored Jesus to heal her daughter. She was met with silence. She implored again, and she was met with rebuff. She implored again, “Lord, help me.” Her love for her child stirred her faith, and her unwavering faith in Jesus allowed her not to become discouraged in the face of his initial rejection. In the end, Jesus was in awe of this woman’s great love and faith, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” 

 

Jesus praised  this humble woman as a model of unwavering love and faith. Her persistence in beseeching Christ’s intervention is an inspiration for us not to become discouraged nor despair when faced with trials. In a mysterious way the momentary trials test and purify our sincere love for Christ. Affliction puts before us two choices. One choice is to believe that God does not love us.  It is not unusual to observe Christians move from one church to another, one pastor to another because they feel that their prayers were not answered.  The second choice is to believe that affliction can lead us to greater entrustment of ourselves to God. St. James wrote, “My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that testing of your faith produces endurance, and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4) 

Our Lord desires us to instill in us the same fire of love which propelled the Blessed Mother unwaveringly to the foot of the Cross at Calvary. Her total surrender to the Father’s Will was shaped by her love for her Son. Even the darkness of Good Friday could not shake her faith and trust in the Father. We ask our Heavenly Mother to lend us her Heart, to help us persevere and strengthen our faith as we face tests and trials. May she teach us to say every day, “May it be done to me according to your word.”