“Age-Old Love” by Colleen O’Sullivan
Wednesday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time
With age-old love, I have loved you; so, I have kept my mercy toward you. Again, I will restore you, and you shall be rebuilt O virgin Israel; Carrying your festive tambourines, you shall go forth dancing with the merrymakers. Again, you shall plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria; those who plant them shall enjoy the fruits. Yes, a day will come when the watchmen will call out on Mount Ephraim: “Rise up, let us go to Zion, to the LORD, our God.” (Jeremiah 31:3b-6)
Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, proclaim it on distant isles, and say: He who scattered Israel, now gathers them together, he guards them as a shepherd his flock. (Jeremiah 31:10)
Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that hour. (Matthew 15:28)
Piety
O Lord, thank you for loving us not only when we stand before you in adoration but also for your mercy on those days when we have wandered far away into any kind of exile.
For prayerful listening: I Have Loved You With An Everlasting Love, Michael Joncas
Study
In our first reading
today from the prophet Jeremiah, we hear words of mercy and hope from the Lord. God’s people have been in exile far from home
for many years. Long ago, they had
turned their backs on God and refused to listen to the prophets who attempted
to steer them onto the right path. The
people thought they knew better. One day,
as a result, they found themselves forcibly carried away from their homeland
and made to live as captives in Babylon.
Today we hear God assuring them that they are not forgotten. “With age-old love, I have loved you…” I am going to bring you home, where once again you can plant vineyards and enjoy the fruits of your work. It will be just a remnant of Israel who will return, but this, nevertheless, will be cause for rejoicing.
The Gospel reading for today has always been a bit of a puzzle to me. A Canaanite woman approaches Jesus and begs for healing for her daughter. The disciples want Jesus to send her away. Jesus at first tells her that he came only for the lost sheep of Israel. But she doesn’t back down. She knows she’s little better than a dog in their eyes, but she continues to plead with Jesus. Don’t even dogs get the scraps that fall to the ground?
Her faith moves Jesus emotionally. Perhaps it is at this moment that he realizes she has more faith than many of his fellow Jews. Or perhaps Jesus’ Father whispers to him: Son, open your heart to anyone who trusts in you. At least that’s how I like to interpret this aberration in the way Jesus generally treats those he encounters. It’s an eye-opening moment for God’s Son. God’s love is not just for the Jews but is for anyone who trusts in the Lord.
Action
God never purposely inflicts suffering on us, but God certainly often allows us to reap the consequences of our actions or sometimes even the consequences of others’ actions toward us. And so often it’s in this reaping – in the wilderness, in exile - that we find ourselves smashed and remolded by the Potter, all the while held in God’s everlasting love. Maybe we emerge converted to something more closely resembling the image of God. Or perhaps we come to see God more clearly and to desire God with a more profound longing. At least that’s been my experience. Exile is an uncomfortable place to find ourselves, but once transformed, the homecoming is sweet.
When you are praying today, think back over your life and recall any exile experiences you may have had. How were you reshaped in the wilderness? Did you feel God’s love while you were there? Was your homecoming joy-filled? Give thanks to God for whatever God has accomplished in you.
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