Thursday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
"This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called 'woman,' for out of 'her man' this one has been taken." That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body. Genesis 2: 23-24
"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." Mark 7:27-28
Piety
(Adaptation of Miriam Therese Winter's "Valiant Women" by Cathy O'Keefe, a graduate of Mercy High School in Baltimore, Maryland and quoted by the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas.)
Who shall find a valiant woman?
Look! We are all around you: in the work rooms of industry, and of every functioning enterprise, unheralded, invisible, some say nonexistent, but we know otherwise.
Who shall find a valiant woman?
Look! We are all around you: contributing, setting standards, changing the course of history, preparing, supporting, challenging those resentful of our collegial claims and capabilities.
Who shall find a valiant woman?
Look! We are all around you: Woman of courage, compassionate, patient. Our number is legion, our gifts diverse, our goal one and the same: that history hear, that history is cognizant of, that history will one day recall our names.
We honor the women of the Hebrew scriptures, especially Mary, the Mother of Jesus, whose courage, persistence, love, and fidelity kept the lineage of faith alive.
We honor the women of Jesus' time
Who cared for the community of believers; who followed Jesus to Calvary; who buried Him; who proclaimed Jesus' resurrection; who passed the Gospel to their families, friends and strangers.
We honor the valiant women of our own time
Who nudge us back on track; who remind us of the promises of Christ; who claim the Gospel for women, too; who preach the reality of wholeness; who strain against a patriarchal church; who challenge us to grow!
Living God, Today we gather in and among Your Presence. Valiant women throughout the world, and all gathered here, raise our voices in global petition for your promise of wholeness --fullness of life-- to be realized in all our world, in our nations and in our lives. This we pray in Your Name. AMEN.
Study
Maybe I should let you write your own reflection on the readings for today. I, for one, hesitated greatly when attempting to reconcile how the Church fathers (yes, they are male) chose to pair up the creation of woman as a suitable companion for man along with the Gentile woman begging for table scraps from the blessings of the Lord.
Why couldn’t these readings have come on Monday when Beth would tackle them? Or on Wednesday when Melanie would handle them? Mimi, Joan, Natalie, Esther, Sandy! Women of Cursillo near and far: Get ready to throw me a life jacket because I am about to go in way over my head. But after coming this far, I better not hug the shore…so here goes.
First question: “Where is the child’s father?” In other cases, the father approached Jesus to ask for a cure for his child -- the Roman centurion and Jarius come to mind. Because it was scandalous for a Jewish man to talk with a Gentile woman in public, the men could intervene without fear. Sometimes, Jesus broke those rules -- remember the woman at the well (John 4:7-42). However, unlike the way Jesus engaged the Samaritan woman, he tries to give the Greek woman in today’s reading the old brush off. Perhaps Jesus would not treat the father with such a cavalier attitude. Yet this woman won’t take no for an answer.
We recently listened to the story about another bold woman in the Gospel of Mark when we heard of the story about the woman with the hemorrhages. She just wanted to touch Jesus but he did not even know she was present until she made herself known to him by reaching out and grabbing his garment as he passed her (Mark 5:28-34). Just like that woman would not let Jesus pass by with coming to her aid, the Greek woman in today’s story would not take no for an answer. She had to have her daughter cured. Her child was as much a part of the “bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” as Eve was to Adam and we are to Christ.
When the men could not be found, the mothers step forward as the forceful advocate seeking intervention to cure her child. Maybe the father is off fishing. Maybe he has been drafted to serve the occupying Roman army. Whether of his own doing or not, the father is not there. In his absence, his wife picks up the cause of defending and protecting their family regardless of social norms.
In Genesis, the Lord was seeking out a suitable companion for Adam. Who could be more suitable than the companion who loves her child so much she will do anything, go to any lengths, to seek a cure? Did she have faith? Or did she just have a pretty hefty dose of gumption? Or did she have a lot of both?
Mark repeatedly shows us women playing pivotal roles from Peter’s mother-in-law serving the Lord and his companions to the poor widow giving her last mite. Jesus planted a Church of equals, a Church where women of faith and gumption provide suitable companionship for the Lord. They accompany Jesus from his first breath to his last including walking with him on the way to the Cross at the fourth, sixth, eighth, thirteenth and fourteenth station. Unfortunately, some of the leading men at times seem to lack the same gumption (“And immediately a cock crowed a second time.” Mark 14:72)
In addition to featuring the pivotal role played by woman in our salvation journey, today we also have a lesson showing that the blessings of the Lord no longer belong solely to the Jews. St. Mark explains how Jesus has put his universal body, blood and spirit to work for all humanity – the children of Abraham as well as the children of other faiths and nationalities who may not yet be sitting around the same dinner table or in the same synagogue.
Action
Who is your companion? Who is your advocate or the advocate for your children? Remember that Valentine’s Day is coming up. Perhaps a little something special is in order.
Giving of your time is often the best gift of all. Taking your Valentine out to dinner and making it a night for the two of you or for the whole family shows that you care about and listen to those you love. For your children, you might look for dinner spots that include games or activities so that you can also have physical interaction.
For many, relationships are also about working on being more genuine or getting to know each other better. All Things Equal, a creative game company, has come out with a new board game called Loaded Questions that tests how well you know your fellow players. It promotes fun discussion, is an icebreaker, and offers laughs. Could be pretty interesting -- maybe even more interesting that sorting through 25 things to know about me on Facebook.
PS: While you are remembering woman of valor, keep the 128th Women’s Cursillo team in your prayers and palanca!
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