August 4, 2010
Memorial of Saint John Vianney, priest
At that time, says the LORD, I will be the God of all the tribes of Israel, and they shall be my people. Thus says the LORD: The people that escaped the sword have found favor in the desert. As Israel comes forward to be given his rest, the LORD appears to him from afar: 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. Jeremiah 3:1-4
And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, "Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon." But he did not say a word in answer to her. His disciples came and asked him, "Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us." Matthew 15:21-23
Piety
Go Into the World
Words & music by Joe Hand
Go into the world and proclaim the good news
Go into the world and profess His holy name
Those who believe His hand will save
for He has risen from the grave
And the world you know will never be the same.
He never said it would be easy
He never said it would come free
The road that leads to Heaven
climbs a hill called Calvary.
Go into the world and remember what He said
Never forget He has risen from the dead
For the Lord will live in you
only if you ask Him to
Come to know Him in the breaking of the bread.
Do not give in to doubt or be deceived
away from the love that He wants us to receive
Decide to follow the Lord's way
You are born again that day
the Heaven's will rejoice the hour that you believe.
Never said it would be easy
Never said it would come free
"If you want to get to heaven
take your cross and follow me."
Study
Once again, we are confronted with a scene in which the disciples want to send away another person who has turned to Jesus for healing much in the same way they wanted to send home the people who had gathered to hear Jesus preach.
However, Jesus can not and does not continue to ignore the woman whose daughter needs healing. Jesus can not and does not continue to ignore a person which such great faith. Even though she might not be a Jew, Jesus knows that his ministry is for all people.
Jesus doesn't check passports before handing out forgiveness. He doesn't consult a list of approved persons maintained by the Department of State, Department of Homeland Security or the Department of the Treasury. He just hands out forgiveness and mercy to all who seek it.
Culturally, it is hard for the disciples to adjust to this new practice in which Jesus embraces all people in his ministry. His mission includes everyone from the Samaritan woman at the well to the Roman centurion to the Pharisee Nicodemus. With age-old love I have loved you; so I have kept my mercy toward you.
Action
If we are to live out these difficult lessons in this difficult time, it won’t be any easier for us than it was for the disciples or for the Jews of Jeremiah’s time who survived execution only to be banished to the desert.
This week, we have a chance to see this mercy and love in action as the nuns at the Benedictine monastery in Bristow, VA, and all who were touched by her life cope with the loss of Sister Denise Mosier, O.S.B., who was killed when the car she was riding in was hit by a car driven by Carlos A. Martinelly-Montano who is charged with driving while intoxicated. The headline in today’s Washington Post summarizes the challenge: “Nuns at Virginia monastery find room to forgive while mourning sister's death.”
We all have experienced the figurative desert in our lifetime. Sometimes it is easier to see ourselves as the person banished to the desert. We want to be the people who are restored. However, today we also are called to be people of forgiveness.
As the nuns in the monastery in Bristow are showing us, living out the call to mercy may not be easy. But Jesus never said it would be easy. He only promised that it would be worth it.
Who must you forgive this week? Who is the woman with the tormented daughter in your life? Who is the Carlos A. Martinelly-Montano in your life? When the doorbell rings, don’t send that person or persons away. Let Jesus and his new servant on the cloud of witnesses, Sr. Denise, guide you.
May the soul of Sr. Denise and the souls of all the faithfully departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. May her sisters find teh healing and strength Jesus freely gave to the mother who turned to him in great faith. May Mr. Martinelly-Montano and his family find the peace and forgiveness that they seek.
