Today’s text
Matthew 14:21-28
Jesus left that place and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And suddenly out came a Canaanite woman from that district and started shouting, 'Lord, Son of David, take pity on me. My daughter is tormented by a devil.' But he said not a word in answer to her. And his disciples went and pleaded with him, saying, 'Give her what she wants, because she keeps shouting after us.' He said in reply, 'I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.' But the woman had come up and was bowing low before him. 'Lord,' she said, 'help me.' He replied, 'It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to little dogs.' She retorted, 'Ah yes, Lord; but even little dogs eat the scraps that fall from their masters' table.' Then Jesus answered her, 'Woman, you have great faith. Let your desire be granted.' And from that moment her daughter was well again.
Prayer
Two desires meet, and miracles happen. Your heart, Jesus, and the soul of a frightened woman, what have they in common? Only this: a burning desire that creation should live in fullness, in abundance, in wonder, in joy, in wholeness, immersed in the joy of living and loving. Only this.
Her desire echoes your own heart, Jesus. Both of you are transparent (in various degrees, of course) to the Eternal Wonder, the Loving Mystery, revealing the gracious will of eternity for our lives. She knew it; so did you.
Oh, sure, you turned from her. You jousted with clever sayings. You objected that your mission was first to the lost of Israel, not to the dogs doomed to slink about the edges of society.
But how could you turn away a soul who knew what love could do--and demanded it for her child? You couldn’t. She knew what her love was capable of, and she a mere mortal. How much more, then, might mere crumbs of God’s abundance accomplish for her little one?
You saw that, Jesus, and you called it great. But greater still is this: We find in our hearts this same love and desire to be whole and to see your world whole, made so by a love we cannot fathom.
Our hearts, too, are transparent to Eternal Wonder; the seeds of your loving have taken root in us.
So let them grow into something beautiful for you. And perhaps we, too, will shine with the greatness of this woman.
Pr. David L. Miller
http://prayingthemystery.blogspot.com/
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Friday, August 15, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Today’s text
Matthew 14:21-28
Jesus left that place and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And suddenly out came a Canaanite woman from that district and started shouting, 'Lord, Son of David, take pity on me. My daughter is tormented by a devil.' But he said not a word in answer to her. And his disciples went and pleaded with him, saying, 'Give her what she wants, because she keeps shouting after us.' He said in reply, 'I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.' But the woman had come up and was bowing low before him. 'Lord,' she said, 'help me.' He replied, 'It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to little dogs.' She retorted, 'Ah yes, Lord; but even little dogs eat the scraps that fall from their masters' table.' Then Jesus answered her, 'Woman, you have great faith. Let your desire be granted.' And from that moment her daughter was well again.
Prayer
But not everyone’s desire is granted, Jesus. Many cry to you in the heat of the hell they live. They seek any the least drop of water to cool the torment of souls that know no peace. Even now I name two souls before you in the dark silence of my heart.
But their darkness is deeper still. They grieve, again, new life delivered silent into this world, a life that could have been but which lays still and breathless. She lays there, a little girl who will never know her mother’s soft cheek, her father’s protective embrace. Her parents will never watch her dark hair bounce in the sunlight as she runs across a playground.
How many times must they go through this? How long, O Lord, must they suffer and mourn? How long before their love embraces the new life you allow men and women to make from their love? How long before their hearts can hope and sing again?
I do not understand this. Why should those who abuse children, your little ones, be allowed to have them, and these two cannot, though love is their nature?
All we have are questions, pain, disappointment and the frustration of seeing you heal a child in response to her mother’s pleas. But we pled; many pled for the life of this one now lost. But there was no answer, or none we wanted.
What are we to do? Where are we to go? There is no one but you who can console the hearts of those who mourn, and there is no one who can hold this tiny, lifeless child in the arms of eternity’s grace. No one, but you.
So hold this child, Jesus, and hold us, too. Surround these parents with the comfort of a love that will not quit. For we will not stop insisting; we will not be turned away unsatisfied. Be for us the love you are. Make that love happen, here, now.
Pr. David L. Miller
Matthew 14:21-28
Jesus left that place and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And suddenly out came a Canaanite woman from that district and started shouting, 'Lord, Son of David, take pity on me. My daughter is tormented by a devil.' But he said not a word in answer to her. And his disciples went and pleaded with him, saying, 'Give her what she wants, because she keeps shouting after us.' He said in reply, 'I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.' But the woman had come up and was bowing low before him. 'Lord,' she said, 'help me.' He replied, 'It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to little dogs.' She retorted, 'Ah yes, Lord; but even little dogs eat the scraps that fall from their masters' table.' Then Jesus answered her, 'Woman, you have great faith. Let your desire be granted.' And from that moment her daughter was well again.
Prayer
But not everyone’s desire is granted, Jesus. Many cry to you in the heat of the hell they live. They seek any the least drop of water to cool the torment of souls that know no peace. Even now I name two souls before you in the dark silence of my heart.
But their darkness is deeper still. They grieve, again, new life delivered silent into this world, a life that could have been but which lays still and breathless. She lays there, a little girl who will never know her mother’s soft cheek, her father’s protective embrace. Her parents will never watch her dark hair bounce in the sunlight as she runs across a playground.
How many times must they go through this? How long, O Lord, must they suffer and mourn? How long before their love embraces the new life you allow men and women to make from their love? How long before their hearts can hope and sing again?
I do not understand this. Why should those who abuse children, your little ones, be allowed to have them, and these two cannot, though love is their nature?
All we have are questions, pain, disappointment and the frustration of seeing you heal a child in response to her mother’s pleas. But we pled; many pled for the life of this one now lost. But there was no answer, or none we wanted.
What are we to do? Where are we to go? There is no one but you who can console the hearts of those who mourn, and there is no one who can hold this tiny, lifeless child in the arms of eternity’s grace. No one, but you.
So hold this child, Jesus, and hold us, too. Surround these parents with the comfort of a love that will not quit. For we will not stop insisting; we will not be turned away unsatisfied. Be for us the love you are. Make that love happen, here, now.
Pr. David L. Miller
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Today’s text
Matthew 14:21-28
Jesus left that place and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And suddenly out came a Canaanite woman from that district and started shouting, 'Lord, Son of David, take pity on me. My daughter is tormented by a devil.' But he said not a word in answer to her. And his disciples went and pleaded with him, saying, 'Give her what she wants, because she keeps shouting after us.' He said in reply, 'I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.' But the woman had come up and was bowing low before him. 'Lord,' she said, 'help me.' He replied, 'It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to little dogs.' She retorted, 'Ah yes, Lord; but even little dogs eat the scraps that fall from their masters' table.' Then Jesus answered her, 'Woman, you have great faith. Let your desire be granted.' And from that moment her daughter was well again.
Prayer
Did you mean it when you called her a dog, Jesus? Or was this play and a ploy? We play with words all the time, joking, mock insults, verbal jousting, all to see who can be most clever. Such banter is well understood among friends, the better the friend the more rapid the repartee.
But this woman was not your friend, Jesus. She was an outsider, an undesirable. She had no place at the table of God’s grace. The abundance of blessing intended for God’s chosen was not hers to claim. She could only skulk beneath the table hoping for a few crumbs.
I am not sure how this amounts to great faith. But I see the surprised pleasure and amazement on your face as you wheel about and proclaim the greatness of what is in her. That look is real to me as my fingers on these keys.
So, too, is the constancy and fidelity I see in her. She stays put even when it is hard, hoping even expecting that some good, some blessing, maybe even something amazing can yet happen.
And it does: Because even the crumbs from the table of your abundance are enough for us, whoever we are, wherever we go.
Pr. David L. Miller
Matthew 14:21-28
Jesus left that place and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And suddenly out came a Canaanite woman from that district and started shouting, 'Lord, Son of David, take pity on me. My daughter is tormented by a devil.' But he said not a word in answer to her. And his disciples went and pleaded with him, saying, 'Give her what she wants, because she keeps shouting after us.' He said in reply, 'I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.' But the woman had come up and was bowing low before him. 'Lord,' she said, 'help me.' He replied, 'It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to little dogs.' She retorted, 'Ah yes, Lord; but even little dogs eat the scraps that fall from their masters' table.' Then Jesus answered her, 'Woman, you have great faith. Let your desire be granted.' And from that moment her daughter was well again.
Prayer
Did you mean it when you called her a dog, Jesus? Or was this play and a ploy? We play with words all the time, joking, mock insults, verbal jousting, all to see who can be most clever. Such banter is well understood among friends, the better the friend the more rapid the repartee.
But this woman was not your friend, Jesus. She was an outsider, an undesirable. She had no place at the table of God’s grace. The abundance of blessing intended for God’s chosen was not hers to claim. She could only skulk beneath the table hoping for a few crumbs.
I am not sure how this amounts to great faith. But I see the surprised pleasure and amazement on your face as you wheel about and proclaim the greatness of what is in her. That look is real to me as my fingers on these keys.
So, too, is the constancy and fidelity I see in her. She stays put even when it is hard, hoping even expecting that some good, some blessing, maybe even something amazing can yet happen.
And it does: Because even the crumbs from the table of your abundance are enough for us, whoever we are, wherever we go.
Pr. David L. Miller
Monday, August 11, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
Today’s text
Matthew 14:21-28
Jesus left that place and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And suddenly out came a Canaanite woman from that district and started shouting, 'Lord, Son of David, take pity on me. My daughter is tormented by a devil.' But he said not a word in answer to her. And his disciples went and pleaded with him, saying, 'Give her what she wants, because she keeps shouting after us.' He said in reply, 'I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.' But the woman had come up and was bowing low before him. 'Lord,' she said, 'help me.' He replied, 'It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to little dogs.' She retorted, 'Ah yes, Lord; but even little dogs eat the scraps that fall from their masters' table.' Then Jesus answered her, 'Woman, you have great faith. Let your desire be granted.' And from that moment her daughter was well again.
Prayer
I love this woman, Jesus. She does nothing to deny the human state. To be human is to need, and there is no denial in her, no attempt to hide the crying want at the core of her being, no phony presumption, no charade.
You should recognize her need, Jesus. It is the same one that moved you. Her need is shaped by a burning love for a child, a child who could not know the abundance of life and joy you intend--that love and life we would deny ourselves to give to our little ones.
You know that love, Jesus. It is the purest fire of burning desire. And it this of which your heart is composed, unsullied by anything less.
It this why you toyed with her? To see if it were real in her, too? To draw from her depths what you suspected was there? To provoke a loving heart to reveal the love that is its life and pain?
I don’t know. But I am certain it is love that kept her pushing on despite your rebuff. It is love that considered personal insult of no consequence in the face of her beloved’s need. And it is love that knows that even the crumbs of God’s love are more than enough for us.
Pr. David L. Miller
Matthew 14:21-28
Jesus left that place and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And suddenly out came a Canaanite woman from that district and started shouting, 'Lord, Son of David, take pity on me. My daughter is tormented by a devil.' But he said not a word in answer to her. And his disciples went and pleaded with him, saying, 'Give her what she wants, because she keeps shouting after us.' He said in reply, 'I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.' But the woman had come up and was bowing low before him. 'Lord,' she said, 'help me.' He replied, 'It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to little dogs.' She retorted, 'Ah yes, Lord; but even little dogs eat the scraps that fall from their masters' table.' Then Jesus answered her, 'Woman, you have great faith. Let your desire be granted.' And from that moment her daughter was well again.
Prayer
I love this woman, Jesus. She does nothing to deny the human state. To be human is to need, and there is no denial in her, no attempt to hide the crying want at the core of her being, no phony presumption, no charade.
You should recognize her need, Jesus. It is the same one that moved you. Her need is shaped by a burning love for a child, a child who could not know the abundance of life and joy you intend--that love and life we would deny ourselves to give to our little ones.
You know that love, Jesus. It is the purest fire of burning desire. And it this of which your heart is composed, unsullied by anything less.
It this why you toyed with her? To see if it were real in her, too? To draw from her depths what you suspected was there? To provoke a loving heart to reveal the love that is its life and pain?
I don’t know. But I am certain it is love that kept her pushing on despite your rebuff. It is love that considered personal insult of no consequence in the face of her beloved’s need. And it is love that knows that even the crumbs of God’s love are more than enough for us.
Pr. David L. Miller
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