Thursday 8 February 2024

Today is Thursday the 8th of February, in the fifth week of Ordinary time.

Leslie Jordan with the Porter’s Gate sings, ‘Good to Me’. Can you let these words echo within you as you begin to pray today?

I can taste the sweetness of Your mercy
But I feel the sting of grief still in my chest
Not sure I've known the one without the other
So I will cling to the belief I know the best
You have been
You will be
You are so good to me
I reach out my hand in hopes You hold on
But time and time again find empty space
So I will keep open though they're shaking
And call to mind the time I felt the grip of grace
You have been
You will be
You are still here with me

Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Mark.

Mark 7:24-30

From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, ‘Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’ But she answered him, ‘Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.’ Then he said to her, ‘For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.’ So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Jesus doesn’t want anyone to know he’s ‘in the building’. You might have felt like this in a situation or two! But he’s tracked down. How do you think Jesus feels?

Watch the directness, the persistence of the woman who asks for help for her child. How does her voice sound to you? How does she gesture?

How do you feel about Jesus’ reaction to her request? Jesus is engaged in conversation; a robust, spirited conversation with a woman, and a woman from a different culture. How does that speak to you?

As you hear the passage again, is there something that catches your attention within the conversation?

As this reflection time draws to a close, allow yourself to be as direct in your prayer as the woman in today’s passage. Allow an open conversation with God. Notice how that feels. Notice how you think God might feel.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.