Saints of God,
...the Lord be with you!
All the readings this Sunday answer the questions “Whom does God not love?” and “What does it mean to be a Catholic Christian?”
In today’s Gospel according to Matthew (Matthew 15:21-28), Jesus gets a request from a non-Jewish mother to heal her daughter who is tormented by a demon. The disciples asked Jesus to send her away, and His reply seems to indicate that His understanding of His mission at that time was “only to the lost sheep of Israel.” But being persistent, even after having been called a dog, her reply, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters”, seems to awaken a deeper understanding of His mission: He is called to all lost sheep, no matter the tribe! Her daughter is healed. This must have been scandalous at the time it happened, and the Church Matthew was writing for was struggling with what to do with non-Jews who wanted to be disciples of Jesus. So, the lesson to be learned is that followers of Christ are called to minister to all in need. God loves everyone and to be a Catholic we are called to love everyone, particularly those in need.
One of the beautiful facts of being in downtown Tampa is that Sacred Heart’s parishioners encounter a multitude of people: residents, visitors, college students, those just passing through, the homeless. We come in contact with people of all ages, races, colors, religions and those with no religion; we meet the wealthy, the comfortable, and the poor. Yet what we all have in common is that we are all loved by the God who loves everyone. And as Christians we are commanded to show love and respect to all. As Jesus said, “Love God with your whole heart, soul, and strength…and love your neighbor as yourself.” We cannot say we love God if we do not show love (respect and care) for our neighbor.
None of this is easy and sometimes showing love for others is downright difficult, particularly in this time of so much polarization. That is why coming to Sunday Eucharist is so important. Here we see that we are not alone in striving to love. We are reminded through our reading of Scripture what God demands, and how Jesus acted. Jesus should be the one we imitate and follow: He is our only influencer. In Communion, we eat His Body and drink His Blood as that His very life courses through us. He gives us His own life to live in our own way in our own times.
Today, we read from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans (11:13-15; 29-32). The reading ends with these words, “For God delivered all to disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all.” God loves everyone, and has mercy upon everyone, even us. Let’s pay God’s mercy forward by being loving and merciful to all this week.
– Fr. Steve
