Faith Daily |4 August 2021

PRAYER of the DAY - PENTECOST APBA p568

Almighty God,

whose beloved Son for our sake

willingly endured the agony and shame of the cross:

give us courage and patience

to take up our cross daily and follow him;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever.

Amen.

GOSPEL for the Day: Matthew 15: 21-28

21Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” 23But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” 24He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 27She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly

GOSPEL Reflection: Contributed by: Michelle Chapman

As Jesus travelled I image multitudes of people who needed more from Jesus than words. I image different people for different reasons wanting to be physically close to Jesus. Many people probably wanted to ask Jesus a specific question, often about someone they love. Agony for a beloved person who suffers is so often suffering itself. The Canaanite woman mentioned in this scripture is in agony herself, about her beloved daughter who “is demon possessed and suffering terribly”. The woman had cried out to Jesus but he did not answer “a word”, the scriptures say. Jesus’ disciples say “send her away, for she keeps crying out after us”. Of course the woman continued to cry out to Jesus, as we must too, as we agonise and pray for those we love and care about. The woman came closer to Jesus, she knelt before him saying “Lord, help me!” We need to move closer to Jesus through the Holy Spirit in our intercession for others. Our walk with God needs to be in Jesus footsteps, reading the scriptures and ‘praying always’. The woman is in agony regarding her beloved daughter so any word from Jesus to her is engagement with God’s son and the woman powerfully believes that God’s beloved son can heal her daughter. What is our motivation and intent as we cry out to Jesus? Do we call Jesus our Lord as this woman did because this woman’s request was granted because of her “great faith”. As Jesus spoke the woman’s daughter was healed and I believe the woman was also healed from the demonic presence within her family home. Hallelujah!

FINAL PRAYER:

Lord our God, in you is our peace and hope.

We remember in your presence

all who are ill or suffering in any way.

We especially pray for those who feel

confused by life and who are not able to cope.

We pray for all who are in need of healing.Amen.