Feast of St. Theresa Benedicta of the Cross (Mt. 15:21-28) “Jesus Evolved?”

Feast of St. Theresa Benedicta of the Cross (Mt. 15:21-28) “Jesus Evolved?”

We might wonder if Jesus ever changed his mind about an issue he dealt with in his ministry.  If we emphasize the divinity of Christ, we will say that Jesus had a plan about what he wanted to do in his ministry.  He had all the answers, and he did not ask what his course of action should be.

If we emphasize the humanity of Christ, we will say that Jesus slowly grew in his understanding of his ministry.  He might have had one idea at the beginning of his ministry and his ideas changed as he went along.  We also might say that he learned new truths from others.

Today’s Gospel would be an example of this idea.  Jesus seemed to believe at the start of his ministry that he was to concern himself with the Jewish people.  He wanted to teach them the Gospel message.  He wanted them to reform and save themselves.  He was not at all concerned about any Gentiles he met.  He certainly did not believe that they could be good disciples.

But the Canaanite woman he meets in this Gospel, who pleads with Jesus to restore her daughter to health, challenges his narrow focus.  Would the God of love that Jesus taught about ignore the needs of most of the world’s population simply because people were not of the same race as Jesus.  This would seem to be a rather bigoted position.

Jesus was challenged to think again.  When he did, he began to expand his mission.  The woman obviously had a good heart and a deep faith.  How could our divine savior turn his back on her? 

Jesus ended up helping her and he started to help other Gentiles.  He even helped Romans who came to him asking for healing.  He turned no one away.  Everyone could follow the Gospel way.

Paul picked up on this openness and became the Apostle to the Gentiles.  Perhaps we can thank the Canaanite woman for the fact that we are able to be Christian today.

Reflection Questions:

1.  Do I think Jesus changed his mind at times?  Why or why not?

2.  Has my thinking ever changed about something important?  What was it?

Dear Parishioners,

         Each year we try to have a night for our liturgical ministers.  We ask someone to come to speak to us about worship in the Catholic Church.  This year, rather than have a separate night, I would ask our liturgical ministers to gather with Fr. Luke Spannagel on Sunday August 20th. 

        Fr. Luke will be speaking on the Eucharist at 4 p.m. in our church.  There will be Adoration and Benediction along with this presentation.  Also, there will be refreshments following in our Gathering Center.  Come join us and receive some ongoing Catechesis about the Mass.

         May our Lady Bless us as we live on this day.  

        Fr. Mark