The Consistency in Faith

HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE FIFTH WEEK IN THE ORDINARY TIME YEAR A,
BY REV FR EKESHIRI JUDE EMEKA CSSP.
THEME: CONSISTENCY IN FAITH
(1 Kings 11:4-13, Psalm 105:3-4,35-37,40, Mark 7:24-30)

Consistency is a virtue that unlocks the door for future opportunities. In the face of desperation, consistency gives one courage and hope to move ahead of time. It could serve as a demonstration of our faith in God’s time. In the gospel of today, we come across a desperate woman who persisted in spite of everything that was thrown at her. The gospel says that, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Jesus, straightaway she came and fell at His feet. Now the woman was a pagan, by birth a Syrophoenician, and she begged Him to cast the devil out of her daughter. And Jesus said to her, the children should be fed first, because it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house-dogs.’ But she spoke up: ‘Ah yes, sir,’ she replied ‘but the house-dogs under the table can eat the children’s scraps.’ And He said to her, ‘For saying this, you may go home happy: the devil has gone out of your daughter.’ So she went off to her home and found the child lying on the bed and the devil gone” (Mark 7:24-30). The reaction of this pagan woman is heroic. She deserves being rewarded by the miracle Jesus offered to her child. Under normal circumstances, one would consider Jesus’s statements to be an insult, but she took it as an opportunity to express her faith in Jesus. At first, Jesus ignored her and later compared her to a dog. But she persisted and finally got the favour desired from the Lord. At times, we cry to God for solutions to our problems yet no results. Consequently, we give up on approaching God too easily because of desperation and pride, forgetting that God’s silence is not an indication of His unwillingness to meet our needs. When God keeps silent to our plea, most times, He is simply preparing something huge for us. God’s silence, per se, serves to temper our faith and remind us that He operates on a schedule different from ours. Our faith is not defined by what we receive from God, but by what it takes to stop us from getting to God!So, like this woman in the gospel, no amount of insults and set back should discourage us from expressing our faith with firm courage. Let us be consistent in faith and miracles will come our way always. Peace be with you.