Everything is grace

What a grace it is to have faith! If I had no faith,

I would have inflicted death on myself without hesitating a moment!”

                                                   -St. Therese of Lisieux

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

1 Kings 11:4-13

In Solomon's old age,

His wives led him astray to serve other gods and, unlike his father David,

his heart was no longer wholly given to Yahweh, his God.

For he served Astarte the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom, the idol of the Ammonites.

He did what displeased Yahweh and, unlike his father David, was unfaithful to him.

Solomon even built a high place for Chemosh, the idol of Moab, on the mountain east of Jerusalem and also for Molech,

the idol of the Ammonites. He did the same for all his foreign wives who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

 

Yahweh became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from Yahweh, the God of Israel.

Yahweh appeared to him twice and commanded him not to follow other gods.

But he did not obey Yahweh's command.Therefore, Yahweh said to Solomon,

Since this has been your choice and you have kept neither my Covenant nor the statutes I commanded you,

 

I will take the kingdom from you and give it to your servant. Nevertheless,

I will not do this during your lifetime for the sake of your father David;

I will take it from your son. But I will not take it all;

I will reserve one tribe for your son for the sake of David my servant,

and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen."

 

Ps 106:3-4, 35-36, 37, 40

Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

Mark 7:24-30

When Jesus left that place, he went to the border of the Tyrian country.

There, he entered a house, and did not want anyone to know he was there;

but he could not remain hidden. A woman, whose small daughter had an evil spirit,

heard of him, and came and fell at his feet. Now this woman was a pagan,

a Syrophoenician by birth, and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter. Jesus told her,

 

"Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the puppies."

But she replied, "Sir, even the puppies under the table eat the crumbs from the children's bread,"

Then Jesus said to her, "You may go your way; because of such a response,

the demon has gone out of your daughter." And when the woman went home,

she found her child lying in bed, and the demon gone.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

Everything is grace.

The woman approached the Lord and requested a favor. However, the Lord was unwilling to listen to her,

so he gave her a blunt and seemingly insulting reply. Confronted with the Lord's response,

the woman remained undeterred and recognized her limitations. Instead,

she sought mercy, which she believed she did not deserve.

In her response, Jesus recognized authenticity, profound humility, and a pure heart and granted her request.

What can we learn from the woman's attitude then?

 

Two things. First, the Lord desires our authenticity, prompting us to approach God without pretense,

with utmost humility and complete transparency.

Like the woman in the Gospel, we do not deserve blessings from God;

everything is grace, all stemming from the benevolence of a loving Father. Secondly,

we are invited to cultivate a lasting relationship with the Master,

rather than behaving like dogs that wander or sleep when satisfied and only bark when in need.

We are challenged to forge a close and faithful relationship

with God - one that is so open that we don't have to ask for our needs.