God on a schedule

Today’s Gospel
At that time Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out,
"Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!
My daughter is tormented by a demon."
But he did not say a word in answer to her.
His disciples came and asked him,
"Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us."
He said in reply,
"I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
But the woman came and did him homage, saying, "Lord, help me."
He said in reply,
"It is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs."
She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps
that fall from the table of their masters."
Then Jesus said to her in reply,
"O woman, great is your faith!
Let it be done for you as you wish."
And her daughter was healed from that hour.
(Matthew: 15:21-28)

"Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us." How annoying it is sometimes, to feel called. To feel needed. Especially when you have much better things to be getting on with. At my Pax Christi meeting this week our conversation turned to the old question of whether you can serve both God and money. Then someone asked, how can you tell when you’re really serving God? One person said that she feels like she serves God on a schedule. It’s Sunday, she goes to Church. It’s the fourth Thursday of the month, she works at the homeless shelter. But when she’s walking out of the grocery store and juggling her cell phone and her purse and her purchases, putting her change back in her wallet when a homeless man asks for money to buy something to eat … well, God is interrupting her schedule. Or so it seems.

So we continue to pray, for great faith. Funny how that works, praying for faith itself is an act of faith. And little by little, we hope, our schedule becomes God’s schedule.

Have a good day everyone. Off to work for me … where I DO have a schedule!!