FAITH IN ACTION
20 SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

There was a huge mountain in front of her house। She did not like it as it obstructed the front vision of the house. She happened to read in the Gospel this saying of Jesus: “If you have the faith of a mustard seed, say to this mountain to be uprooted and fall in to the sea, it will happen.” She decided to test Jesus’ words. She went to a 10-day prayer with the intention of removing the mountain. She got into her room, closed the doors and started praying. Three days later, she opened the window a little bit to see whether anything is happening to the mountain. However, she was frustrated to see no movement. She continued her prayer. On the 9th day, she opened the window one more time to see the power of prayer. Still nothing happened to the mountain. In her anger, she said to herself: “I knew that nothing would go to happen… I wasted my time”. She quit the prayer on the 9th day.

Her prayer lacks two things: trust and perseverance। She started praying with doubt, her doubt overshadowed her faith, and eventually she gave up her prayer.

The Gospel reading for the 20th Sunday in ordinary time presents a perfect example of faith through the story of the Canaanite woman। This woman had all the reasons to doubt. She was not part of the chosen race. She was an outsider. The conventional wisdom was against her. However, she broke the self-imposed and the socially forced barriers. She took the risk and was not willing to give up. The magnitude of her faith and the strength of her persistence were tested several times. By His silence, Jesus ignored her, by His comment (I have send only to the lost children of Israel) Jesus rejected her and by the choice of His words, Jesus humiliated her. However, she sticks to her demands until it yielded result. Faith is throwing oneself into the hands of God. It is approaching God without prejudice. It is all about complete trust.

Through her story, Jesus too, taught his disciples a couple of vital lessons। First, the essence of faith is trust, and nothing else. Ritually and legally, you may be an insider in the religious structure but only through trusting faith, you can become an insider in the circle of Jesus.

Secondly, God’s house is “house of prayer for all people.” Our mission is to reach out and embrace all, regardless of their standing. This was the mission of Jesus. “I have other sheep which do not belong to this fold, I have to bring them too,” Jesus said while explaining the parable of the Good shepherd. How is my attitude towards people who do not fit into my religious category? How do I make others feel at home in our parish community?