08/04/2004: "Daily Reflection on Scripture"

OK, it's supposed to be daily

There are a number of times in scripture when I'm surprised by what seems like indecisiveness by God. A couple weeks ago at Sunday Mass we heard the story of God deciding to spare Sodom because of Abraham's insistence that God not do so if he could find any righteous people in the town. It seems from that story that God was convinced that He was going to destroy the town but changed his mind only because of Abraham's persistence.

Today in the Gospel the Canaanite woman also seems to change God's mind. While Jesus seemed determined not to respond to her request, her persistence eventually pays off and Christ grants her wish.

So what are we to make of this. Is our God not Omnipotent and All Powerful? An indecisive God who can be swayed by the logic of a human doesn't seem to fit that bill from my opinion.

But maybe we are missing the point entirely when we think this way. It seems to me that God fully knows what He's going to do: I'm going to destroy this town unless Abraham speaks up for them in a Holy way. Or: I'm going to ignore the Canaanite woman unless she willing to be humble enough to be willing to take the scraps from the table.

What it seems to say to me is that God wants us to be persistent. He wants us to pray. He wants us to bring our petitions to Him over and over and over again. He wants us to ask for forgiveness and pray for His mercy over and over and over again.

May we all have the determination to never give up our Faith in Our Lord and to constantly be reaching to Him with the request: Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.