Dear Friends,
Today’s Gospel offers us as a model of prayer a woman who
comes before the judge with her request, repeatedly until he relents, lest he
be exhausted by her persistence. As I thought about her more, it became clear
to me that this woman is one of a group of feisty women in the Gospel who are also
persistent in their requests of Jesus. Persistence means not letting go,
realizing there is more effort to be made, and that the effort goes on until
the time is right for resolving the need.
Stand this woman next to the woman with the hemorrhage that
flowed for 18 years. Talk about a healing a long time coming! Jesus was on his
way to cure a little girl at the time that the woman touched Jesus. She didn’t ask Jesus to touch him. In fact,
she didn’t ask anyone if she could touch Jesus. This woman mingled in the
crowd, put out her hand to touch the tassel of his garment and felt healing
course through her. He felt it too. (Mark 5.28-33) She was persistent in her
belief she would find the healer whether he knew it or not, however long it
took, and she did.
On another occasion, Jesus was in a foreign place, when a
woman - a foreigner herself - approached him. Her daughter needed healing. At
first, Jesus said no, that he was sent to heal the broken of Israel. But she persisted.
The woman and Jesus did some verbal sparring, probably more playful than the solemn
interpretation we put on it. In the end, her persistence won out. (Matt.15.21-28)
In John’s Gospel,
Jesus was at a wedding with his disciples. His mother was there as well and she
noticed a social disaster in the making. The wine was running out. She went to
her son and said: “Son, they have no wine.” Jesus seemed to put her off, but
with the persistence of a mother, she said no more to him but turned to the
steward. “Do whatever he tells you.” (John 2.5) Sometimes persistence needs to
involve others in fulfilling the need, with only a few words.
Thinking about Mary Magdalen offers us another aspect of perseverance.
When she went out to the garden on Easter morning, Mary Magdalen expected to
find Jesus behind the stone in the tomb. But the stone was rolled away, and the
tomb was empty. (John 20.11 ff) Where was Jesus? She persevered in looking for
him until she found him. He was not what she expected. When we dare to look for Jesus to pursue our desires, we find him,
not as we expected, not where we expected but he is there, ready to speak our
name and engage us.
Are we like this group of women who pray and do not lose
heart? Personal, thorny issues sap our energy, and we want to give up.
National and international crises as well as local problems beat on us. These
biblical women encourage us to go on: stay
the course and not lose heart. God stands with outstretched arms at the end of
our persistence.
~ Sister Joan Sobala
