Fresh Dew Media

 20^TH SUNDAY, YEAR A: REFLECTION BY FR. JULIAN EKEH

THEME: WHAT DO YOU ATTRACT TO YOUR HOME?

(Mathew 15:21-28)

In today's Gospel Reading, we witnessed the Canaanite woman crying and following Jesus up and down, She cries out from the depth of her heart. She weeps bitterly for her daughter. She is really concerned and troubled about her plight. She must have suffered sleepless nights because of this child. She is just like some of our mothers who think round the clock for the upkeep of their family.

They think on how to provide next day's meals, how to pay fees for the children, This woman represent the men and women who are bothered about how to pay house rents, crying for one problem or the other. What are you crying for ? What do you weep about? Are those things worth weeping for? The woman in today's Gospel Reading reminds us of what we should weep for, how we ought to weep, before whom we should weep and what we should attract to our family and how to do the attraction.

 

CRY FOR DIVINE MERCY

This woman cried out for the mercy of God. It has dawned on her that men fail. No one else but God can help her. Even the gods of the Canaanites must have failed her. She turned to the son of David, The merciful one who will not leave his people at the mercy of any Goliath. Could it be that you are passing through any misfortune on account of your carelessness, wickedness, mistakes or misbehaviours? Call on the mercy of God. Turn to him and turn a new leaf. Dear father or mother, cry for Divine Mercy, Dear people of God kneel and weep for the evils and atrocities you have   committed. Weep for the many times you looked for wealth, power, connection, fame etc wrongly. Do restitution oh politicians. Go back to God learn from this woman today, she may have gone to wrong places in search of deliverance. where have you gone to while looking for progress and prosperity? Pray God to forgive you and repent. Ask for forgiveness for not dedicating your family to God. Ask for forgiveness for encouraging your children to take every other thing in life seriously except God. Ask for forgiveness for creating avenues through which demons possessed your children.

 

 WEEP FOR THE DEMONIC POSSESSIONS

The woman today in the gospel prayed Jesus to come to her aid with regard to the daughter possessed by the demon.

What are the powers operating in you, in your family and in our society today? Expose the demons to Jesus, report their cases to Jesus with prayers. Cry for alcoholic possession, weep for sugar mummy/daddy possession, weep for drug abuse possessions, weep for lazy/gossip possession, weep for the social media possession, of your family. Are you even concerned that your children can no longer talk with you without chatting on phone for 10 minutes? Does it bother you that your children can no longer read their books, Bible or even pray. They are possessed by spirits that shouldn't have possessed them. They have expelled Jesus from their lives.

Take them to Jesus through counselling, prayers, interactions, practice of virtues e t c

That was what the Canaanite woman did today. Can you tell Jesus to deliver you and your family from every power distracting you today.

 

Attract with faith

Many attract curses for their children, some attract hatred to their homes, others attract failure to the generation. The woman today in the gospel attracted healing, deliverance, goodness, fulfilment of desires to her family. she indeed attracted Jesus Himself the author of all that is good to her household.

Faith in God brings in a lot of good things to our lives, homes and society. Can we employ genuine faith in our dealings with God and people so as to introduce nothing but favours into our lives?

Let's use the weapon of faith to bring in peace, progress, happiness and love.

Believe in God while making your sincere effort even when it seems the Lord is far, let your faith be intact, you will surely attract God. But once you lose your faith, you have lost it all.

 

May the faith we have in Jesus be like that of the Canaanite woman that we may hear Jesus speaking to us in our various circumstances.

"Let it be done for you as you desire"

May your good heart desires come to you and may you be set free from every demonic possession manipulating you. May our society be miraculously delivered by God through Christ our Lord.

Amen

 

HAPPY SUNDAY (20th Sunday, Ordinary Time, Yr A)

Rev Fr Julian O Ekeh