Luke Pearson

Dear Friends,

The Daily Office Gospel reading for today reminds me of one of my favorite poems, Recognition, by Elfrida De Renne Barrow:

Disguised, a little hope
Came to my door one day,
And Begged for food and drink,
And pled to stay.
Frightened, my heart said, “Wait-
He may be born of sin.”
But then my soul sang out,
“Come in, come in.”

In relation to today’s Gospel, this poem raises the following question: How do we recognize Christ’s presence and his mission within our daily lives?

We must have the ability and determination to acknowledge where Jesus is and call out for his mercy. In the Gospel, the Canaanite woman yells for Jesus as soon as he enters Tyre and Sidon. She does not meekly call his name, nor does she passively raise her hand. Instead, she shouts out to him even when Jesus handpicked disciples are trying to silence her.

Furthermore, she calls him, “Lord, Son of David.” She recognizes that Jesus is Lord over all things, the Alpha and the Omega, and the Messiah sent to be the deliverer of the world. She is certain of this truth, even though to the best of our knowledge she did not see any of his miracles and she is considered an outsider to the “house of Israel.” The Canaanite woman leans on the hope that Jesus will hear her plea and grant mercy on her and her family. This is such an incredible example of what it is like to take a leap of faith!

The opposite can be said for the disciples. At this point in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus’s own disciples are still struggling to name Christ for who he truly is, the Messiah. Whether it was out of fear, confusion, or aggravation, the disciples leaned on their own understanding of God. They tried to silence a woman who recognized the Lamb of God right in front of them.

My friends, when we call out to Christ and call him by name, he will never ignore us. At times we may have to be persistent to get his attention, but I urge you to keep calling out to him. Scream at the top of your lungs if you have to, and the Lord’s mercy will come to you in beautiful and surprising ways. God knows each one of us by names and will love us in times of sorrow or in times of celebration.

We must do the same for our siblings in Christ. We all have the ability to empower God’s children to lift up their voices and not silence them based on our own understanding of God’s will for us. Our hearts cannot be frightened in deepening our faith. When we acknowledge someone in distress will we be by their side?  When we recognize that Jesus is at our doorstep, will we have the courage to say, “Come in, Come in.”?

Best,
Luke