Word to the Wise
Thursday, February 8, 2024 - Thursday in the 5th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Kgs 11:4-13 and Mark 7:24-30]"Let the children be fed first. For it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs." She replied and said to him, "Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children's scraps." [Mark]
This incident, reported also in Matthew 15:21-28, reflects an important moment in the history of Christianity. On the surface, Jesus is responding compassionately to a mother's plea. On a broader level, however, the important question of the meaning of Jesus' mission is at stake. The woman was not Jewish. Was Jesus' mission solely to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel?" [Matt. 15:24]? Or was Jesus' mission meant for the whole world? If the woman (and others) were to accept Jesus as Messiah, would she be required to follow Jewish observances in the Law of Moses? This would become one of the most important challenges the early Christian community would face. By the time the Gospel According to Mark was composed - and it is the earliest - the Council of Jerusalem had already occurred and the decision had been made that Gentile converts were to be held to a minimum observance (no food offered to idols and no blood of animals). St. Paul's decision to concentrate on preaching to Gentiles would have enormous consequences for the future of Christianity. [Acts 18:6].
When Pope St. John Paul ll proclaimed a "new evangelization," he was referring to an effort to renew Catholic faith in those who had become separated from the church or grown indifferent to the faith. That task has proven to be a very big one and the results have been mixed. The "Eucharistic Revival" which the American Bishops have promoted is in no small part the result of polls showing a lack of understanding of Catholic faith in "the real presence." Pope Francis has urged all baptized Catholics to become "missionary disciples." Our mission is to evangelize the world, including Catholics who have become "Gentiles by default!" "Preaching to the choir" is not going to get us very far! AMEN