all these women were at various points in
their lives pleading with God for their
children to know, love and serve Him. A
mother’s prayer might possibly be the most
powerful of all prayers. I believe Jesus
holds a special place in His heart for
mothers. I mean, His first public miracle was performed earlier than He wanted only because His mother asked Him to perform it.
Today’s Gospel is intriguing to me for two
reasons. First, this is one of the only times
in the Bible that Jesus shows His totally
human side. Sometimes it can be so
difficult to comprehend that Jesus was fully
divine, and fully human, until you read a
Gospel like today’s. Jesus was asked to
perform this miracle, and His initial
response is that you do not take food from
children and give it to dogs. It is only when
the woman persists in her pleading with the
Lord, that He blesses her and her family
because of her great faith. What a beautiful
message for everyone, but especially for
parents. Your pleading with the Lord will
never be unheard, even if you do not
personally see the effects of your prayers.
The second aspect of the Gospel that
intrigued me is that this mother left her
afflicted daughter in her home and went
searching for Jesus. She came with a small
amount of faith that He might somehow
bring back the daughter whom she knew to
be much more than the demon that
tormented her. The reason I find this part of
her story so interesting is because I’ve
learned, through discussions with my own
mother and mother-like figures in my life,
that some of the most difficult things they’ve
had to do as mothers is “leave” their
children to whatever choices or situations
they get themselves into. The only comfort
mothers have during those times is to cling
to the Lord.
I can say first hand, sometimes during my
teenage years, I put my mama through the
ringer. Looking back with her now, I see that
she never left the side of Jesus, always
pleading with Him on my behalf. And though
I didn’t realize it or appreciate it, it was one
of the best things she could ever do for me
as my mama. To conclude, I give a word of
encouragement, specifically to mamas
reading this, from a daughter whose mother pleaded for me, never stop praying, especially for your children. The Lord hears you in a special way, and He will
never let those prayers go unanswered.