A Certain Person

In 2 Cor 12:2-10 St. Paul writes of "a certain person," i.e., himself, who was "caught up in Paradise...." and received revelations of "surpassing excellence." Then God gave him a thorn in the flesh lest he boast of such revelations. Also, presumably lest his personal charm be the reason people believed his Gospel.

I also thank God for gifts of unutterable delights that are impossible to put into words. I'm so lucky. Today in church when I heard this passage I thought maybe that is why I feel so thorny.

Woman of Faith

The Canaanite Woman of Mt 15:21-28 (also known as the Syro-Phoenician woman of Mk 7:24-30) shows faith in action. And what does that faith look like?

Persistence. The disciples ask Jesus to get rid of her: "she keeps crying after them" -- and then even Jesus can't get rid of her.
He tries: "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But she persists.
He tries again: "It is not fair to take the children's bread and throw the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs." Phoo!
She persists again: "Yes, Lord, but even the little dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."

And thereby I sometimes think accomplishes the salvation of the Gentiles!

I used to worry that faced with the objections, I would never be able to come up with something so clever. Then I realized it's history. She did it. She answered for us. Just as he did it. He died for us.

Once and for all.