August
17, 2008
When
God Says "No"
In
case you didn't hear
The Westbury Village Zoning Board has unanimously approved the request
to use our Convent Building for Westbrook Preparatory School -- a residential
school for 24 children with Asperger Syndrome. Thank you again to all
who came out to support this proposal. Now all we need to do is finalize
the lease.
If
you don't like the weather...
Wait
ten minutes. That seems to be the case up here in the Finger Lakes region
of New York State where I’ve been staying a few days since I had
a wedding here. I understand the Long Island weather has been a bit
changeable too. But here it changes almost every half hour. Spiritually,
“waiting” can also be a good thing. Our perspectives, our
hopes, our outlooks can change when we give it some time. So, if you’re
a but “under the weather,” wait a bit. The Son shines!
e-mail Father Ralph:
Past
Columns:
August 10: The Tiny Whispering
Sound
August 3: A Proud and Tender
Moment
July 27: What
would you ask for?
July 20: Waiting
for the Wheat
July
13: What we Wear
uly
6: We Welcome Westbrook
June
29: Sommer in the Summer
June 22: Welcome
Father Jaime
June 15: Father
Gonzalo Lopez
June 8: What happened
on Sunday
June 1: Where
do you belong?
May
25: We are the Body of Christ
May 18: Trinity,
It's About Unity
May 11: We are
One in the Spirit
May 4: Who's in
Your Top Twelve?
April 27: Now
that he's gone...
April 20: Yay
Deacons!
April 13: Here
comes the Pope
April 6: Fresh Oil
March 30: What are you doing
for Easter?
March 23: Can Easter come
too early?
March 16: Which crowd is
yours?
March 9: We believe, yet...
March 2: Oil or Mud
February
24: What are you thirsting for?
February 17: Who are You
Wearing?
February 10: Just Say No
February
3: The January
20: Being Safer
January 13: Conversations
in 2008
January 6: Matthew's Magi
December 30:
What's Next?
Columns from
2007
Columns
from 2005
Columns
from 2004
Columns
from 2003
Columns from 2002
I
was sitting around a campfire this past week discussing today’s
somewhat disturbing Gospel (Jesus calls a Samaritan woman a “dog”???)
with friends (and who doesn’t use campfire time these days to ponder
the gospels?) trying to see how this story fits into our lives. The children
and the adults all weighed in with their insights which included:
• Jesus might have felt cranky after all the demands for healing
put on him. After all, he didn’t just come into the world to deal
with illness -- he had other work to do and he didn’t want to start
‘branching out’ into other cultures before he had finished
his mission to the people of Israel. (Jesus got tired and frustrated like
other people.)
• Matthew (the gospel writer) knew that the first Jewish Christians
in his community were mean to Samaritans (and maybe they called them dogs)
and this story shows that Jesus eventually accepted the Samaritan woman’s
faith -- and that the Christian community should accept other people too.
• What would we do if it seemed that God said “no” to
one of our prayers? (The campfire group had different ideas of what they’d
say to Jesus like -- “Fine! If you feel that way, I’ll go
somewhere else!” -- or -- “Please, Jesus, you don’t
understand, you’ve GOT to help!” --or-- someone suggested
that they might be so angry that they would even strike him -- or “Take
my life if you want, just let my daughter live.”)
Whether you have the chance to
sit around a campfire or not, it is good to consider the aspects of the
gospels each week. How would you answer the question: “How do you
respond when it seems that God says ‘no’ to your prayer?”
The Samaritan woman wouldn’t
take no for an answer because she had faith that Jesus could and would
help her. She sticks to her beliefs and her belief is vindicated. Some
people today “leave the faith” when they don’t believe
that God is answering their prayers. Let’s pray for them and seek
them out and share our faith so that they’ll re-connect with Jesus
and the church community. For in Jesus we do find the answer to our prayers.
