The Journey 79: Tranformation in the life of sick and suffering

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Read: Mark 7:24-30
Key Bible Verse: “ Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His loving kindness to a thousand generation with those who love him and keep His commandments”. [ Deuteronomy 7:9]
                        The Late Rev. C. P. Wilson. Who can forget this former vicar of the Philadelphia Marthoma Church. An unassuming person, gentle and kind, an individual with deep thinking and very down to earth person. We were contemporaries in the seminary and later also became close family friends. The death of Wilson achen has been a terrible blow to all those who knew him. But it was his family members, especially his wife Praisy who had to bear this huge personal loss as she suddenly had to grapple with her world and dreams shattered and her two daughters, to be nurtured all alone. Four years has gone down the lane since Wilson achen has gone to be with our Lord. But last month, as people reminiscenced achen,  there was an event that went  unnoticed. There was no fanfare nor celebrations. Praisy Kochamma became Dr. Praisy Wilson.  In the midst of the grief due to the loss of her husband, in the  midst of the huge responsibility of raising and nurturing two girl children, Praisy Kochamma  added another feather to her cap. The Serampore University, conferred on Kochamma the doctoral degree [Ph.D] in theology at their annual convocation last month. A lady who silent bore the brunt of the loss of her husband, a lady with resoluteness and commitment to the Lord, a Kochamma who focused steadily and constantly on her academic goals, has been finally rewarded for her diligent and hard work. I believe Praisy Kochamma is a model to all people who when faced with crisis in life, becomes stiff and paralyzed. She teaches us to rise above the hostile circumstance with the grace and the strength that our Lord gives and show excellence in all aspects of life. This is what transformation in life is all about.
                     This week we are meditating on the theme             “ Transforming the life of the sick and the suffering” based on the life of the Syrian Phoenician woman whose daughter was unwell.  In the beginning of the portion that we read [  Mark 7:24-30], we find that Jesus enters the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon. This is a step that Jesus consciously takes to cross cultural and religious boundary to do his ministry along with his disciples. That is when this woman of the race of Syrian Phoenicia come to meet her. She needed Jesus to address her immediate need of healing her daughter and we do not know how long she might have suffered on account of her daughter. But instead of alleviating her suffering as early as possible, Jesus confronts and communicates with the woman with a discussion on His ministry and mission. But as discussion and confrontation progressed one thing was clear, that this woman knew what she wanted and she was ready to  bend, ready to be humbled, and ready to persevere and go to any extent to receive the blessing that she thought that she could receive from Jesus Christ. It is here that we learn valuable lessons in life. All the gains in life happens only when we are ready to humble ourselves, ready to be broken down and more than that when we are going through hostile circumstances, when we feel that the whole world is against us and that is a lonely battle that is being fought in life, the Syrian Phoenician woman teaches us, not to loose hope, but to move  forward by taking small steps, not to loose the track and the goal that we have in life. The author Hebrews says that we need to look unto Jesus who is the author and perfector of faith [ Heb 12:1], and that is when our persistence and our faith in the Lord will bring the desired results.
Ready to humble oneself, Ready to take small steps in this lonely journey of life? Take courage, the Lord will empower us with His Holy Spirit so that we can reach the desired destination and achieve what He has stored for us.
But He is asking “ Do you know what you want in life”?
Let us Pray: Dear Lord there are times in life when we feel that we are all alone and battling the forces of life without any hope. Thank you for teaching us not to loose hope and persistence in life and to always look unto you for hope and perseverance. Amen

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