Some people appear to have it all but throw it all away; others who seem to have nothing can achieve great things through persistence and faithfulness. Fr Richard explores these contrasting fortunes in today’s reflection on the daily mass readings.
Readings for Thursday of the fifth week of Ordinary Time can be found here.
The world of film loves a story which centres around a reversal of fortunes, either rags to riches or the other way round. Examples include The Wolf of Wall Street, which tells the true story of Jordan Belfort. He was a successful stockbroker who became very wealthy but was brought down by a mixture of hedonism and greed. On the other hand, Slumdog Millionaire is about a boy from the slums of Mumbai, India, who overcomes many hardships to win big on a TV quiz show thanks to his natural talent.
We see both of these trajectories in our readings today. Solomon was the classic insider who had everything. He was King of Israel, son of David, builder of the great Temple, and the one whom the Queen of Sheba travelled a great distance to see because of his legendary wisdom. And yet today we learn that he threw all of this away by worshipping other gods. As a result, the God of Israel promises that after his reign the kingdom will be divided, which did indeed happen.
Contrast this with the Syrophoenician woman from today’s Gospel. A Gentile, a foreigner, a woman, and one whom even Jesus refers to a dog. Yet unlike Solomon she had a faith which cannot be deterred. She answers back to Jesus, and persuades him to heal her daughter. These readings remind us that in the life of faith, status counts for nothing. It is simple, persistent faithfulness which matters. As Mary puts it in the Magnificat: “He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and lifted up the lowly”. Let us always remember that, and be on the look out for such “great reversals” happening in our world and in our society today.
Mass today is in St Dyfrig & St Samson, Grangetown, at 10am.
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