Animus and Anima (Mk 7:24-30)
Today's Gospel is a continuation of the Old Testament tradition of pleading with God that he would deign not to hide his face from us. But maybe first few words about this Old Testament tradition. It followed the custom of the eastern royal courts, where the condemnation of a dignitary not to see the king's face expressed the highest level of the king's anger, sometimes simply the death penalty. We read in the Book of Esther that when the face of Haman was covered so that he would not see the face of the king, it was a death sentence (Cf. Esther 7: 8). When King David, in turn, pardoned his son Absalom after his crime of fratricide, he allowed him to return to the royal court, with the reservation that Absalom was not allowed to see the king's face. For two years, Absalom was afraid to ask his own father to reverse this punishment, knowing that he would risk his wrath, which could result in a death sentence (cf. 2 Samuel 14).
Well, the Old Testament man knew that God is incomparably more merciful than the human king, and that our prayers to God who have mercy on us, can never anger God. Therefore, in the Old Testament, prayers are often aplead that God may deign to not hide His face from us. People living in that culture must have considered this as a great grace that they could come to God with their pleas without exposing themselves to God's wrath.
Today's Gospel clearly refers to that Old Testament tradition. Suffice it to note that the description of the episode with the Canaanite woman is begun by the Evangelist with the information that Jesus " entered a house and wanted no one to know about it." The Canaanite woman broke through it: First, Jesus hid his face from her and secondly, He responded to her requests as if he did not want to be begged. And thus, she not only obtained what she asked for, but this difficult meeting with Jesus deepened her faith immensely.
These two events can also be our experience. We can experience the fact that the Lord Jesus seems to hide His face from us. More than once, we will also experience the feeling that he does not want to hear our prayers. In both situations, it is worth observing and imitating the faith of a Canaanite woman.
One more thought
If I were 100% male as the world understands it. If I were macho, then ... I would not have a good relationship with half of the world, with the women who live next to me. If I were 100% male, I would not be able to believe and get to know God, in whom there are both male and female elements. And yet, very often we men strive for such a vision of ourselves and the world. Fortunately, God created us in His own image and likeness. Thanks to this, in every man there is some feminine element - anima, and in every woman, there is some male element - animus. Thanks to this, we can communicate with each other, and we do maynot kill each other.
Today, in the Gospel, we see a woman whose persistence amazes and can be an example for us men, that it is possible to seek and find God with great determination. In the community of the Church, in the community of faith, there is a space of mutual enrichment with one another: between men and women. What can disturb us is hasty judgments through which we disregard each other because something is not what we think it should be.
How is your contact with the opposite sex? Are you fighting with him/her, or have you become friends and is she/he helping you on your way to God and people? “God created mankind in his image; in the image of God, he created them; male and female he created them.” (cf. Gen 1:27)
Until Tomorrow
fr. george