From Shame to Fame

Deacon Tom Writes,

“From Shame to Fame”

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

The Shunammite Woman the Prophet Elisha visits today has a condition that she shares with other notable women in Sacred Scripture such as Sarai (Sarah) (Gn 16:1), Rebekah (Gn 25:21), Rachel (Gn 30:1), Manoah’s wife (Judges 13:2), Hannah (1 Sam 1:11), and Elizabeth (Lk 1:6-7). They were women who were childless in their elder years.  For the women of antiquity having a child was not a matter of choice. It was a matter of necessity, so much so that for a married woman not to have a child was considered to be a defect. Being a childless Hebrew woman secured for her a shameful, unbearable place in her society among the despised and the helpless.

It is no surprise then, at least to people of faith, that given the hopelessness and desperation these women find themselves in (the men, apparently, did not share the humiliation and shame of their wives ... dah!!!) it is no wonder that we see the hand of God intervene in the plight of these women. For, in the words of Psalm 34, “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

We know what an important role these women played in Scripture.  Can you imagine how different our bible stories would be without Isaac, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and Benjamin, or Sampson, or Samuel, and even John the Baptist? Yet, all these amazing characters were the progeny of women who, at least for a time, thought that they were forgotten by God.

Elisha’s intervention on behalf of the Shunammite Woman when he prophesied that she would bear a son is part of the bigger picture in which our faith tells us that God has a plan for each one of us too, no matter how desperate a situation in which we find ourselves. It is a good plan, one for which another of the Major Prophets, Jeremiah writes, “For I know well the plans I have in mind for you—oracle of the LORD—plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope”( Jer 29:11). As distressed and hopeless as this situation was for these heroic women of the Bible, God was able to advance His plan for our benefit and to bring about a goodness that our limited minds could hardly conceive. The problem we face today is one of belief! Can we imagine that God still has the ability to bring about any good from the apparent desperate and impossible situations we find ourselves in today?

If we are challenged by this thought we can find some consolation in the fact that God is no stranger to working out the impossible for the good. In part that is the very nature of God, who is all good. With all the burdens and sadness that weigh upon our hearts we can find some consolation knowing that the Lord hears our prayers as he heard the prayers of these faithful women of antiquity and as He heard the prayers of His own Son in his time of need. And God, who is forever faithful, will answer each of our prayers in ways that are sure to amaze and bewilder even those who have been blessed with great faith.

This weekend we will be celebrating the July 4th Holiday.  Enjoy the celebrations and stay safe.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom