Thanksgivings raise our hearts to God with a sense of joy and satisfaction. 

>> Thanksgivings ought to be an occasion to praise the Lord for His graciousness and wonderful deeds!
But how pitiful would a thanksgiving be, if it becomes an opportunity to showcase one’s petty mindedness! 

>> How dreadful would a thanksgiving be, if it becomes an occasion to insult or mock God’s creation!

And here is a typical example of this sort of a pitiable and condemnable thanksgiving…

(Disclaimer: The following is not a concocted or a fictitious statement) 

“Blessed are you, Lord, our God, ruler of the universe who has not created me a woman.” 
Read that again??
“Blessed are you, Lord, our God, ruler of the universe who has not created me a woman!”  

This thanksgiving is a  part of a sequence of blessings, found in the Jewish Talmud…

… a huge collection of doctrines and laws which was to be recited by every Jew in the morning hours of the day. 
This formula of “thanksgiving” is an indication of the sad status of women in the Jewish Society. 

>> There was much discrimination and unfairness against the women. 
The male chauvinism had totally clouded the minds, which sometimes even denied basic dignity to them! 
The women needed a holistic liberation. 

>> They needed a true status. 

>> They needed an honest acceptance. 

 
The Gospel of the Day presents Jesus, the true liberator, breaking some new ground in granting a new status to the discriminated and oppressed class of Women. 
“Accompanying Him were the Twelve and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities…..and many others who provided them out of their resources” (Lk 8:1) 
Women who have been healed & have experienced the goodness of the Lord accompany Him in His mission & support Him with their resources. 

We can take a couple of lessons from these few yet  significant words from the Gospel of St Luke: 
1. Broken to Blossom 

Jesus broke some societal traditions to blossom people to experience genuine freedom and liberty. 
Women were generally kept out of public life… 

>> They were forbidden from reading the Sacred Scriptures. 

>> They were mainly reduced to mere onlookers, and not participants in the Sabbath worship. 

>> They had a specially designated outer court at the synagogue, which was located beneath the court for men. 

>> They weren’t allowed to divorce, for the most serious faults; men were allowed even for the most trivial ones. 
But Jesus loved to break open…to let free…and to allow people to blossom! 
>> Jesus permits Mary of Bethany to sit at His feet ( Lk 10: 39)

>> Jesus touches a little girl who was dead and restores her to life (Lk 8:54)

>> Jesus allows Himself to be touched by a woman in hemorrhage (Lk 8:44)

>> Jesus engages in a life-transforming conversation with the woman at the well (Jn 4:7-26)

>> Jesus lets the sinful woman to wash and to be showered with kisses of love on His feet (Lk 7: 38)

>> Jesus had strong words for the practice of divorce which had reduced women to mere objects ( Mt 19:3-9) 

Do I let unhealthy and inhuman practices or mentalities to govern my life, or do I break free and blossom?

>> Do I give in to societal pressures in following certain norms or thought-pattern even if they are harmful?

>> Do I fail to be bold and courageous to initiate a change in attitudes, in order to achieve genuine liberation? 

2. Transformed to Tread! 

The women who were touched by the Lord, had found greater meaning in their life and they accompany the Lord in His ministry and mission. 

 

They were not people who only sought favours; they rather happily extended gratitude and thankfulness.

>> They were not people who wanted Jesus only to get something; they rather had much to give to the Lord in return.

>> They were not people who lived for mere material needs; they, in fact, focussed their attention on higher values of life and of the Kingdom! 

What is my response to the Lord who has showered my life with many blessings at crucial moments of my life… 

>> Do I tread in His path after having been transformed with His Grace?

>> Do I get stuck with seeking only material favours and fail to allow them to lead me to a deeper God-experience? 

>> Do I only remain with the prayer of intercession and prayer of asking, but not grow higher to prayer of thanksgiving and prayer of praise? 

We live in times when the cry for deeper respect and genuine esteem for women is on a high. 

You and I can make a great change in our society, by our attitude and our determination, with the grace of God! 

Let us cast away barriers which reduce people to mere objects…which yokes people, especially women. 

>> Let us imitate Jesus the liberator to Break open to Blossom…

… and also grow in our commitment to Tread after having been Transformed by Him! 

God Bless! Live Jesus!