20 OTA.11; Isa 56:1-7; Rom 11;13-32; Matthew 15:21-28
Isaiah words echo down the millennia, “… for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” How does this vision affect us?
Perhaps 600+ years later, a Canaanite woman with hutspa refuses to accept her non-chosen status. She yells, “Have pity on me, Son of David, my daughter is tormented by a demon.”
Jesus & the disciples apparently don’t care. What is happening here?
Jesus deliberately enters Gentile/unclean territory north of Galilee. A gentile woman whom Mathew labels by the outmoded term, Canaanite, the archetypal enemy who Israel struggled with to live in the Promised Land. She scandalously yells out that her daughter is afflicted by a demon.
Oddly, she address Jesus with proper respect & titles – Lord & Son of David. She believes he is the long-awaited Messiah.
So Jesus reflects the disciples thinking – “I came only for the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” He was, after all, only sent to Israel.
Then the woman comes right up to him, does him homage, blocks his way & pleads her case. Can you just imagine the annoyed faces of the disgusted disciples. Can you feel heat their arrogance & self-righteousness. This upstart woman refuses to budge & draws even closer to Jesus. If the woman had been seeking healing for herself, she might have given up, but there is nothing that fuels a mother’s audacity more than concern for her … child’s well-being. What is Jesus thinking?
This time Jesus’ response is terribly insulting; “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” Some scholars try to tone down the insult understanding it is an endearing pet. Whatever the genesis of the comment, calling the woman a dog… is a gross insult.
Rather than turn away or return insult for insult, the mother redirects her rage, finding clever words & remaining respectful toward Jesus: “Yes, Lord, yet even the doges eat the crumbs tat fall from the master’s table.”
2 in God & a common desire of the well being of children. For her great faith so apparent throughout this dialogue her daughter is healed. At the same time Jesus has given his disciples a valuable lesson. Their animosity toward a Canaanite woman would have denied the healing to an innocent child! Jesus often chided his disciples for their “little faith”. Beyond securing the healing of her daughter, the narrative depicts this woman sparking in Jesus the idea ….
During World War II a Protestant chaplain with the American troops in Italy became a friend of a local Roman Catholic priest. In time, the chaplain moved on with his unit & was killed in combat. The priest heard of his death, & knowing that the chaplain had not close family back in the States, he asked the military authorities if the chaplain could be buried in the cemetery behind his church. Permission was granted. But the priest ran into a problem with his own church authorities. They were sympathetic but they said they could not approve the burial of a non-Catholic in a Catholic cemetery. So, the priest buried his friend just outside the cemetery fence.
Years later, an Army veteran & friend of that chaplain returned to Italy and visited the old priest. He asked to see the chaplain’s grave. To his surprise he found the grave inside the cemetery fence. “Ah,” he said to the priest, “I see that you got permission to move the body.” “No”, said the priest. “They told me where I couldn’t bury the body. But nobody ever told me I couldn’t … move the fence.” (Source; eSermons. Moving Fences)
At this Liturgy, let us recall that each of us has a role to play in making God’s kingdom come, in allowing God’s will to be done. Philosopher/Nun, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein, Nazi victim/1942/Auschwitz concentration camp) once said, “It has always been far from me to think that God’s mercy allows itself to be circumscribed by the visible Church boundaries. God is truth.
Isaiah words echo down the millennia, “… for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” How does this vision affect us?
Perhaps 600+ years later, a Canaanite woman with hutspa refuses to accept her non-chosen status. She yells, “Have pity on me, Son of David, my daughter is tormented by a demon.”
Jesus & the disciples apparently don’t care. What is happening here?
Jesus deliberately enters Gentile/unclean territory north of Galilee. A gentile woman whom Mathew labels by the outmoded term, Canaanite, the archetypal enemy who Israel struggled with to live in the Promised Land. She scandalously yells out that her daughter is afflicted by a demon.
Oddly, she address Jesus with proper respect & titles – Lord & Son of David. She believes he is the long-awaited Messiah.
She has impressive faith.
Unexpectedly, Jesus ignores her. Perhaps, Jesus is waiting for his disciples to respond to a foreigner. He does not wait long – “get rid of her” - how heartless, how cold. They regard her as unworthy, both gentile & unclean. So Jesus reflects the disciples thinking – “I came only for the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” He was, after all, only sent to Israel.
Then the woman comes right up to him, does him homage, blocks his way & pleads her case. Can you just imagine the annoyed faces of the disgusted disciples. Can you feel heat their arrogance & self-righteousness. This upstart woman refuses to budge & draws even closer to Jesus. If the woman had been seeking healing for herself, she might have given up, but there is nothing that fuels a mother’s audacity more than concern for her … child’s well-being. What is Jesus thinking?
This time Jesus’ response is terribly insulting; “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” Some scholars try to tone down the insult understanding it is an endearing pet. Whatever the genesis of the comment, calling the woman a dog… is a gross insult.
Rather than turn away or return insult for insult, the mother redirects her rage, finding clever words & remaining respectful toward Jesus: “Yes, Lord, yet even the doges eat the crumbs tat fall from the master’s table.”
She will be more than content with scraps they do not want.
With that, something shifts in Jesus. The woman stretches Jesus (or perhaps he is teaching his disciples) to see her not as “other”/“enemy”, but as one of his own, one with whom he shares a common humanity, a common faith (Sources: America, 8/11, B. Reid/Weekday Homily Helps, T. Schehr 8/11)
2 in God & a common desire of the well being of children. For her great faith so apparent throughout this dialogue her daughter is healed. At the same time Jesus has given his disciples a valuable lesson. Their animosity toward a Canaanite woman would have denied the healing to an innocent child! Jesus often chided his disciples for their “little faith”. Beyond securing the healing of her daughter, the narrative depicts this woman sparking in Jesus the idea ….
… that his mission is for all people, not a chosen few.
Hear the prophet Isaiah again, “Do what is right!”
During World War II a Protestant chaplain with the American troops in Italy became a friend of a local Roman Catholic priest. In time, the chaplain moved on with his unit & was killed in combat. The priest heard of his death, & knowing that the chaplain had not close family back in the States, he asked the military authorities if the chaplain could be buried in the cemetery behind his church. Permission was granted. But the priest ran into a problem with his own church authorities. They were sympathetic but they said they could not approve the burial of a non-Catholic in a Catholic cemetery. So, the priest buried his friend just outside the cemetery fence.
Years later, an Army veteran & friend of that chaplain returned to Italy and visited the old priest. He asked to see the chaplain’s grave. To his surprise he found the grave inside the cemetery fence. “Ah,” he said to the priest, “I see that you got permission to move the body.” “No”, said the priest. “They told me where I couldn’t bury the body. But nobody ever told me I couldn’t … move the fence.” (Source; eSermons. Moving Fences)
At this Liturgy, let us recall that each of us has a role to play in making God’s kingdom come, in allowing God’s will to be done. Philosopher/Nun, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein, Nazi victim/1942/Auschwitz concentration camp) once said, “It has always been far from me to think that God’s mercy allows itself to be circumscribed by the visible Church boundaries. God is truth.
… All who seek truth, seek God, whether this is clear to them or not.”
God’s love is not limited.
Everyone is worthy. Jesus desires everyone to be saved.
Every time we reach out with understanding & compassion to a neighbor who is of a different faith, every time we pray for peace among nations and religions, every time we stand up for those who are persecuted because of their beliefs in God, we help to reverse the tide of religious discrimination & prejudice. When we take responsibility & refuse to accept division in God’s name, God’s kingdom comes one step closer. Isaiah stated it simply, “Do what is right.” – move some fences!