Walking with Jesus: 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Isaiah 56:1, 6-7; Romans 11:13-15, 29-32; Matthew 15:21-28

Do I have a sense of what I should be doing with my life? Do I feel that what I do is important to God? Do I feel that I have been called to do certain things in my life; namely, to lead others to God? Have I had a feeling that the Coronavirus has come from God, delivering a specific message to all of us? Do I ever feel that God is on my side and not the other person’s? Or what if God is for both of us? Is it hard for me to love the other side? What decision-making process goes into my placing people into certain classifications? What happens when God loves people we really don’t like at all? We look to the readings to help us with these dilemmas.

Considered the greatest of the prophets, Isaiah comes at a critical moment in Israel’s history. His ministry is divided into three parts: Part I covers the reign of Jotham (742-735 BC) in which Isaiah exposes the moral breakdown of Judah and its capital, Jerusalem. Part II covers the reign of Ahaz (735-715 BC) when Isaiah is advisor to the king and pleads futilely with him to enliven his faith and courage. Part III covers the reign of Hezekiah (715-687 BC) who undertakes religious reform, but too late. Isaiah repeatedly teaches that attachments to pride and worldly desires will bring down the country. The Sabbath day is a gift from God to remind the people of their dependence on God’s blessings. They must remain loyal and faithful people. These promises wa for all who come to God’s “holy mountain.” Isaiah is pointing to God’s larger plan to bring “all peoples” into relationship through Israel. If foreigners serve and love the Lord, they are welcome to worship in God’s house. All who join will be expected to love, serve and obey. How often we feel that we are the favored ones ... we are the chosen ones … we are on the fast track to heaven … we are God’s in-crowd … all others are outside. But am I working on my holiness and sanctity? Or do I just want to do the minimum necessary to be a saint?

Paul regards his teaching and preaching to the Gentiles as a way of making his own Jewish family jealous enough so that they will accept the Gospel of Jesus. The Gentiles have looked at their lives and see that they have come up short, so they have repented and changed their ways. Because of this they receive God’s mercy and are welcomed to the faith. Paul has been grappling with the question of Israel’s role in God’s plan: The Israelites have been chosen and brought to the Promised Land, but they have not accepted Jesus as the Messiah (Romans 9-11). Could it be possible that they would be open to God’s mercy? You can only be open to mercy if you realize that it is God who is calling you back to His love. Paul’s hope is that Israel has been allowed to disobey so that, like the Gentiles, they too can receive God’s mercy. The bottom line is that it’s God’s plan for salvation ... not the Israelites', not the Jewish nation's, not the non-believers', or mine. God’s plan is for all to be saved. Am I saying yes, I want this?

Today’s gospel is centered in Gentile territory: modern-day Syria and Lebanon. We see Jesus’ unique, seemingly harsh encounter with the Canaanite woman, while at the same time Matthew is clarifying God’s plan to include the Gentiles and all peoples into the fullness of it. The woman cries out to Jesus, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!” [Matthew 15:22] Why does the woman use this Messianic title? We have no idea. But Jesus’ response seems very strange and insensitive. Taking Jesus’ side, the disciples find the woman to be irritating and way too aggressive for her daughter’s cure. The woman continues, and Jesus compares helping Gentiles to feeding dogs ... but the woman will not fail to receive help.  Another point we see in the Gospel’s non-believers’ stories is that they have a common thread. The Samaritan woman at the well, Zacchaeus the tax collector, today’s Syro-Phoenician woman: Among Jesus’ contemporaries, even His apostles do not consider any of these people worthy of His attention. Are Jesus’ encounters with them proving a big point for each one of us? What about the older son in the Prodigal Son story? The wise bridesmaids not sharing the oil with the foolish? Jairus’ daughter ... why bother the teacher further, your daughter is dead? The blind Bartimaeus? Do we jump to bad conclusions? Are we judging from our hearts? In each case, Jesus is showing us the faith these people have or their lack of it ... and their faith is a rich example of the real meaning of faith. Am I pre-judging? Am I encouraging the faith-filled people whom I meet? Do I give them a chance? Or do I know it all?

So I reflect on:

• Where have I experienced mercy? Has God’s mercy changed me? What lesson did I learn?
• I reflect on how different this woman was from the Pharisees. What does her humility teach me?
• I take time to explore what the disciples learned from this encounter.
• How can I ensure that my prayer is filled with love, faith and humility, and not empty words?

Sacred Space 2020 states:

“In the tradition preserved for us in the Scriptures, Jesus is presented to us as a formidable debater, but in this instance the Canaanite woman comfortably wins the debate. Jesus praises the woman for her faith, but what was her faith? What did she believe about Jesus? I would love to know her subsequent history. Did this act of Jesus mark a turning point in her life? We do not know.

“In a way, this pagan woman can give us a lesson on prayer. We are not always happy with our lot or the lot of others, and we should express our real feelings to Christ, not just our sanitized ones. Jesus hears my prayer.”