Tagbilaran Diocese Website

August 17, 2008
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)
Isaiah 56:1, 6-7 / Romans 11:13-15, 29-32 /
Psalm 67:2-3,5,6,8 / Matthew 15:21-28

A ROOM FOR A STRANGER
IN THE FATHER’S HOME

Word : We already noted how, at the end of his life, Jesus takes to flight, withdraws into foreign land. From the multiplication of the loaves, Jesus felt dramatically the misunderstanding created by the expectation of the crowds, who do not really understand his mission. So, he avoids the crowds to dedicate his time and energy more specifically to the formation of his little group of disciples.
And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon (Mt. 15:21). Jesus has crossed a frontier. Tyre and Sidon are not in the territory of Israel. These two major harbors and trade centers have a mixed population. But the fame of Jesus has, at this point in time, reached by now to these places.
We have here a surprising paradox. Jesus has just gone through a controversy in the land of Israel with scribes and Pharisees who had come from Jerusalem. Now, in the heart of a non-Jewish land, he receives a prayer of faith. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and cried, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon” (Mt 15:22).
But he did not answer her a word (Mt 15:23). Why, Jesus has not answered the prayer of a poor suffering mother? The end of the story will probably make things clearer for us. Meanwhile, let us remember that Jesus is usually very reticent to work out miracles, Many Pharisees misunderstood these miracles, attributing them to a demonic power (cf. Mt 12:24). The crowds merely saw in him a healer, a magician (cf. Mt 14:22).
The disciples are cool-hearted, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying after us” (Mt 15:23). This would certainly be the easiest solution. It would get rid of the petitioner. The episode would be over. They would all have peace.
He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Mt 15:24). Our first reaction to this harshness can only be one of scandal. But knowing the tender love of Jesus to the poor, we cannot think that these refusals are without their significance. Behind this is a historical perspective. At this point, Jesus expressed once again his own love for the holy will of the Father. Jesus did not plan his mission himself. He was sent by the Father who has determined the limits of his restricted field of action. In fact, Jesus, except for a few but very significant occasions, never went out of the boundaries of Palestine. He reserved the essential of his ministry for the Jewish brethren. Others—the disciples—will “go into the whole world” (Mt 28:19).
But the woman demonstrated a wonderful insistence.
o0o
Order: The trials of our faith and of our prayer might be a purification of the faith, and a stress on the power of genuine prayer. An astonishing and mysterious communication is established between the Canaanite woman and Jesus. By all external appearances, this relationship is broken. The demand is refused and rejected. But deep down in the hearts, the extreme difficulty of the situation helps a far deeper relationship to take deeper roots among them. In the same way, the dam in the mountain seems to be stopping the waters, but in fact brings them much higher level of water and works out tremendous power.
Her words, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table” (Mt 15:27) has caught the ball and, almost humorously, sent it back to the court of Jesus.
Through this gospel text, a great hope is born, thanks to this non-Jewish woman of great faith! Even though Jesus humbly limited his own activity to the lost sheep of Israel, he gives a hint here that his message and his salvation are meant for all!
o0o
Realities: After the shipwreck of an international luxury ship, most of the survivors were able to swim to an island. When the survivors were already settled, the captain went to his assistant and inquired, “Are there Filipinos who survived?’ “Yes, sir,” answered the assistant. “I want you to give them the best treatment,” the captain said. The assistant queried, “Sir, why the preference for Filipinos?” “In order to survive in this island before help comes, we need them,” the captain explained. “What in particular can these Filipinos do that our survival depends on them?” asked the assistant.
“Two important things,” the captain stressed. “First, we need their faith to boost our hope of the survivors. Second, they are such good entertainers. They can humor and sing for us every night. We won’t get bored!”
o0o
Direction : O LORD, you are greater than our thoughts of you. You are to us more than we can speak. You also transcend our utmost conception. All of your name that we can frame into words is but little; and all of you that we can frame into emotions is still but little; and all that we can conceive of you by the imagination is yet but very little. Beyond our thoughts and feelings and conceptions you stretch endlessly and boundlessly. We look toward you as people look toward the morning. You are our sun; you are our light; you are our life. (Prayer in Praise of God’s Transcendence, Henry Ward Beecher <1813-1887> congregational minister and orator)

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 21st, 2008 at 6:57 pm and is filed under Gospel Reflections.