20th Sunday
Ordinary Time (A)
Mathew 15:21-28
This Sunday’s Readings
First Reading
Isaiah 56:1,6-7
The Lord reveals his salvation to all.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 67:2-3,5-6,8
All the nations will praise God.
Second Reading
Romans 11:13-15,29-32
God’s favor to Israel is irrevocable.
Gospel Reading
Matthew 15:21-28
Jesus heals the daughter of the Canaanite woman because of her great faith.
Jesus left Gennesaret and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. Then out came a Canaanite woman from that district and started shouting, ‘Sir, Son of David, take pity on me. My daughter is tormented by a devil.’ But he answered her not a word. And his disciples went and pleaded with him. ‘Give her what she wants,’ they said ‘because she is shouting after us.’ He said in reply, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.’ But the woman had come up and was kneeling at his feet. ‘Lord,’ she said ‘help me.’ He replied, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house-dogs.’ She retorted, ‘Ah yes, sir; but even house-dogs can eat the scraps that fall from their master’s table.’ Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, you have great faith. Let your wish be granted.’ And from that moment her daughter was well again.
Background on the Gospel Reading
Today we move ahead in our reading of Matthew’s Gospel. Last week we read about Jesus walking on the water and the disciples’ confession of faith that Jesus is the Son of God. If we were reading Matthew’s entire Gospel, we would have read about Jesus’ debate with the Pharisees about Jewish purity laws. Jesus argues that it is not what goes into us that makes us unclean; he is referring to the strict Jewish dietary rules. Instead our words and our actions—what comes out of us—make us unclean because they emerge from a heart that is unclean.
Knowing about Jesus’ debate with the Pharisees helps us to understand today’s Gospel. In fact the story heightens the surprise and shock we feel as we hear Jesus’ exchange with the Canaanite woman. The woman, who is not Jewish, approaches Jesus, requesting that he heal her demon-possessed daughter. At first Jesus ignores her; he says nothing. The disciples ask Jesus to send her away, and Jesus agrees, remarking that he was sent to minister to the Jews alone.
The woman persists, paying homage to Jesus, and yet Jesus denies her request again. He even insults her, using a Jewish word of derision for Gentiles, “dog.” But the woman cleverly turns Jesus’ insult into an affirmation of faith. Only then does Jesus grant her request and heal her daughter.
Jesus’ unresponsiveness to this woman may strike us as uncharacteristic or shocking. Yet in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus’ ministry is directed primarily to the people of Israel. At only a very few points, such as the one found in today’s Gospel, do we find Jesus anticipating the later Christian ministry to the rest of the world.
Behind Matthew’s text we can hear this early Christian community’s struggle to understand how God’s selection of Israel is consistent with two events: Israel’s rejection of Jesus and the Gentiles’ acceptance of Jesus. Just as Jesus was surprised by the faith expressed by the Canaanite woman, so too the first Christians were surprised that the Gentiles would receive the salvation God offered through Christ. In today’s second reading from Paul’s letter to the Romans, we hear the apostle Paul considering this same concern.
The faith that the Canaanite woman expresses is an affirmation of and confidence in God’s abundant mercy. Yes, salvation comes through Israel, but it overflows for the benefit of all.
ASK WITH FAITH
José Antonio Pagola
The prayer of petition has been an object of strong criticism throughout these years. The person depicted as modern doesn’t happen to put self in an attitude of supplication before God, since he knows that God isn’t going to change the natural course of events to attend to our desires.
Nature is «a machine» that functions according to some natural laws, and the human being is the only being that can act and transform, just in part, the world and history with our intervention.
Therefore the prayer of petition gets locked up in order to cultivate other forms of prayer like praise, thanksgiving or adoration, that can vibrate better with modern thinking.
Other times the supplication of the creature to our Creator gets replaced by meditation or immersion of the soul in God, the ultimate mystery of existence and source of all life.
However the prayer of supplication, so controversial for its possible misunderstandings, is decisive for expressing and living out from faith our creature dependence in front of God.
It’s not strange that Jesus himself praises the great faith of a simple woman who knows how to plead insistently for help. One can invoke God from whatever situation. From happiness and from adversity; from well-being and from suffering.
The man or woman who raises petition to God doesn’t direct themselves to a Being that’s apathetic or indifferent to the suffering of God’s creatures, but to a God who can leave hiddenness behind and manifest closeness to those who beg God.
That’s what it’s all about. Not about utilizing God to get our objectives, but to seek and ask for God’s closeness in that situation. And the experience of God’s closeness doesn’t depend primarily on fulfilling our desires.
The believer can experience God’s closeness in many ways, independently of how our problem gets resolved. Let’s remember the wise piece of advice from St. Augustine: «God hears your call if you seek God. He doesn’t listen if by means of God you seek something else».
This isn’t the time of definitive fulfillment. Evil isn’t conquered totally. The person who prays experiences the contradiction between the misfortune he suffers and the definitive salvation promised by God. That’s why all concrete supplication and petition to God always stays wrapped in that grand supplication that Jesus himself taught us: «Your Kingdom come», the kingdom of salvation and of definitive life.
José Antonio Pagola
Translator: Fr. Jay VonHandorf
https://www.gruposdejesus.com
‘Dogs’ turned into ‘lambs’ by faith
Fernando Armellini
Introduction
To the south of the city of Jerusalem, the ‘potter’s field’ is referred to even today. Theland was bought with silver coins returned by Judas to the temple priests (Mt 27:3-10). It was the same place where the kings of Israel had committed some horrible deeds, leading to sacrificing their children to Baal. Towards the end of the seventh century B.C., the piousKing Josiah had desecrated it (2 K 23:10). Since then, to be buried there was considered the height of disgrace. With the money from the betrayal, the high priests bought that field toconvert it into a cemetery to bury strangers (Mt 27:7). For the impure and unclean Gentiles,it could not but be a reserved and cursed place (Jer 19:11) for the bodies of the dead thathad to be kept separated from the sons of Abraham.
The impetus for the discrimination and the tendency to erect barriers between good and evil, pure and impure, saints and sinners are deeply rooted in the human heart. They re-emerge in the most varied forms: fear of confrontation, inability to manage an open, serene,and respectful dialogue with those who have different opinions. Sometimes these impulsesare camouflaged behind real danger, syncretism, irenicism, loss of identity, or therenunciation of values.
How can those who consider the other ‘distant’ speak of ecumenism? Who can be so presumptuous as to consider himself ‘near?’ All of us are ‘far away’ from Christ and are walking towards the perfection of the Father who is in heaven (Mt 5:48). Only those aware of being ‘impure,’ who cannot boast merit before God, have a disposition that can accept salvation. “The tax collectors and the prostitutes are ahead of you on the way to the kingdom of heaven,” Jesus assured. Not having any merit to boast, they rely spontaneouslyon the Lord and are placed ahead of those who consider themselves pure (Mt 21:31).
First Reading: Isaiah 56:1,6-7
Thus says the Lord: Observe what is right, do what is just; for my salvation is about to come, my justice, about to be revealed.
The foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, ministering to him, loving the name of the Lord, and becoming his servants—all who keep the sabbath free fromprofanation and hold to my covenant, them I will bring to my holy mountain and make joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be acceptable on my altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.
The fear of losing their own national and religious identity had led Israel to isolate itself from other people and to have restrictive rules against foreigners. The book ofDeuteronomy orders: “Do not make any covenant with them or have compassion on them…Do not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons, or taking their daughters for your sons, because they would seduce your children to abandon me and adore strange gods” (Deut 7:2-4).
Then came the exile in Babylon. It was a bitter experience but a valuable one from which more mature Israelites emerged. Forced to confront the culture of other peoples and burdened with their own prejudices, they realized that a lot of their fears were groundless. The pagans were not innately wicked and perverse. They also cultivated noble sentimentsand gave evidence of high morale. Their religion was not a pile of nonsense; it contained valuable elements.
On the return from exile, they had assimilated a universalistic mentality, but not across the board. The spiritual and political leaders continued to fuel mistrust, suspicion,unjustified fears. Ezra, for example, tore his vestment, ripped out his hair and beard whenhe was informed that many had desecrated the holy stock, and married local people (Ezra9).
It is a time characterized by tensions and intolerance, by attempts to open up andfundamentalism. Then the prophet, spoken of in today’s reading, rose up. He is a serene and unbiased man. He has a look that goes beyond the narrow horizons of the tradition of his people. He understands that the time has come to abandon exclusivism and drop thediscrimination imposed by Deuteronomy. He realizes that the barriers that separate people no longer have meaning. To whatever tribe, race, or nation they may belong, they are children of God.
Here is his promise: the day will come when the strangers who honor the Lord and practice his commandments will be accompanied to his temple. They will offer sacrifice and raise their voice in prayer. In the house of God, no one will be considered a foreigner. The temple, the holy place par excellence of Israel, will become a house of prayer for all peoples (vv. 6-7).
Second Reading: Romans 11:13-15,29-32
Brothers and sisters: I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I glory in my ministry in order to make my race jealous and thus savesome of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?
For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. Just as you once disobeyed God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, so they have now disobeyed in order that, by virtue of the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. For God delivered all to disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all.
The reading develops the theme that was introduced last Sunday: the inner drama of Paul that he cannot find a reason for the rejection of Christ by his people. The book of the Acts of the Apostles briefs us on his apostolic method: he went from town to townpreaching the Gospel to the Jews first, then, if they refused to believe, he turned to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46-48). After ten years here, he is taking stock of his missionary work: with few exceptions, the Israelites did not adhere to the faith in Christ. How can we explain this?
In today’s passage, Paul notes that their disobedience has had a positive effect. It has facilitated the entry of the Gentiles into the Christian community. If the Jews had believed en masse, with their narrow-minded and exclusivist mentality and nourished prejudicestowards foreigners, it hardly would have allowed the pagans to be welcomed as full participants in the Church.
At this point, Paul has an intuition: the rejection of Christ by his people cannot bedefinitive. One day—and it is certain—the Israelites will also recognize in Jesus the Messiah announced by the prophets. What will happen then? The apostle gives free rein to his joy: if their disobedience is providential, what will happen when they too becomedisciples? It will be an authentic resurrection from the dead (v. 15).
Gospel: Mathew 15:21-28
The rabbis tell that a farmer had planted in his field all sorts of trees and tended them with care. He waited many, many springs and summers but was disappointed. There were many leaves, some flowers, but no fruit. He was about to set fire to the field, when, on a branch, a little deviated, he saw a pomegranate. He got and tasted it: it was delicious. “For the sake of this pomegranate—he happily exclaimed—I’ll let all the other trees in my garden live.” Similarly—the rabbis concluded—for the sake of Israel God will save the world.
Not all Jews, however, shared the openness of these enlightened rabbis. The majority thought that there is only one chosen and holy stock and that the pagans must be avoided as unclean and outcasts (Acts 10).
The first Christian community, sprouted as a lush sapling from the stump of Israel, confronted this exclusivism. The Christians asked themselves: is salvation destined for all peoples or is it reserved for the children of Abraham? There arose disagreements, misunderstandings, bitter conflicts that divided the Church (1 Cor 1:10-12; Gal 2:11-14). Some argued that the Gospel was to be announced only to the Israelites. To substantiate their argument, they referred to the behavior of Jesus during his public life. He had carried out his mission within the borders of Palestine. They also recalled his recommendation: “Do not visit pagan territories and do not enter a Samaritan town. Go instead to the lost sheep of the people of Israel” (Mt 10:5-6).
Others cultivated more open ideas. They were convinced that the Gospel was to be preached primarily to the Jews, the first recipients of salvation (Mt 22:1-6). But they were also convinced that the Gentiles were to be admitted to the banquet hall of the Kingdom of God (Mt 22:8-10). Israel was the “firstborn” of the Lord (Sir 36:11), but not “the only begotten”: God had always considered his children, also other nations (Jer 3:19). The order of the Risen Lord was unequivocal: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit; and teach them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt 28:19-20).
Due to the short time (maybe only three years) of his public life, Jesus had limited its mission “to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” However, he also made clear gestures to indicate that his salvation was for all peoples. The episode narrated in the Gospel today is one of the most significant and revealing in this regard.
One day a stranger comes to Jesus. She comes from the region of Tyre and Sidon and “continues to cry out” (note the insistence of her prayer), begging for the healing of her daughter. The text calls her “Canaanite,” thus belonging to an enemy nation, a dangerous people that seduced Israel several times. It diverted Israel from the right faith and led her to worship Baal and Astarte.
The disciples of Jesus are Israelites educated in the most rigorous religious fundamentalism. They are surprised by the effrontery of this intrusive pagan who dares to speak to their Master. They await his reaction: doesn’t he mind the current regulations that prohibit communication with strangers or—as he often did—breakthe traditional mold?
The evangelist relates the dialogue between Jesus and the woman. He sounds almost delighted to emphasize the increasingly harsh tone of the Master’s responses. In front of the woman’s request for help, he takes a dismissive attitude: not worthy of a look, not addressing her even a word (v. 23). Then the apostles, a little annoyed, intervene. They want to solve the situation as soon as possible as it is likely to become embarrassing. They ask him to send her away. “Listen to her,” says our text, but it is not a correct translation. “Send her away!” is their request.
Jesus seems to follow their advice. He becomes more severe and says: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the nation of Israel” (v. 24).
The image of the flock in disarray occurs frequently in the Old Testament. “My sheep wander over the mountain and high hills, and when they are scattered throughout the land, no one bothers about them or looks for them” (Ezk 34:6), which is echoed by another prophet: “Like sheep we had all gone astray, each following his own way” (Is 53:6). There’s also the promise of God: “I myself will care for my sheep and watch over them. I will search for the lost and lead back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong will be eliminated. I will shepherd my flock with justice” (Ezk 34:11:16).
The Lord has made commitments only with the Israelites. He should be concerned only with them. Presenting himself as a shepherd of Israel, Jesus declares that he intends to fulfill the prophecies and the woman understands. She knows that she is not of the chosen people. She is conscious of not belonging to the “flock of the Lord” and not having a right to salvation. However, she relies on the goodwill and free interventions of God. Bowing down to Jesus and she begs: “Lord, help me!”
In response she receives an insult: “It is not right to take the bread from the children and throw it to puppies” (v. 26).
The Israelites are the sheep, the Gentiles are the dogs. The use of the diminutive mitigates, but not by much, the harshness of the offense. Throughout the ancient Middle East, “dog” was the cruelest insult. It was the nickname with which the Jews called the pagans. A raw image, taken in various texts of the New Testament: “Do not give what is holy to the dogs, or throw your pearls before pigs” (Mt 7:6). “Outside are the dogs!” (Rev 22:15). “Beware of dogs” (Phil 3:2). It was used to emphasize the absolute incompatibility between the pagan life and the evangelical choice.
On the lips of Jesus this expression surprises, especially if one takes into account the fact that the Canaanite woman turned to him with great respect. Three times she called him “Lord”—title with which Christians profess their faith in the Risen One—and once the “Son of David” which equates to recognizing him as the Messiah. It seems that, like all his countrymen, he also has an abomination to foreigners. But is it so?
The conclusion of the story enlightens us. “Woman—says Jesus—how great is your faith.” It is a praise that has never been addressed to an Israelite woman.
Now everything becomes clear. That which precedes—the provocation, the contempt for the pagans, the reference to their impurity and unworthiness—were but a clever staging. Jesus wanted his disciples to alter radically the way they deal with foreigners. He “played the part” of the integral and pure Israelite to show how ridiculous and senseless the separatist mentality was cultivated by his people. While the “flock of sheep” kept themselves away from the shepherd who wants to gather them (Mt 23:37), the “dogs” approached him and, because of their great faith, obtained salvation.
The message is as timely as ever. The Church is called to be a sign that all discriminations related to gender, membership to a race, to a people or to an institution are ended. Paul declares: “In Christ Jesus, all of you are sons and daughters of God through faith. All of you who were given to Christ through baptism, have put on Christ. Here there is no longer any difference between Jew or Greek, or between slave or freed, or between man and woman; but all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And because you belong to Christ, you are of Abraham’s race and you are to inherit God’s promise” (Gal 3:26-29).
The Canaanite woman—the pagan, the infidel—is singled out as a model of the true believer. She knows she does not deserve anything, believes that only by the Word of Christ she can freely arrive at salvation. She implores and receives it as a gift.
READ: Healing and feeding seem to go together. Jesus does both, and people of faith see the meaning of his actions. Others do not.
PRAY: Avoid looking down on others who are different. Make this an intention in your prayer, especially when you are tempted to be prejudiced against some group or individual.
REFLECT: Why do people refer to others they do not like as dogs? Are Jesus’ words to the Canaanite woman out of character for him? To what extent could this story perhaps reflect the relationship between some Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians in the community of Matthew?
ACT: Do not just tolerate different people but accept them and acknowledge their gifts. When the opportunity occurs, celebrate life with people who differ from you.
Fernando Armellini
Italian missionary and biblical scholar
https://sundaycommentaries.wordpress.com
No one is excluded from the Gospel of Life
Romeo Ballan mccj
No one is far, and even less excluded, from the heart of God. The central theme of the readings from Scripture this Sunday is salvation offered freely by God, without exception, to every person and to all peoples. This theological affirmation, which is clear and uncontested for us today, was a difficult issue for the Judaeo-Christian community for whom Matthew wrote his Gospel. It is well known how both the ancient Israel and the contemporary society of Jesus lived salvation and the covenant as private property, almost exclusive to the Chosen People. The rest were “pagans who, to the Jewish mind, were dogs” (a derogatory term), as the Jerusalem Bible notes in Mt 15:26. The Acts of the Apostles show the difficult journey and the slow process of the first community to accept this point. The complicated way Peter and the community handled the matter of Cornelius (Acts 10-11), the debate at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15), the controversy between Paul and the Judaeo-Christians, are all clear evidence of how difficult it was for the early Church to deal with the admission of new members, coming from the pagan world, that is, not of Hebrew origin. It was even more inconceivable to accept them without making them pass under the old Law.
Isaiah’s text (1st Reading) gives us a breath of universality: Foreigners enter the house of prayer joyfully; their sacrifices are welcomed by God in the temple that He will open to all peoples (v. 7). This universal openness, hymned with joy by the Psalmist (Responsorial Psalm)was still conditioned by the observance of the Sabbath and the pilgrimage to the Holy Mountain (cf. Is 56:6-7), though these elements began to decline immediately after the Resurrection of Jesus. The growing pains towards universality are clear in the dialogue and miracle of Jesus with the Canaanite woman, coming from the area of Tyre and Sidon (Gospel). Mark, in his Gospel, insists on describing her as a foreigner and a pagan: “by birth a Syrophoenician” (Mk 7:26). The slow overcoming of this exclusivism becomes clear, in the end, in the open admiration of Jesus for the faith of that pagan and foreign woman. She is aware that she is not a daughter, but a little dog that has a right to at least the scraps dropped from the master’s table (cf 26-27): she is certain to have a place in the heart of God. Jesus extols the truly great faith (v. 28) of that mother, and grants her appeal by curing her sick daughter instantly. Just as he had cured the servant of the pagan centurion in Capernaum, praising his faith as the first fruit of the many who would sit at the table of the Kingdom, coming “from east and west” (Mt 8:10-13).
In the light of these facts it is clear that the real belonging to the people of God will not come through nationality but through faith, which is always and only a free gift of the mercy of God, Father of all. Father of the Jews first, then of the pagans, as Paul (2nd Reading) teaches the Romans. The priority of the Jews regarding salvation is a true one, but only temporarily; it does not mean the exclusion of the other peoples. According to Paul, all have been equally disobedient and unfaithful to God: the pagans first, and then the Jews also. But now God wants to show mercy to all (cf v.32). This is the gift and the mystery of the merciful love of God. For all! This is the wonderful missionary news that the world needs. Both for its life and happiness! (*)
The danger for local Churches today is not that of denying that all are admitted to Salvation in Christ, but rather of considering, in practice, that the Gospel is their private property, for personal use. It is not denied that all are equally called to know the Good News, but in practice, very little or nothing is done to proclaim it to those who have not yet heard it! It is like thinking: “Yes, they have the right, but they can wait a while longer; one day someone will do something about it!” So it is urgent to discover mission as a gift and as an urgent task. Matthew is urging us to do so: “Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations” (Mt 28:19).
The episode of the Canaanite woman – who is a woman, pagan and foreign – who was received and whose wish was granted by Jesus, once again presents the theme of acceptance of foreigners in the civil society and Christian communities. The example of Jesus teaches us a lesson! All initiatives, therefore, that promote solidarity and integration among peoples and groups deserve support. They say so many good logos: “Open your home to the world and the world will be your home” – “In my city, nobody is a foreigner!”
The Pope’s words
(*) “The Word of God thus gives us an opportunity to reflect on the universality of the mission of the Church which is made up of people of every race and culture. From precisely this stems the great responsibility of the ecclesial community which is called to be a hospitable home for all, a sign and instrument of communion for the entire human family. How important it is, especially in our time, that every Christian community increasingly deepens its awareness of this in order also to help civil society overcome every possible temptation to give into racism, intolerance and exclusion and to make decisions that respect the dignity of every human being!”
Benedict XVI
Angelus of Sunday 17 August 2008
