20th Sunday of the Year (A)
Mt 15: 21 – 28
«A house of prayer for all peoples»
Dear brethren:
Today
the Gospel narrates to us the
encounter between Jesus and a Canaanite woman (Mt 15: 21 – 28). Lets us look carefully at the dialogue between
Jesus and this woman.
«Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David»
First,
we are told that «Jesus went away and
withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon» (Mt 15:21); and in this scenario, «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).
It is
important to note that the woman was a gentile, that is, she did not belong to
Israel, the people of God according to the flesh. And even though she did not
belong to Israel, she asks for mercy and in doing so she recognizes two things
in Jesus: his condition as God´s Messiah –Son
of David- and his power to bring salvation to her daughter.
Therefore,
we are seeing a person who, apparently, is far away from God and his people.
But it is this person the one who has the capacity to recognize God´s presence
in Jesus and his salvific power. Even though the woman was a gentile, she was
thirsting for God.
Maybe
that is the first teaching of this passage of the Gospel. Many people, who are
apparently far from God or his people, are longing for Him. And that longing
for God expresses itself in the need of help, love and comprehension; in the need
of health for both, body and soul. Are we capable of seeing that need of God in
today´s people? Are we capable of seeing that need of God in those who are
apparently far away from the Church?
Not in vain the Church says of herself: “The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties
of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted,
these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of
Christ. Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo in their hearts.”[1]
«O woman, great is your faith»
However,
we are told in the gospel that after the woman cried for help, Jesus «did not answer her a word» (Mt 15:23). “Jesus’ silence may seem disconcerting, to the point that it
prompted the disciples to intervene, but it was not a question of insensitivity
to this woman’s sorrow. St Augustine rightly commented: “Christ showed himself
indifferent to her, not in order to refuse her his mercy but rather to inflame
her desire for it” (Sermo 77, 1: PL 38, 483).”[2]
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Jesus and the Canaanite woman. Detail.
Redemptoris Mater Chapel.
Vatican City. 1996 - 1999.
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So the woman persisted, and kneeling before Him she
said: «Lord, help me» (Mt 15:25). Whit words that may surprise us,
the Lord answered: «It is not fair to
take the children´s bread and throw it to the dogs» (Mt 15:26).
The Canaanite woman showed a great deal of humility
and faith as she answered: «Yes, Lord,
yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters´ table» (Mt 15:27). After this self humiliation, came the exaltation by the Lord: «O woman, great is your faith! Let it be
done for you as you desire» (Mt
15:28).
In today´s gospel, it is the Canaanite woman that
teaches us how to present ourselves to the Lord in prayer. The first step is to
ask for his mercy in our life and the life of those whom we love. Then, to
recognize him as God; as the One who can save us. Finally, we have to humble
ourselves in His presence. Trustfulness, recognition and humility are the
attitudes of the person who believes in God and his mercy.
«My house shall be called a house of prayer for all
peoples»
The
experience of this Canaanite woman, to whom “Jesus singles out (…) as an
example of indomitable faith”[3]; shows
us, that God´s mercy, love and salvation is for everyone. With Jesus, God´s
mercy has broken the walls of human prejudice.
This
reality is expressed in a beautiful way in the words of the prophet Isaiah: «My house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples» (Is 56:7). The
prophet foresees a time in which all peoples shall join the people of Israel in
the recognition, praise and worship of the Lord.
And
that is so at least for two reasons. Firstly, because everyone who «keeps justice and do righteousness» (cf.
Is 56:1), is actually «joining
themselves to the Lord, loving his name and keeping his covenant» (cf. Is 56:6). Therefore, it is important for us not only to have an external
attachment to God´s people, to his Church; but to live our religious and Christian
experience from within ourselves, from our heart. It is about attitude and
action. Or, as Fr. J. Kentenich says, we should always be attentive to the “cultivation
of the spirit”.
There
is also another reason why God´s salvation is open for everyone. Saint Paul
puts it in this way: «For God has
consigned all men to disobedience, that he may have mercy upon all» (Rm 11:32). This means that all men and
women need to be saved by the Lord. Everyone needs the encounter with Jesus
Christ who is “the face of the Father´s mercy”[4].
Therefore, there is no one who is too far away of the mercy of God. Those who
belong to the Church in an active way, and also, those who seldom participate
on her, are all in need of the Father´s mercy.
The
only thing that God asks of us is a humble and sincere heart. A heart that
trust and searches for God´s presence and mercy; a heart that is open to
recognize God as savior; and a heart that is humble enough to recognize that it
needs God´s salvation.
And
as we realize that all of humanity is called to enter into the people of God,
Christ´s Church, we pray to our Blessed Mother, Mater Ecclesiae:
“Help the Church to spread throughout the
world
and go victoriously through all the nations
that soon there be one flock and one shepherd
leading all peoples to the Trinity. Amen.”[5]
[2] BENEDICT XVI, Angelus, Sunday, 14 August 2011.
[3] BENEDICT XVI, Angelus, Sunday, 14 August 2005.
[4]
POPE FRANCIS, Misericordiae Vultus,
1.
[5] Cf. FR. JOSEPH KENTENICH, Heavenwards, Prayer of the Leaders.
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