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“Christ and the Canaanite Woman”
by Pieter Pietersz Lastman 1617 |
Readings for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time [2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
Readings and Commentary: [4]
Reading 1: 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 from profanation
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.
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Commentary on Is 56:1, 6-7
This passage is part of what scholars call the “Post-Exilic Torah,” or the law after the return. In this selection we see that foreigners (those living outside Palestine) are offered membership in the faith community. The other important element is that the temple is given the name “a house of prayer.” This passage was quoted by Jesus as he drove the money changers from the temple (see Mark 11:17 and Matthew 21:13).
“The scene defines the legacy to which this generation of YHWH’s servants fall heir. It is provided for them without cost by their gracious God. It consists of a permanent contract with the same provisions given to David in the previous age. It provides for political stability, order, and justice. It provides for economic prosperity for the people. It makes possible worship, witness, and service of YHWH in Zion, his city, and in Palestine, his land.” [5]
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 67:2-3,5-6, 8
R. (4) O God, let all the nations praise you!
May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation.
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
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Commentary on Ps 67:2-3,5-6, 8
Psalm 67 is a blessing and has elements of the ancient blessing of Aaron from Numbers 6:22ff. This blessing has more of a plaintive tone (a group lament), or petition asking for a bountiful harvest. It points to the universal salvation promised by God to all the peoples.
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Reading II 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 save some 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.
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Commentary on Rom 11:13-15, 29-32
St. Paul’s concern for the Hebrew people who have rejected Christ becomes clear in this passage as he states clearly that one of the reasons he became “apostle to the Gentiles” was to make the Jews jealous. He does so in order that they would recant their rejection of the peace and eternal life offered by salvation in Christ, and accept the promise offered by the Messiah.
The concluding verse makes it clear that even though the Jewish people who rejected the Gospel of Christ are “enemies on your account” (v. 28), their election as the chosen people is irrevocable – the offer of salvation is not withdrawn.
CCC: Rom 11:13-26 755; Rom 11:25 591, 674; Rom 11:26 674; Rom 11:28 60; Rom 11:29 839; Rom 11:31 674; Rom 11:32 1870
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Gospel: Matthew 15:21-28
At that time, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out,
“Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!
My daughter is tormented by a demon.”
But Jesus did not say a word in answer to her.
Jesus’ disciples came and asked him,
“Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.”
He said in reply,
“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
But the woman came and did Jesus homage, saying, “Lord, help me.”
He said in reply,
“It is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs.”
She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps
that fall from the table of their masters.”
Then Jesus said to her in reply,
“O woman, great is your faith!
Let it be done for you as you wish.”
And the woman’s daughter was healed from that hour.
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Commentary on Mt 15:21-28
There was a long history of tension between the Canaanites and the Hebrews that was at a high point when Jesus encountered the woman. She clearly knew what she was doing as she addressed him as “Lord, Son of David,” identifying him by that name as a Hebrew.
In this selection Jesus has withdrawn from Palestine to escape the persecution of the Pharisees and scribes and to spend time training his disciples. The region they come to is predominantly Gentile and sets the scene for his encounter with a Canaanite woman (in St. Mark’s Gospel it is the Syrophoenician woman (Mark 7:24-30).
Jesus, while the words attributed to him are harsh, did not, as most of his own contemporaries would have, begin throwing stones at her to drive her away. His disciples were begging him to do that. Jesus recognized the great gulf between them, but opened his healing touch to the woman’s child when her faith in him was demonstrated.
The exchange between Jesus and the woman is intended to describe the universal nature of the messianic mission. Within the dialogue we see Jesus initially refuse to accede to the woman’s request (even though she recognized his authority: “the woman came and did him homage, saying, 'Lord, help me'”).
This same pattern of refusal and then acquiescence is found in St. John’s Gospel (John 2:4, John 4:48). The metaphor being exchanged in this banter refers to the “children” being the Hebrews, and the “dogs” a reference to the Gentiles (frequently referred to as such by Hebrews of the day). While this seems out of character for the Lord, our translation leaves out some conversational nuances that soften the dialogue. The word translated as “dogs” in this translation could be more accurately expressed as “pups.” It is also significant that the children and pups are eating at the same table, again expressing the universal nature of the mission of the Messiah.
CCC: Mt 15:22 439, 448; Mt 15:28 2610
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Reflection:
We are reminded in Scripture that God’s mercy and salvation came for all and is generously given, even if sometimes our prayers are answered with silence. Isaiah reminds us of the universal offer as he speaks to the people of Israel who are returning to their homes in Judah and Israel following the years of their exile. We might think of it as a parallel to our own situation. For were we too not forced into exile by the necessity of halting the spread of this horrible virus which had taken so many lives?
We, like those ancient Jews are returning to our community of faith after forced separation. We can feel God’s mercy as we do so and those words, “sacrifices will be acceptable on my altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples,” allows us to identify more closely with people so separated, refugees from our faith.
Into our attempt to retain our sense of community comes the familiar story of the Canaanite woman. It is a story daily Mass-goers will recall hearing only a few weeks ago. It is repeated here because the need for us to recall God’s promise is set in this story in an unusual way – a pragmatic example of our own prayers for God’s help when we face severe challenges.
We are invited to consider the scene. Jesus has experienced what St. Paul laments in his letter to the Romans also proclaimed today. The Lord was rejected by the leaders of his own faith, even after performing the miracle of feeding the multitudes with just a few loaves and fishes. He is tired and, even the Son of Man must feel somewhat depressed, certainly saddened because those he came to save rejected that salvation. (St. Paul tells the Gentiles that, perhaps in their jealousy, some Jews may be saved as they see that same gift offered to their non-Jewish (goy) neighbors.)
God shows his hand as the Lord encounters another person who has turned her back on her own people, the Canaanite woman. God brings these two, Jesus and the woman, together so that we might see that persistent faith will help us understand that God’s mercy and love persists as we persist in our faith. The woman is desperate in her situation and Jesus is tired, dejected and traveling in a foreign land. The woman “screams” at him in desperation. For those of us who have had dogs (to borrow from an image used later), it is like leaving your beloved pet and hearing the plaintive barking of your pet, not wanting to be left behind. She comes to him like a persistent and perfect prayer of petition. “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!”
Now at this point, those of us who have developed a view of Jesus as the perfect vision of God’s love incarnate would expect a compassionate response. We actually feel there is something not right in what comes next. The woman’s pitiable cry is met, not with immediate compassion, but with silence! How unlike a similar encounter with the blind beggar named Bartimaeus (literally "Son of Timaeus") in Mark 10:46-52, who, using the same entreaty: “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me,” received almost instant mercy and healing.
We invite you to think for a moment about times when you have prayed insistently to God asking for needed help but hear nothing. This woman, motivated by the love of her child, persists even more intensely. So intense are her cries that the disciples come to Jesus and ask him to do something about her. It is time for one of St. Matthew’s “teaching moments” for the disciples. Instead of turning aside to deal with the woman, he tells his disciples: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (In the depths of our own desperation, have we not all wondered at some point: “Am I worthy of God’s mercy? Have I not failed in so many ways, and sinned in God’s eyes? Does God only help those whose loyalty makes them deserving of God’s mercy?”).
The woman must have overheard this comment and driven by her need, she again approached Jesus. As we enter into this part of Jesus’ uncharacteristically harsh dialogue, we should remind the reader that while the reference to “little dogs” might sound like a softening of Jesus’ comments regarding Gentile children, in most cultures there is not the same affection for dogs as in the west. Hence, using the term “dog,” as in other parts of Scripture is still meant as a derogatory term. In this final exchange to the woman’s persistence is rewarded and the Lord demonstrates again his perfect reflection of God’s love for all people.
The entire encounter is, for us, an important reminder that our prayer must be sincere and persistent. And that God’s mercy knows no limits. We must never be shaken from our faith even in desperate times and situations, having faith the Lord will answer.
Pax
In other years on this date: Optional Memorial for Saint Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church
[1] Catechism links are taken from the
Homiletic Directory, published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The picture is “Christ and the Canaanite Woman” by Pieter Pietersz Lastman 1617.
[3] S.S. Commemoratio[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] John D. W. Watts, Isaiah 34–66, Revised Edition., vol. 25, Word Biblical Commentary (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc, 2005), 821–22.
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