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HOMILIES ARCHIVE
HOMILIES
Dear Audience,For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!
Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year A)
1586
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0First Reading
A reading from the first Book of the Prophet 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.
(P) The word of the Lord.(R) Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms of David (67:2-3, 5-6, 8)
(R) 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)
May the nations be glad and exult because you rule the peoples in equity; the nations on the Earth you guide. (R)
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)
Second Reading
A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (11:13-15, 29-32)
Brothers and sisters: I am speaking to you Gentiles. In as much 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 now receive mercy. For God delivered all to disobedience, that He might have mercy upon all.
(P) The word of the Lord.(R) Thanks be to God.
Gospel
A reading from the Gospel according to 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.
(P) The Gospel of the Lord.(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Homily
In the 18th century there was a British Christian missionary called James Hudson Taylor. He was one of the first missionaries to bring the gospel to China. While he was sailing to China, one day, as the vessel was nearing a channel between the southern Malay Peninsula and the island of Sumatra, he heard an urgent knock on his cabin door. He opened it, and saw the captain of the ship. "Mr. Taylor", the captain said, "There is not enough wind. We are drifting toward an island which is dangerous. "What can I do?" asked Taylor. "I understand that you believe in God. I want you to pray for wind", the captain said. "All right, Captain, I will, but you must set the sail", Taylor said. "Why that's ridiculous! There's not even the slightest breeze. Besides, the sailors will think I'm crazy", the captain said. But finally, because of Taylor's insistence, he agreed. An hour later he returned and found the missionary still on his knees. "You can stop praying now," said the captain. "We've got more wind than we know what to do with."
Friends, Saint Augustine says, "Faith is to believe what we do not see, and the reward of faith is to see what we believe." Today's gospel story is a demonstration of such faith experience. It is essentially built around the conversation between Jesus and a woman. The woman was a Canaanite from the region of Tyre and Sidon. This means she was not a Jew but a descendant of the ancient Canaanites, the enemies of Israel whose pagan worship led Israel to evil practices of idolatry and immorality. She could not have known much about Jesus. She had probably just heard reports about the healing miracles of Jesus. But what she had heard about Jesus made her believe that Jesus had the ability or the power to heal her daughter who was possessed by a demon. Her desperation for help impels her to break all barriers even of religion and community, and seek Jesus for a healing.
As Jesus was passing by she called out to him, "Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David. My daughter is tormented by a demon." But Jesus simply ignored her as if he was indifferent to her cries for help. The disciples treated her as a nuisance and wanted to get rid of her. They told Jesus to send her away. And then Jesus said that his whole purpose of coming to this world was to reach the lost sheep of Israel. By saying that he pointed out to her that she was an outsider and was not one of the chosen people who could enjoy the benefits of the covenant made with Abraham and his descendants. When the woman heard the seemingly harsh words of Jesus she was probably heartbroken yet she was determined to get her daughter the help she needed. She fell at his feet and said, "Lord, help me."
Despite the great humility and perseverance of the woman, Jesus answered her a second time in a much harsher tone, "It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs." Even though at the time of Jesus, the Jews often spoke of the pagans and gentiles as "dogs" which were considered dirty and unclean, Jesus did not use the term derisively. It is believed that Jesus referred to the little dogs that were kept as house pets. Therefore the image Jesus conjured up at the time was an image of endearment, and not as an insult, and the woman understood that. "The children's bread" referred to God's blessings offered to the Jews. Therefore, the wonderful thing was that instead of being offended by the comment of Jesus, she turned around and said, "Please, Lord, for even dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters." In other words she accepted Israel's inherent privilege over the Gentiles. Nevertheless, she would be happy to accept what the Jews do not want - even the scraps falling from the table as that would be enough to heal her daughter. She recognized that Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior of the world whom the Jews rejected. She saw Jesus as her only hope. Therefore, nothing - not even humiliation or rejection - would make her leave Jesus alone. She firmly believed that Jesus could heal, and she was not going to leave until her request was granted. And Jesus seeing such great faith said to her, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." Jesus rewarded her faith by healing her daughter. So the conversation in essence was a test of the woman's faith. Jesus' words were not to discourage her but rather to challenge her faith in him. Jesus came to the land of the Canaanites precisely to give them the good news that all people belong to God's kingdom and he is the Messiah of the whole of humankind and not just for the Jews. Jesus came to fulfil what was prophesied by the Prophet Isaiah in today's first reading, "The foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, ministering to him, loving the name of the Lord, and becoming His servants... my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples."
What is the message for us?
- There are many non-Christians who have not publicly declared that they are Christians because of the cultural and social restrictions imposed upon them. They, however have greater reverence for the name of Jesus and a deeper faith in his power than the baptized Christians. In today's gospel we have Christ's assurance that he loves and blesses the non-Christians as much as he does the Christians.
- The story is a lesson for those of us who feel discouraged, defeated and are too ready to give up praying to the Lord. Many times we wonder if there is any use praying because we feel our prayers often go unanswered. No doubt we all pray but often I think we pray not truly believing that Jesus will hear us. We pray simply hoping that something might just happen. The story reminds us that if we put all our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, he will respond to our cries. Let us therefore with true faith in our Lord bring all our needs to Him again today.
- There are times we are reluctant to go to Jesus because of our unworthiness. But today he reminds us that he always embraces all those who humbly go to him and acknowledge his power over their life. He has promised us in John (6:37), "Whoever comes to me, I shall not turn away."
- If you believe you have been discriminated against because of your race, colour, religion, gender, culture or nationality, today you can ask God to forgive them for their lack of love and compassion. You can also forgive them for "they know not what they do". The story also teaches us to avoid all kinds of direct and indirect discrimination against all people because all are children of God.
God Bless You!
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