TWENTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
(Isaiah 56:6-7; Romans 11:11-15.29-32;
Matthew 15:21-28)
The gospel today seems particularly
appropriate for our time. It indicates the reason for many people abandoning
faith in Jesus. The storyline is short but fascinating. It describes an encounter
between a Canaanite (non-Jewish) woman and Jesus. It seems that Jesus insults
her. But a careful reading reveals how she takes no offense and even draws
closer to Jesus after his comment.
The great defender of the faith C.S. Lewis
wrote a striking essay titled "God in the Dock." He says that in
ancient times human beings always recognized themselves as guilty of sin. They,
therefore, asked God for forgiveness. He goes on to say that in modern times
the situation has been reversed. Humans accuse God of the tragedies and natural
catastrophes that people suffer. As a result, the Church has to defend God from
His accusers. The first thing many see
in today’s gospel is Jesus making a racist remark.
There is undoubtedly a new sensitivity in
recent times. Today men and women take as offensive nicknames that a hundred
years ago were considered terms of affection or respect. A man must be careful to whom he calls a
younger man, “Sonny.” In Major League
Baseball, the Cleveland team dropped its nickname "Indians" because
some indigenous said that it was offensive. To many contemporaries Jesus using
the term "little dogs" in reference to the situation of Canaanite's
daughter seems like an outrage.
Jesus can be readily defended. He never
calls the girl a "dog." He only compares his situation with the person
who has food for the family, not for the pets. However, Jesus does not require
defense. As the woman acknowledges, he is the “Lord” who would do nothing
wrong. It's not that his deeds are good because he does them. Rather it is that
he is God, the supreme good, in whom there is no evil.
The Canaanite does not denounce Jesus. She
doesn't even see his words as offensive. Rather, she shows us the proper
disposition toward God when she prostrates herself before Jesus in adoration. Recognizing
him as “Lord,” she then reiterates the urgency that he help his daughter. With
these acts she shows the world how to acknowledge Jesus with both gesture and
word.
Last Sunday we heard Jesus in the gospel
call Peter a man of "little faith." He now tells the Canaanite woman
that she has "much faith." In this case we should imitate the woman
and not Saint Peter. As the woman asks that Jesus cast out the demons that
harass her daughter, we want to ask him to cast out the demons that pollute our
time. That is, we want to ask you to remove not only the growing lack of faith
but also the self-centeredness that allows people to do whatever they like.
There is a famous novel that begins with
the words: "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times."
This can be said of any time and certainly of today. There is always a lack of
faith in Jesus making times bad. But Jesus is always close to us turning bad times
into good.
