Wednesday of the
Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time
(Jeremiah 3:1-7;
Matthew 15:21-28)
In today’s first
reading Jeremiah foresees a united Israel after centuries of division. Solomon’s sons separated the northern and
southern kingdoms. The lands were
devastated by the invasions of first the Assyrians in the north and then the Babylonians
in the south. The gospel indicates how
Jesus sees himself bringing the two parts of the ancient kingdom together.
A descendant of David
of the southern kingdom but raised in Galilee of the northern kingdom Jesus
directs himself to the reunification of both.
From today’s gospel he does not want to complicate his mission by going
out to gentiles. When the Canaanite
woman asks a favor, he at first refuses to cross the boundary. Then he realizes that faith in God and not accidents
of geography or history is the determining factor in what makes a true
Israelite. Quite willingly, then, he
ministers to the needs of the woman.
Jesus chose twelve
apostles representing the tribes of Israel as the foundation of his Church, the
New Israel. But the Church has never
excluded any race or nation. Rather its
sole membership credentials have always been faith in Jesus as risen Lord and
Baptism. All people can enjoy the Church’s
legacy of the Holy Spirit and eternal life.
