Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s gospel reading has confounded a lot of people in the pews. Its the story of the Canaanite woman who came to Jesus pleading with him to heal his daughter. It is a great story of great faith. However, do you cringe every time you hear Jesus say, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs?” Was Jesus’ response to the helpless and desperate mother an insult? Let me simply say this: there is more to the story!
To understand this story fully, we have a to pay attention to the small yet significant historical, geographical, and social details included by Matthew. We also have to take into consideration his reasons for giving us those details. Matthew included this story in his gospel for two reasons. First, he wanted his readers to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. He wanted to elicit faith from his readers. Secondly, the story is an insight into the social conflicts that existed in his community. The Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians were at loggerheads. Matthew uses the healing of a Canaanite woman to suggest that with Jesus the social barriers are broken.
This homily, then, is very different than my typical three points format. I would like to retell this story, but, taking the details into account.
1. Let us begin with the gospel reading. To understand Jesus’ response to the helpless Canaanite woman, we have to first understand the enmity between the Jews and Canaanites in Jesus’ time. The Promised Land that God offered to the Israelites was in fact, Canaanite territory. This made the Israelites and Canaanites enemies. As the Hebrew people occupied the land of Canaan and later began consolidate the kingdom under David, the enmity got even bitter. Many of the enemies of Israel came from among the Canaanites. Moreover, the Canaanite deity, Baal, was always a threat to Yahweh, the God of Israel. The Israelites were always tempted to worship the Canaanite fertility gods. For these reasons the Israelites looked upon the Canaanites with disdain. We see this attitude played out in the disciples attitude toward the woman when they ask Jesus to “send her away.” She was an annoyance. The Jews equated the Canaanites with house dogs. Unlike today, there was not pet food industry then. Most pets were kept outside and fed the leftover scraps. They were lucky to get some. Hence, Jesus’ use of the terms children (Jewish people) versus dogs (Canaanites) in his response.
2. The geographical details are very important to the story. Matthew says, that Jesus withdrew of the region of Tyre and Sidon. Matthew is being very intentional in giving us this detail. Tyre and Sidon were pagan territories, enemy territories, unclean territories. Here is where the story begins to take real meaning. For reasons unknown to us, Jesus crosses into pagan territory. He crosses the boundaries of division. No wonder then that a Canaanite pagan woman approaches her. This was her home ground. In fact, Jesus is the outsider.
3. Being pagan and Canaanite, it is surprising she addresses him with the title “Lord, Son of David.” The title, “Lord, Son of David,” had political overtones. It was during David’s reign that Israel consolidated its hold over Canaan territories. When the Canaanite woman addressed Jesus as “Son of David,” like Jesus, she too crossed an uncrossed boundary. She was willing to put all the troubled political history aside for a greater good - the healing of her daughter. She treats Jesus according to his dignity. By the use of this title, Matthew is also telling his readers that Jesus is indeed the Messiah. Matthew was trying to elicit faith in his readers - the kind of faith that the woman had. However, he is also saying that he is the messiah not only of the Jewish people but all peoples. Whereas, the Jewish leaders opposed him, the gentiles were confessing him as the Son of God.
4. If Jesus was in her territory and if she was making concessions by addressing Jesus as “Son of David,” why then did Jesus insult her by saying, "It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” Was Jesus being a bigot? The fact that he took the initiative to cross into pagan territory tells us there is something else going on here. As I said in the introduction, Jesus’ reply was being used by Matthew to highlight the divisions in his own community. There was a huge rift between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians. Matthew was telling his readers that if Jesus could take steps to overcome all barriers, that they should do the same. The woman too had crossed a boundary by addressing Jesus as “Son of David” and placing her faith in him as Lord.
5. Before we turn our attention to the actual healing, we must talk about the woman response to Jesus’ seeming insult. She could have something nasty back to Jesus. She did not. Instead, she said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters." Her response seems to say to Jesus, “Since you have already crossed the geographical boundary, please cross yet another boundary and heal someone you have no obligation to heal.” And Jesus did exactly that. The woman’s daughter was healed. This is also the moment of faith for her, and through her for all the people outside the Jewish territory. Jesus is the Savior of the world.
6. Then Jesus did something that was unimaginable in his time. He praised the pagan woman for her faith. He elevated the enemy as a model of faith. He gives legitimacy to those whom society treated with disdain. Matthew’s larger message to entire Jewish community was simple. Membership to the people of God was not only for an elite group or a few people. He was echoing Isaiah’s sentiments in today’s first reading: “My house shall be a house of prayer for all peoples.”
7. Let me conclude with Isaiah’s words in today’s first reading, “My house shall be a house of prayer for all peoples.” Once again, the historical context is very important. The context is the Babylonian exile. During the exile, the people of Judah had developed close relationship with many foreigners and vice-versa. As the exile ended, many of these foreigners wanted to enter Judah and be part of God’s people. Isaiah welcomes these people to offer worship in the temple as long as the Covenant obligations are met. Through Isaiah, God is telling us that all of world belongs to God and hence all its people are invited to share in God’s holiness. God is not the monopoly of an elite group or a chosen people. God is accessible to all, even our enemies.
Practical Implications: These readings should lead to confess our own faith in Jesus as “Lord, Son of David.” Jesus is indeed the Savior of the world. However, faith is more than doctrines. Genuine faith should lead us to action. There are social conflicts simmering in our own country and over the world. Day by day, we seem to be drawing and reiterating boundaries and barriers instead of taking them down. People are making judgements not led by their faith in Jesus Christ but narrow nationalistic, racial, and bigoted ideologies. That is not how Jesus was. That was not how the woman in the gospel was. That is not how the early Christian church was. To those of us who are willing to break down barriers; to those of who are willing to create and “house of prayer for all peoples,” Jesus says what he said to the woman, “Great is your faith!”
- Fr. Satish Joseph