Deacon Larry

  August 17, 2008

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Is 56: 1, 6-7; Rom 11: 13-15, 29-32; Mt 15: 21-28

Dc. Larry Brockman

There’s great news for all of you in today’s scripture!  God wants all of you to be saved.   

First, Isaiah says:  “For my salvation is about to come, my justice is about to be revealed”.  Then, St. Paul echoes this same theme when he says:  “For the gifts of the call are irrevocable.”  The call is the call to be a member of the Kingdom of God; the gift is everlasting life.  Yes, all of you are called to that gift.  And finally, Jesus says in the gospel that the Canaanite women is saved by her faith.  This was a real departure- Jesus is travelling outside Palestine- the only time he ever did that.  The area was populated by Canaanites- traditional enemies of the Jews  So, as a Jew practicing Jewish tradition, Jesus was just affirming the belief that only the chosen Israeli people could be saved when he says: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel”. 

But, the Canaanite woman was excepted because of her true faith and the active response to that faith she displayed- by her persistence.  This exception applies to all of us.    So these readings bring to mind two important things about salvation.  First, that God has called everybody to be saved and to experience eternal happiness.  And second, that our response to that call is important.   

First, consider that God wants everybody to be saved.  That means he wants you- all of you out there.  He also wants the guy that cut you off on the way into the parking lot; the difficult boss you work for; the bully at the school you attend; the neighborhood gossip; the atheist you see on the talk show; and even those weird looking people you’d rather not associate with.  He wants everybody.   

I have two short stories that demonstrate this point.  The first has to do with a recently canonized saint.  In 2006, the pope canonized St. Raphael Guizar, a Bishop from Mexico.  St. Raphael prayed constantly that his bitter enemy would be saved.  In fact, he was quoted as praying that he would give his right eye if God would give his saving grace to this hard-hearted sinner.  Thirty years after his death, Raphael’s body was exhumed so that they could move it to a new burial place.  They were amazed to find his body still fully intact- just as soft and pliable, and as unspoiled as the day he was buried- except- except for his right eye, which was totally decomposed.   

The second story involves St. Theresa of Lisieux.  St. Theresa prayed incessantly that a notorious murderer would experience a change of heart, and repent of his sins.  Despite her daily prayers, the villain refused a priest repeatedly while awaiting execution.  But, just before his execution, as he lay before the executioner’s sword, he asked for a crucifix, which he kissed, and then proceeded to ask for forgiveness.   

Yes, God wants all of you to be saved.  That’s why Jesus died for us- all of us.  We are all sinners; but no matter what we’ve done, we are all called to the Kingdom of God.  It is not up to you and I to judge our peers;   The justice of which Isaiah speaks is God’s justice, not ours.  So, hard as it is to believe, God wants all to be saved, even those obnoxious, and seemingly despicable people in the world that nobody likes.  In fact, as the two stories show, God wants us to pray for our enemies, because by our sacrifices and prayers, we help to convert even the hardest of hearts, and win over sinners for God’s Kingdom.   

Sometimes, though, we become pre-occupied with judging and condemning others when our focus should be on the second important factor- our response to the call.  The Canaanite woman demonstrates some very important qualities that we should all exhibit in response to God’s call to us:  Love, Humility, Faith and Persistence. 

Now it’s important to understand just how much of an outsider the Canaanite woman was.  She was not a Jew; she belonged to a group that had been bitter enemies of the Jews.  In fact, she is not even described as a God-Fearer.  God-Fearers were a gentile people who, despite the fact that they were not Jewish by lineage, followed the God of Israel as their own.  No, this lady simply heard Jesus, and came to believe that he was the Messiah.  There is no question of her love, for her actions on behalf of her daughter spoke clearly.  She was willing to risk public humiliation, and rejection by her own Canaanite people by following after Jesus persistently.  Her willingness to forget herself in deference to her daughter demonstrates real love.  Second, she was filled with real faith.  She addresses Jesus as Lord, the term used to describe God himself by the Jews.  And she prostrated herself before Jesus as is to give homage to Him.  Yes, she believed that this was God that she was appealing to.  Jesus sensed the genuine faith, and complemented her.  Lastly, she was humble.  Though persistent, she was low key, and respectful.  Her responses to the comment about the dogs eating the scraps from the table clearly show her humility. 

So let us put aside your judgment of others, and concentrate on your response to the call to the Kingdom of God.  Practice the virtues- Love, Faith, and Humility.  And above all- be persistent.