Homilies

20th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME: HERS IS A MOUNTAIN-MOVING FAITH

THE SEASON OF faith stories continues. In last Sunday’s gospel, we heard Jesus reprimanding Peter for the latter’s “lack of faith.” He was an apostle and thus, a believer of Jesus, yet, he exhibited a lack of faith. In contrast, a Gentile woman is featured in today’s gospel. Ironically, she was not a Jew yet she had a strong faith in Jesus. While Peter was reprimanded by Jesus, this woman, because of her strong faith, was praised by Jesus.

First, let us reflect on the faith of this Canaanite woman. Her faith is worth noticing because it is a fine example of the so-called mountain-moving faith. Clearly, she was helpless. She was such because she is a woman. In fact, the apostles find her an eyesore, so, they want to pull her away from Jesus. Likewise, she is helpless because she was Canaanite. Being a Gentile, the Jews should have no business with her.

But against all odds, she was able to come to Jesus. She broke all the barriers which prevent her to come to Jesus. Her faith can be described as a ‘trusting” faith. As a Gentile, she may not have enough knowledge about Jesus. She may have only heard about the deeds of Jesus. But she put much trust in Him. This is the beauty of people who have mature and strong faith. Everything is possible for those who have such faith. Moreover, for this helpless woman, faith becomes a “participation in the power of God”. According to a biblical scholar, faith is the power of those who are without power. This is true to the Canaanite woman. Like her, the believer whose only refuge is prayer comes to participate in the very transforming power of God.

Second, let us reflect on the “dialogue” that occurred between Jesus and the woman. When she asked for help, Jesus first told the woman that He was only sent for the “lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she was persistent! Then Jesus told her that “it is not right to take the food… and throw it to the dogs.” Because of her strong faith, she responded to Jesus by saying that “even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” And Jesus remarked, “O woman, great is your faith!”

If we try to interpret this passage in the context of mission, we would say that there occurred a movement from being “exclusive” to “inclusive.” At first blush, we would say that Jesus could have been myopic in his view of mission because he was only to attend to the needs of the house of Israel, specifically, the lost tribes. Beyond the borders, he has no more business. But with the kind of faith that the woman showed, it seemed that the world-view of Jesus drastically changed. He might have realized the universality of his mission. He may have realized that the Gentiles have a share in the “scraps” or blessings of salvation. We may say that it could have been the beginning of his reaching out to those who do not belong to the Chosen People. The mission became then universal. With this, the Church indeed became “catholic.”

There is something we can learn from this. In our work and in our service, we cannot afford to remain myopic or “parochial.” Although our main concern is to think and attend to the needs of our own parish or our own community, that should not be a reason to prevent us to serve people beyond our borders. Our aim is always to make ourselves missionaries or to make our parish missionary-oriented. In truth, those who can reach out to people beyond their confines are better missionaries than those who only serve their own.
 

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