Love - Homage - Faith

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time August 19 & 20, 2023

Is 56:1, 6-7 Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8 Rom 11:13-15, 29-32 Cf. Mt 4:23 Mt 15:21-28

Our Gospel reading today seems a bit harsh, and not the type of Jesus we want to read about. But I think we need to keep in mind what message Matthew was trying to give to his readers, Christian Jews. He is challenging them to step outside the box of their view of others with regards to whom salvation is for.

Yes, Jesus came first to restore the kingdom to Israel, as noted in the Acts of the Apostles in chapter 1 verse 6, and chapter 13 verse 46. However, His ultimate mission was the reconciliation of the world, as we read today in Paul’s letter to the Romans. Additionally, most of us are the foreigners, the non-Israelites, about whom our first reading from Isiah tells us. So, there is also a message or a challenge for us as well regarding our Love and our Faith.

That been said, let us not forget that Jesus had other encounters with non-Jews. Earlier in Matthew’s Gospel is the Centurion, who because of his great faith, and love for his servant, Jesus grants his request for the servant to be healed. And then there is the encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well in John’s Gospel.

And so, it appears that Jesus is actually challenging or testing his disciples’ beliefs while testing this woman’s faith. In fact, Jesus tests her faith three times. Kind of reminiscent of Saint Peter as Jesus asks him do you love me, three times. First, He refuses to answer her cry. Then, He tells her His mission is only to the Israelites. Finally, He uses the word “dog,” a descriptive adjective used by the Jews to disparage non-Israelites. Which also seems to be a play on words, which I’ll get to later. Yet she persists, believing that He alone offers salvation and can heal her daughter.

With that, three words come to mind as I reflect on our Gospel: Love, Homage, and Faith.

Love: Growing up in El Paso, I heard many stories of individuals, specifically parents, whom out of love for their unborn child, or their child who was suffering from a serious or terminal illness, would bargain with God and promise to make a pilgrimage up Mount Cristo Rey on their knees so their child would be born healthy or their child to be cured of their illness. As a parent, I would be willing to do almost anything out of love for my daughters’ health and well-being; so, I can understand why a parent would make such a promise, and I can empathize with this woman and the love she has for her daughter, who is being tormented by a demon.

She knows she is not welcomed, is an outcast in the eyes of the Disciples, but that does not keep her from approaching and crying out “have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!... Lord, help me.”

Homage / Worship: The Greek word used by Matthew, which can be translated as homage or worship, depending on which Bible translation one reads, is proskuneō [pros-koo-neh'-o]. In English, the word homage means to give or show special honor or respect; while the word worship means the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration shown for a deity. Both beautiful words of expression of one’s faith, however, not quite as descriptive as the actual Greek word proskuneō, which literally means to kiss, like a dog licking his mater’s hand; to fawn or crouch to, that is (literally or figuratively) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore): worship.

This is where we get the play on words from Matthew, as it is here when the woman did homage that Jesus tells her it is not right to take food of the children and throw it to the dogs, and yet she responds that even dogs eat the scraps that fall from the master’s table.

Out of love for her daughter, recognizing her lowliness, the woman, in all humility, falls to the ground and grovels, begging like a dog for a scrap of healing grace to fall from the master’s table. Is this not how we should be when we come to worship?

Faith: Finally, after experiencing the persistence of this mother, Jesus says to her “O woman, great is your faith!” And with that her daughter was healed. It is this persistent faith the Jesus is calling his Disciples and us too. It is this persistent faith that the Israelites, the chosen people of God, are to have. It is through this persistent faith that God’s mercy and grace should flow out of the house of Israel for all humanity to be healed and reconciled to him.

And so, while this might not be the type of Jesus we want to read about, it very well is the Jesus we need, who challenges us about our perception of all God’s children, about our Love for one another, and our Faith and Worship in God.