A homily given on the Gospel Mt 15.21-28 ("Yes, Lord. But even the dogs eat from the scraps that fall from the master's table.")
Glory to Jesus Christ.
We have just heard a short story in the middle
of the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew’s gospel proclaims forcefully that
Jesus is the fulfillment of the Holy Scriptures of the Jews (of our
Old Testament), these Holy Scriptures build up the expectation of the
coming Messiah. In the center piece of the Gospel of Matthew, we have
short stories of recognizing the waited-for Messiah. Just after
today’s gospel we can read: “the crowds were amazed: they saw the mute
speak, the deformed made whole, the lame walk, the blind able to see,
and they glorified the God of Israel”. And Jesus then says: "My heart
is moved with pity for the crowd” and He prefigures the gift of the
Holy Eucharist, the new manna, with the 2nd multiplication of loaves.
These little central passages of the Gospel of Matthew start with
today’s recognition of the Messiah by a Canaanite woman. The
Canaanites in the Old Testament are the direct enemies of Israel,
those for whom no regard is due. And Jesus reminds the Canaanite woman
of this: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Jesus already said to his disciples: “Do not go into pagan territory.
Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” If we follow
today’s gospel of Matthew, Jesus has not left the territory of Israel,
He is only on the border line with of Tyre and Sidon. It is written
literally: the Canaanite woman came out, came out of her pagan
territory to meet Jesus in Israel. In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus was
already amazed at the roman centurion who proclaims himself unworthy
of his visit: "Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found
such faith.” While many of Israel reject Jesus, while his chosen
apostles are so often misunderstanding of messsainic signs, we are
given today this Canaanite woman, model for recognition of the
Messiah. What underlies this astonishing freedom of both Jesus and the
Canaanite woman? A profound encounter. The Canaanite woman crossed the
border of Tyre and Sidon, the Canaanite crossed the border of enmity
with Israel because of her faith that Jesus had the power to heal her
daughter. As Jesus challenges her faith, the dialogue progresses, the
Canaanite woman recognizes that the issue is no more the priority
healing of her daughter, but her own necessity of spiritual growth, so
in this 2nd moment she cries out: "Lord, help me." With this cry for
herself to be helped, with this cry for Jesus to meet her own need,
Jesus is free to be witty with her: “"It is not right to take the food
of the children and throw it to the dogs” and the Canaanite woman is
free to be witty with Jesus: “even the dogs eat the scraps that fall
from the table of their masters”. A dialogue of two fully free
persons. Indeed, her first words in answer to Jesus’ humiliating wit
of Jesus are, literally: “Yes, Lord”. Her answer to the derogatory
word of Jesus is “Yes, yes”. And there Jesus expresses his amazement:
“great is your her faith”. She has become a likeness of Jesus. “In
Jesus Christ the Son of God there is only “yes”, says St Paul (2 Cor
1.19). St Paul proclaims his own deep form of “Yes, Lord” today (1Tim
1.15): “Jesus Christ came to save sinners of whom I am the first”.
“Yes”. A question is asked today: will I cross likewise cross borders
to meet with the Messiah? will I cross today the border of my sins to
meet with the Messiah? Will I enter the freedom of the “Yes” of
Christ, the freedom of his Yes to all things. There was a sister in my
community: in all her conversations we would hear her repeating:
“yes.. yes… yes”. What about you? Will you even let Jesus be witty
with you? Will you always answer Him: “Yes. Lord”? When you are
disgraced, will you say: “Yes, Lord”. Today you are called to the
freedom of the children of God. You have a decision to take today.
What will you answer?... “Yes”. Remember! So many martyrs of yesterday
and today choose the “yes” of Jesus, they enter into the everlasting
happiness of Heaven. I finish with the final words of St Paul today:
“To the king of ages, the incorruptible One, the Invisible One, the
only God, honor and glory forever and unto ages of ages. Amen. Next
Sunday is announced the visit of 10 new friends from Windsor to our
Divine Liturgy. Are they going to find the “yes” of Jesus? The “yes”
of the Canaanite woman and of St Paul in this temple? Glory to Jesus
Christ.
(Given 1.15.23)