Jesus' Teaching of Inclusion

 In today's gospel, Matthew 15: 21-28, a Canaanite woman, a non-Jew, approaches Jesus and begs Him to heal her daughter who is possessed by a demon. Jesus ignores her. When she persists, He  says to her: "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."  Again, she approached Him and says: "Lord, help me." He replies: "It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs."  the woman is not deterred by that remark and says to Jesus:  "Please, lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters."  Even Jesus' disciples were against this woman and asked Jesus to "send her away; for she keeps calling after us.  However, Jesus is amazed by the faith of this foreigner and says to her:  "O woman, great is your faith!  Let it be done for you as you wish." And Matthew tells us that "the woman's daughter was healed from that hour."

O my God! I probably would have walked again dejected and hurt and angry.  Not this woman! No way was she going to take a "no"!  Her daughter was suffering tremendously at the hands of Satan.  "No, you are not one of us," was unacceptable to this Canaanite mother.

Jesus was well aware of the Jews attitude toward strangers and, in fact, their animosity toward Canaanites!  Was He actually teaching His disciples how to treat strangers, namely, that they, too, were part of the redemptive process and recipients of  God's generosity, compassion and love, just as they were!  Is it possible that, all along, Jesus actually intended to respond positively to this woman's request but led her along as a way of breaking through his disciples' belief that they alone were privy to God's merciful love?

Do you, do I, think that we are better than others, more deserving of God's mercy and that there are people who deserve to be sent away from "the Table of the Lord"? Do you, do I, believe that it is right for us to exclude others, to be indifferent toward others, to ignore their needs for help?

A God of Infinite Love, Mercy and Compassion toward All

In today's Gospel, Matthew 15: 21-28, a Canaanite woman from the region of Tyre and Sidon approached Jesus, calling out to Him: "Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon."

Initially, it looked as though Jesus ignored her, as He does not respond to her request at first., so it seems.  Jesus' disciples are annoyed by this foreigner and say to Jesus: "Send her away,  for she keeps calling out after us."  In Jesus' times foreigners were referred to as "dogs." Jesus uses this expression and says to her: "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel....It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs."  The woman is not taken aback. She says to Jesus: "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters."  Jesus, amazed at this foreigner's expression of faith, says to her: "'O woman, great is your faith!  Let it be done for you as you wish.' And her daughter was healed from that hour."

What a lesson for Jesus' disciples! No one is excluded from God's infinite love, compassion, and mercy. Those considered "dogs" by the Jews would be treated as compassionately as the Jews themselves! Gentiles as well as the Jews have equal access to Jesus' healing power!

Redemption is for all men and women in our day as well. Those toward whom you and I might not want to show mercy are shown mercy by God. Those excluded by society, put down by the powers that be in our world, those scorned and treated like "dogs" are treated lovingly, compassionately, and mercifully by God. His love, compassion and mercy are abundant toward all of His creation: men and woman alike, the rich and the poor alike, blacks and whites and all colors alike, criminals and noncriminals alike, young and old alike, the universe itself and all that dwells therein. 

Disciples of Jesus: Persons of Reconciliation

St. Paul, in 2 Cor 5:19, reminds us that God was and is reconciling the world to himself in Christ Jesus and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.  As quoted in today’s Gospel, Mt 12: 14-21, the Prophet Isaiah prophesies Jesus’ way of reconciliation:  “A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not quench until he brings justice to victory. And in his name the Gentiles will hope.”

The first reading of today’s liturgy speaks about the 430 years that the Israelites were slaves of the Egyptians and how God freed them, brought them to the promised land.  We, too, will encounter suffering in our lives, as did the Israelites, as did Jesus.  With the Lord, we will walk the road to Calvary, be scourged by burning, scorching words,  by injustices and heartbreaks. We will be “nailed” to crosses of pain and suffering from which there is no escape except death. We will be crowned with the thorns of verbal and emotional abuse (many times coming from the way in which our self-messages lack compassion). The very pain we suffer with, in and through Jesus will lead to resurrection, to being reconciled with ourselves and others. When we peer into our pain and suffering, look for lessons we need to learn, only then will “a bruised reed... not break, a smoldering wick... not [be] quench[ed]." In seeking wisdom from what we suffer, we are enabled to bring "justice to victory". We then open the way to experiencing the resurrection, that is, newness of life, new hope and new ways of loving self and others.