Homily – 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

This week’s gospel story of the Canaanite woman having a debate with Jesus about, to whom God’s salvation belongs is worth some reflection.  Jesus has been struggling with the painful reality that his opponents among the religious leaders of his own beloved Jewish people do not accept him.  So he withdraws to a Gentile territory in the region of Tyre and Sidon to have a break from the hostility he faces from his own people.  And there he meets the Canaanite woman who pleads with him to heal her daughter.

Surprisingly, Jesus’ response to her plea is not what we would usually expect.  He does not answer even a word, the gospel tells us.  This is not typical of Jesus that we often find in the Gospel.  We often hear Jesus moved with compassion when he encounters the sick and the marginalised.  But he seems to be a bit cold to this woman.  What is the issue here?  When the disciples plead with him to give her what she wants, then he could not pretend to ignore her anymore. He confesses: ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.’  This is the reason behind his ignoring her.

Jesus’ primary mission is to save the lost sheep of the House of Israel and he is determined to do that.  It is his own people that he was sent to heal and save, so when a Gentile woman asks for his mercy, he tells her that only those of the House of Israel can be granted salvation.  Yet, what Jesus cannot ignore is the woman’s great faith in his saving power.  Her faith even “changes” Jesus’ heart.  ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel’ but because of your faith your daughter will be healed.

Jesus is moved by her faith.  He breaks his own religious boundary for a Gentile woman because of her great faith.  Faith in God cannot be restricted to any particular group, be it race, gender, culture, and even religion.  God’s love is for all.  This gospel invites us to see God’s saving work outside our physical, social, and religious boundaries.  We cannot restrict faith to religion.  A friend of mine, who is not religious at all, confessed to me recently that when his dad was gravely ill, he went to pray in a church.  He said to me: “I felt like God could help me so I went and prayed for my dad”.  When I was reflecting on today’s gospel, I remembered his story.

In the first reading, Isaiah points out that foreigners who have attached themselves to the Lord, and love his name, will be brought to God’s holy mountain, because his house is a house for all the peoples.  Even foreigners can be saved.  Those who live justly and act with integrity, God’s salvation will dawn on them, says Isaiah.

Today, the Church in Australia is facing the decline of religious affiliation and church practice, as shown in the latest census.  More boundaries have been drawn in recent times, even within the cohort of believers: practising/non-practising; Mass goers/non-Mass goers.  Sometimes we struggle to make sense of this.  Do we all wish everyone to be practising and going to Mass every Sunday?  This week’s gospel points out a truth that faith in God goes beyond any boundaries or categories that we may fall into.  Or better, God’s love and mercy has no boundaries.  It is open to everyone, including foreigners and non-practicing.  God’s love and mercy reaches beyond the boundaries that define us.

We cannot think and restrict faith in God only to those who affiliate with the Church or religion.  Religion helps us to nurture our faith but sometimes it can be a hindrance.  When religion stops at the promotion of the adherence to an organisation or group of like-minded people and does not move further than that, then it is dead.  Religious practices and rules are not ends in themselves but they are meant to nurture our faith.  In the end, it is not religion, but faith that will save us.  And like the Canaanite woman we need both the humility and persistence to say ‘Lord, help me.’

By Deacon Tien Tran