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August 16, 2020

20th Sunday Ordinary

Can we change God’s mind? I am not sure anyone can truly answer that question although we do find in the Bible occasions when God does seem to change his mind or relents of what he plans to do. It has been said: “Prayer does not change God, but it changes him (the person) who prays.” -- Soren Kierkegaard    

In our Gospel, Jesus withdraws to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite Woman calls out: “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David.” She appeals to him to heal her daughter who is tormented by a demon. She is respectful of Jesus calling him “Lord” three times! She is persistent too -- so much that Jesus’ disciples urge him to send her away. Jesus explains to her: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Jesus says something that sounds harsh to us but may be a local saying: “It is not right to take food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” “Dogs” may be better translated “puppies”. We can hear our parents telling us not to take food on the table and give it to the dog. The Canaanite Woman can hold her own with Jesus. She replies: “Please Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” Jesus is surprised by her response. “O woman great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” Jesus heals her daughter.

I do not know how we can hear this passage and not have a sense that the woman’s appeal on behalf of her daughter does indeed move Jesus! It becomes an occasion for Jesus to extend the mission God, the Father, entrusts to him, to house of Israel to include her. Earlier in the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 8, Jesus heals a Roman Centurion’s servant. Another Gentile. Jesus knows of God’s openness to extend covenant blessings to other nations. In our first reading, Isaiah, the great Jewish prophet, speaks up for God: “…for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. St. Paul in his Letter to the Romans introduces himself as “the apostle to the Gentiles” and explains God’s mercy is for all both Jew and Gentile.

The interaction of Jesus and the Canaanite Woman is a model for us when we pray. We should be respectful and be persistent. We should have courage and confidence. We should be open to change ourselves and be transformed. And like Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, when he asked the Father to remove the cup of suffering, we add, “Not my will but yours be done.”   

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