O Woman, great is your faith

Twentieth Sunday - A

Isaiah 56: 1.6-7; Romans 11: 13-15, 29-32; Matthew 15: 21-28

Today, all three readings focus on foreigners. Isaiah announces a time when the temple will be a house of prayer for all peoples (Is. 56:7), a Canaanite woman comes to Jesus asking for mercy (Matt. 15:21), and Saint Paul speaks of himself as the apostle to the Gentiles (Rom. 11:13). "O God, let all the nations praise you"(Ps. 67:4).

In ancient times, Israel was the only nation that believed in one God. "I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God”(Is. 45:5). They also distinguished themselves from other nations by the law that shaped their morality: "And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?" (Deut. 4:8). For Israel, it was a time of God's mercy but for the most foreigners a time of disobedience (Rom. 11:30; 1 Kings 17:8-24; 2 Kings 4:8--37; 5:1-19). But Isaiah foretold a time when all nations would worship God and experience his grace (Is. 45:23; 56: 6-7; 66:18).

"Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon" (Matt. 15:22). Behind today's Gospel is a question: who is the Gospel for? Only for the Israelites or all nations? The Evangelists divide Jesus' mission into two stages: stage one till Jesus' death "only to the lost sheep of Israel" (Matt. 15:25; cf. Matt. 10:5-6; John 12:20-21), and stage two after the resurrection to all nations (Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; John 12:32). But to move from a mission addressed only to the Israelites to a mission involving all nations was not so easy for the Church (Acts 10:1-11:18).

"I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt. 15:24). That first stage of the mission was not very successful. The lost sheep of Israel did not want to come back to the fold yet (Acts 13:45) and the children refused to eat the bread that came down from heaven (Matt. 15:26; John 6:60-61). Yet this rejection of the Gospel by part of Israel has opened the gates of salvation to the Gentiles (Rom. 11:11). Jesus has another sheep he needs to bring to the fold (John 10:16) and so the Church has brought the Gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46).

"Lord, help me" (Matt. 15:25). Saint Paul heard a similar call for help in his night vision: "A man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us"(Acts 16:10). The mother identified herself with the suffering of her daughter and the Macedonian with the suffering of his nation. Although they did not belong to the sheep of Israel, they believed that God was not only the God of Jews but also the God of Gentiles (Rom. 3:29) and that they would find salvation in the nation of Israel (John 4:22). And they were not disappointed.

"O woman, great is your faith" (Matt. 15:28). Such "O" appears only three times in the Gospels. Twice it precedes Jesus' harsh words about lack of faith: "O faithless and twisted generation" (Matt. 17:17; Mark 9:19; Luke 9:41); "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe" (Luke 24:25). But addressing the Canaanite woman, Jesus' "o" is an expression of his admiration for her faith. When Paul realized that "God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all" (Rom. 11:32), he expressed his admiration for God's plan of salvation in the same way (Rom. 11:33).

The Canaanite left the darkness of paganism and came to Jesus - the Light of the world; she humbled herself and was exalted, earnestly asked and received what she desired: "And at the same time her daughter was healed" (Matt. 15:28). Her humble words that delighted Jesus so much (Matt. 15:27) proclaim that not only the nation of Israel, but all nations need Jesus. Let us ask the Lord for such faith.