Alberic Jacovone OSB
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YEAR A
TWENTIETH SUNDAY - 20.8.05
Is 56,1.6-7; Rom 11,13-15.29-32; Mt 15,21-28
Upholding
people’s values & mindset
We
all have ‘pride’ of culture. In Multi-cultural Australia, we are often challenged by situations where
we expect people to respect our culture, convictions, customs & lifestyle
while we ourselves find it difficult to do the same for them. Thank God barriers
are being slowly overcome by better understanding, overall education,
transcultural marriages etc... Still, many issues need to be attended to, in
cross-sections of our society; & a lot needs to be done in the area of
religious differences, as when we bar each other from communion at ecumenical
services. It’s sad that many of our own non-Catholic parents, spouses or
friends are prohibited from sharing Communion with us at our Sunday Mass! &
yet the Eucharist by its very essence calls everyone to Christian unity. The
prayer for this Sunday is appropriate: may the walls which prejudice raise among
us, crumble beneath the shadow of your outstretched arm’. Today, we ask:
what’s the mind of Jesus in this sensitive issue? how did the followers of
Jesus deal with the revolutionary teaching that God & His salvation are for
all with no distinction of race, nationality, colour, gender or status?.. Can
Jesus be ‘really’ present & in communion with people different from us?
The story of the Canaanite woman, written by Matthew & read today, provides
some insights. Here, the assumption is that only “we” can be saved &
only “we” can set the rules as to what’s the fair thing for God to do.
With unbending faith & perseverance, the woman pleads for her daughter’s
healing. At first, Jesus appears to be insensitive, harsh & downright
offensive, but her faith encourages her to stand her ground, & Jesus praises
her incredible faith, acknowledges her loving dispositions & blesses her
& her daughter.
‘A
pagan woman from Lebanon’
is an intriguing story. Matthew borrows it from Mark & sets a wider context:
Jesus came from God, as foretold by prophets, to save all nations; his mighty
deeds & healings invite us all to enter God’s kingdom. Sadly however,
Jesus is met with rejection & superficial enthusiasm. Except for a few keen
disciples, people remained critical, divided, opposed & sternly unbelieving.
And sadly, this is the case for us in every age: it will always take a
determined faith, to believe that the Risen Lord is present to all & in all,
& sorts out all conflicts &
turmoils of life.Yes, it took a woman from Lebanon to spell this out. The woman
is pagan, yet she says: Jesus Son of David, take pity on me... Jesus answers her
not a word & his disciples are appalled & annoyed: give her what she
wants & get rid of her, for she is howling after us: they say. Jesus
responds by restating that his mission is only for the people of Israel. The
woman is not taken aback or offended; instead she comes closer, kneels at
Jesus’ feet & says: Lord, help me. Jesus responds with the blatant Jewish
prejudice that pagan people are ‘dogs’: It’s no good to take
little-children’s food & throw it to housedogs. Again, she is not one bit
humiliated, instead she adds a touch of irony, & retorts: Yes, Lord! but
even little-house-dogs are entailed to the little-crumbs that fall from the
Master’s table. The play of words is uncanny: the rights of all, across any
segregation or privilege, creates a tense atmosphere & sends vibes across
the multicultural communities of all time. As for us, the very Greek word
‘Catholicos’ means universal & multicultural. We in Australia need to
deal with multicultural issues; and we ‘Catholics’ profess to be a family
gathered from all nationalities & in it God is our common father; His life
& grace are truly for all, & there’s plenty for all: yes! for little
children - little crumbs - little dogs: there’s lots for all.
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