Rev. Fr. (Dr.) Osmond Anike

Readings:

First Reading:: Isaiah 56:1, 6-7 – I will bring foreigners to my holy mountain.

Responsorial Psalm:Psalm 66(67):2-3, 5-6, 8 – Let the people praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.

Second Reading:Romans 11:13-15, 29-32 – With Israel, God never takes back his gifts or revokes his choice.

Gospel:Matthew 15:21-28 – The Canaanite woman debates with Jesus and saves her daughter.

Sometimes, the bane of “believers” is to think that they have the monopoly of the Good News. This illusion often creates the impression that the fruits of the God News are at their beck and call, to the exclusion of all others who are viewed as “non-believers”, “foreigners”, and “pagans”. However, neither the Old Testament nor the New Testament supports this claim. On the contrary, instances abound in both Testaments where those considered as “not worthy of God’s blessing” were, in fact, beneficiaries of the same blessing from God. And sometimes, those who prided themselves as “God’s chosen” were left empty-handed and disappointed. What makes one beneficiary of the fruit of the Good News is not whether the person is “chosen” or not, but whether the person has the correct disposition to see through an apparent bad situation a gateway to the Good News. Sometimes, the fruit of the Good News doesn’t come in a straight-forward way.

In the first reading, Isaiah specifies that “foreigners” who have attached themselves to the Lord, and all those who observe the Sabbath, and cling to God’s covenant, etc., will be brought to the holy mountain where they will be made joyful in God’s house of prayer. If you read this the other way round, it also implies that the “chosen” that do not do these things will not be brought to God’s holy mountain. It is therefore not enough to consider oneself as “chosen” or as a “believer”; what is important is one’s actions and dispositions.

In the gospel, we learn also that the fruit of the Good News is open to anyone who is ready to accommodate and tolerate insult. Whether the person is a “believer” of a “non-believer”, a “Christian” or a “pagan”, is of no consequence in so far as that person has the correct disposition to accept the fruit of the Good News. This acceptance can come in form of testing one’s ability to persevere and to accommodate what ordinarily can be considered an insult. Until one rises above the level where one is no longer affected by what people say to him, one can never really get anything one is seeking for easily. You see, one sign of enlightenment is that you are no longer able to take insult when someone offers you one. If somebody gives you a letter which you refuse to open and read, will you be affected by the content of that letter? It is only when you accept the letter and read it that you will react to its content. This is the same with what we normally call insult. It is like a letter. For its content to affect you, you will have to accept it and read it. Each time you feel insulted, it is because you voluntarily accepted insult. Therefore, you have yourself to blame and not the person who harmlessly offered you the insult as a sealed letter. The person didn’t force you to accept the letter, or to open it and read. You willingly took these actions yourself. Blame yourself, therefore, and not the person if you begin to negatively react to the content of the letter. And even when the content of the letter appears negative, you can make a positive spin of it in order to benefit from the fruit of the Good News, as in case of the Canaanite woman in the gospel.

The Canaanites were Gentiles; and the Jews considered them as inferior. In order to maintain their own national pride, the Gentiles equally looked down on the Jews. The two nations had a cat and mouse type of relationship. Any favour asked from one side to the other was considered condescension. It was, therefore, enough degradation for this Canaanite woman to have requested something from Jesus – a Jew. But, not done with that, the woman was ready to accommodate the apparent “insult” from Jesus who described her and her tribe as “dogs”. She refused to accept the insult, but rather made a positive spin out of it. Jesus saw in her a truly enlightened person, and easily granted her request.

How many of our so-called “chosen” people or “believers” are ready to act in the manner of this Canaanite woman? Pride and ego would not allow us to see through what appears like insult and discover the fruit of the Good News. “Pagan” and “non-believers” see through it and are easily made beneficiaries of the fruit of the Good News. No wonder St. Paul was so proud in the second reading to be sent to the “pagans” as their apostle. The so-called pagans are enlightened enough to raise their spirits to a level where “insults” cannot reach. We, as believers, are so proud of our personal ego that we open our hands regularly to accept insults and let ourselves be affected by its content. No wonder the fruit of the Good News often eludes us.