A Cycle – 20^th Sunday in Ordinary Time 23

Mt/ 15:21-28

A good friend of mine is an amateur astronomer. He is more than an amateur as he has built his own observatory off the back of his deck.  It is a 300 sq. ft. building with a retractable roof.  Inside this structure he mounted a large telescope surrounded by a large workspace, a built in computer and camera.  The computer programs and drives the scope allowing him to view what he desires to view, take pictures, and store information. 

One thing I did not think about was how his telescope can remain focused on a stationary star in the sky.  He told me this scope is programed to remain fixed on the star he is viewing.  It automatically adjusts its position to move in coordination with the rotation of the earth.  This scope to me seems stationary but the scope is moving at a rate to equal the rotation of the earth. This keeps it directly focused on objects light years away.  He told me if the telescope remained stationary it would lose its target within minutes. Just as we cannot maintain focus on an object as we pass it in a moving car.  We are moving while it is stationary.

How many of us think about the fact the earth is rotating at the rate of 1000 miles per hour while we seem to be standing still? I am willing to bet none of us even think about the earth’s rotation. But we know it is because we can track the sun as it moves across the sky.  Tracking the sun, interesting phrase which can mean something entirely different in our faith journey.  I am willing to bet our focus each day is not fixed on one thing as his telescope is fixed on one object.  That woman in today’s gospel was not intent on anything other than “the Son of David” as we should be each day.

This gospel challenges us by her singular and unwavering quest.  It is also a gospel we will hear and cause us to wonder why Jesus was so dismissive of her.  Why was Jesus in Tyre and Sidon?  It is gentile country, the home of pagans whom the Jews referred to as “dogs” because they were unclean.  Jesus seems to challenge the beliefs of those who define righteousness. He deliberately challenges the rigid beliefs about what pleases God at that time and now.  He knowingly breaks the Levitical laws and by doing so he challenges the Pharisees to consider how the compassion, mercy, love, and forgiveness of God overrides fixed laws. 

Today, Jesus is challenging how they in His day and we in our day exercise our faith.  We see him where He should not be for His mission to the gentiles had not begun yet.  Jesus says this when He said to the woman, “…I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”  This dismissive remark does not put her off, instead she humbly gives Him homage and says, “…Lord, help me.”  Her faith is in the Son of David, and she remains fixed on Jesus.  No derogatory remark by Jesus is going to deter her.  Faith in Him is on display here and it contrasts with the disciples whom Jesus said had “little faith.”    

Jesus responds to her plea for help by another strong rebuke. A demeaning insult as He tells her “…she is not worth” the gift of grace. That gift is intended for the children God chose as His own.   But like that telescope, she is fixed on Him. She has not lost sight of who she is talking to.  Jesus, the Son of David, whom she believes will help her.  She seems to know enough to know He can change everything for her and her daughter.  She is fixed on receiving what He can offer because “…even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from their masters table.” 

Was Jesus testing her or was His disregard for her intended for us today in this century?  Obviously, we have no immediate answer to that question.  But we know every action and every word Jesus spoke were intended to reveal God’s heart and to help us respond.  One lesson we must not ignore is how this story is about how faith works in the face of opposition.   

This encounter between Jesus and this woman should move us to consider our own faith.  We also cannot ignore the disciples in this story for they wanted to silence her. 

Is our faith a belief in a God of power and might, who lives and moves among us. Is our God accessible to us? Are God’s promises to change our hearts and transform us into the image of His Son something we believe is ours by faith or works?  Is out faith in God a motivating force that moves us to seek signs and wonders today?  Do we believe Jesus came to set the captives are set free, give sight to the blind, the deaf to hear and give us new life?    

There is a direct challenge for us in this gospel and it is asking us are we even desiring the scraps that fall from the throne of grace.  Are we unwilling to ask because we know we are unworthy?  Do we believe we are not worthy therefore we need to go away until we are worthy?  Can we ever become worthy by our own acts of piety and obedience?  The woman in this gospel was and will always be a Canaanite woman but after that day she became something more. She became a daughter of God. 

Our faith is in the cross; it is in the promises of God; it is in the action of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and it is not in a belief that God existence.  It is in the presence of God in our lives, and we need to keep our eyes on Jesus.  Keep our eyes on the cross and on God’s promises that He desires our hearts not our sacrifices.  We must like this Canaanite woman remain fixed on what God offers us in Jesus Christ.