She proves to be one of the most remarkable people in all the Gospels. She digs in, takes Jesus on, and proves herself to be every bit the wordsmith He is and even better. She hits Him right between the eyes with her famous reply, "Lord, even dogs get the crumbs that fall from their owner's table." But she doesn't want crumbs. She wants the whole loaf - a healing for her daughter.
Rev. Martino Nguyễn Bá Thông (St. Mary on the Hill – Augusta, GA)
20th Ordinary –Year A (2005)
Isaiah 56:1, 6-73 |
Romans 11:13-15, 29-32 |
Matthew 15:21-28 |
CULTURE SHOCK!
(I do not preach this weekend! The deacon is preaching, therefor this homily is a re-post of what I preach 3 years ago at St. Mary on the Hill in Augusta)
Today’s readings contain elements of “culture shock,” the jarring things that happen when someone ventures from a familiar environment to an alien one. As an Asian working with Anglos and sometime Hispanics, that is something I have experienced – and continue to experience. One of the confusions regards the expression of ideas when translating from one language to another.
I learned English when I first came to this country 12 years ago. I tried to pick up and write down things that people said and then go home at night and look it up in the dictionary. One day I learned the term “Sun of a beach” S-U-N B-E-A-C-H. I though it was a phrase complementing someone that they look happy or handsome like the sun of the beach. When meeting the parish priest, I said to him with a big smile on my face: “Father, you are SUN of a BEACH!” And I leave you to imagine what happened!That is what exactly what happened in today’s Gospel. Into the districts of Tyre and Sidon Jesus moves – He is now out of his “Jewish Culture” and entering into another culture. Let’s see if he made the same mistake I made!
As the Gospel opens, Jesus is clearly on the run from the bad guys. He abandons Palestine and flees into today's Lebanon. Why? He was scared stiff. The Christ was convinced He could hide in this foreign country. Then, when the cops had forgotten about Him, He would slip back into Palestine through a back door.
But unhappily His fame as a wonder worker had preceded Him. A woman with a sick child spotted Him. Loudly she begged for a cure. His cover had been blown. The apostles begged Jesus to get rid of her and quickly. They wanted her to disappear into thin air.
As far as the twelve were concerned, she was bad news on several counts. Not only she was a Gentile, she was a Canaanite, who had been the arch enemy of the Jews for centuries. Her loud pleas would attract the cops and the apostles had no desire to spend the balance of their days in a foreign jail.
In perhaps the toughest language used by Jesus in the Gospels, He sharply tells the woman His mission is only to the Jews. It is not to be shared with dogs which is how Jews regarded Canaanites.
The mother was not frightened by the put-down of this wandering Jewish wonder man. She proves herself every bit a match for His tongue. She probably had no love for this Jew, but she believed He could deliver. She had a sick youngster and was willing to swallow insults. She was going for the gold - the healing for her daughter.
She proves to be one of the most remarkable people in all the Gospels. She digs in, takes Jesus on, and proves herself to be every bit the wordsmith He is and even better. She hits Him right between the eyes with her famous reply, "Lord, even dogs get the crumbs that fall from their owner's table." But she doesn't want crumbs. She wants the whole loaf - a healing for her daughter.
His obvious irritability and even bad manners indicate Jesus was strung out. His nerves must have been as tight as an overstretched rubber band. This was the first Gentile of record whom He had dealt so aggressively with. Confronted by this courageous woman, unlike us, He does not hold onto His anger. He immediately softens His tone because of her faith in Him.
Christ healed her child of course. But also He salutes her faith. As a matter of fact, in Matthew's Gospel, she is the only person, man or woman, whose faith He calls great. She was also great for a second reason. She was the only one in any Gospel who had vanquished Him in an open-air debate. Not using her intelligence like the scribe or the Pharisee but using her great faith.
My dear brothers and sisters, like it or not, the Gospels tell it like it is. Matthew tells us today: The road to follow Jesus is not easy, there will be times when people put you down, but you either have great faith like the woman or you don’t; you either join His side or run away from Him. What is your choice?
Father Martino Nguyen Ba-Thong
(Nguồn: Hãy yêu thương nhau)