Homily for August 16-17, 2008

Father Tom’s Homily
20th Sunday
August 17, 2008

Today’s gospel story about Jesus’ encounter with a pagan woman follows two other stories in Matthew’s gospel. These three stories are meant to be read together as a study of opposites.
First there is the story about Peter, Jesus’ close friend and disciple. Then Matthew presents a story about Jesus encounter with the Pharisees.
Immediately following these two stories, there is today’s encounter with the Canaanite woman.

Last week’s gospel story was about a storm at sea, where Jesus came walking on the troubled waters out to the terrified disciples being tossed about in their boat.
Peter’s faith is tested when Jesus invited him to walk on the stormy seas to meet Jesus as he approached the boat.
When Peter begins to doubt and he begins to sink, Jesus says, “How little faith you have.”

Today’s gospel story is about another test of faith. The Canaanite woman approaches Jesus believing him to be the Messiah when she addresses him as “Lord, Son of David.”
When she seems to be getting the brush-off, her faith remains steadfast as she begs for Jesus to heal her sick daughter.
In contrast to his scolding Peter for having little faith, Jesus tells this pagan mother, “Woman, you have great faith.”

After the story of the storm at sea, and just before today’s story, Matthew’s gospel tells about Jesus’ stormy encounter with the Pharisees.
The Pharisees, who meticulously observed all the details of the rules about ritual cleanliness, complain that Jesus’ disciples do not wash their hands before eating.
According to the Pharisees’ interpretation of the religious laws, this rendered the apostles “unclean,” and made them unfit to participate in Temple worship. It is a condemnation aimed at Jesus, rejecting him therefore as a religious teacher and guide.

Jesus calls them “blind guides” who are failures as religious teachers because their obsession with small details causes them to miss the big picture of God’s mercy.
In that big picture of a merciful God, the pagan woman is not unclean or unworthy of God’s love.
In Jesus’ judgment the persistent women who places herself squarely in front of Jesus and kneels down begging, “Lord, help my daughter,” has greater faith than the super-pious Pharisees.

In today’s story, Jesus travels over the border into foreign territory, a dangerous land of heretics. It’s a story about crossing borders as we travel with Jesus on our journey of faith.
We all have to make the journey across borders to a more mature faith in the kind of God that Jesus is. With Jesus in today’s gospel story, we are invited to cross over the border from our small world of a small god who has little sympathy with human mistakes and misery.
This tiny god is useful mostly for winning games and wars, a god manipulated by pious rules and rituals. This is the faith of a mostly pagan Christianity.

Across the border we enter the kingdom of a large God, a great Father/Mother God, who embraces all people and loves us beyond what we can ever imagine.
In Jesus, we encounter a puzzling God who continues to challenge our faith in a too small god.
He is a poor man, a convicted criminal God. He is a God too much in love with us to ever abandon us. Who suffers with us and love us into a new way of living called the risen life.

Crossing borders with Jesus is risky. But it is worth the struggle and challenge of the journey.
In Jesus’ company we come to know who we really are. We are the much-loved children of God, a very large-hearted compassionate God, an intensely loyal God, dedicated to our welfare like the pagan woman of our gospel who will not take “no” for an answer when her daughter needed help.
In Jesus’ company we also come to know who God is. He is like the pagan woman who never gives up on his/her needy children.