A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL THE PEOPLES

XX SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 15:21-28

Reading this Sunday’s gospel, we are shocked at Jesus’ attitude towards the Canaanite woman. He did not answer her plea and ignored her tears. To her cries, he answered with silence. He behaved as if he was not there, as if he was not touched by the plight of that poor woman. But she went on crying: “‘Sir, Son of David, take pity on me.” Her cry was like the cry of the psalmist:

“Hear my cry, O God,

listen to my prayer;

from the end of the earth I call to you

when my heart is faint.” (Ps 61:1-2)

And in that woman’s voice, we hear the cry of the people who feel abandoned and left to fend for themselves:

“O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,

and by night, but I find no rest.” (Ps 22:2)

The apostles were puzzled. Jesus had always shown compassion, answering the requests of those who came to him in distress. Why was he keeping silent? And they pleaded with him. Although not moved by their words, Jesus explained his attitude. The woman was a foreigner and a pagan, and he had been “sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.” Was the scope of his mission so limited? Was he not the light of the world? Or the time was not yet ready? To the woman, he gave a similar explanation of his refusal, using the common language of the time.

This passage forces us to reflect on the silence of God before suffering. The psalmists had made that experience. Where is God when we mostly need him? So many times, we get tired of crying and receive no answer. Other times, the answer may seem to injure our dignity. This narrative of the gentile woman leads us to have a look at the Christian communities to whom Matthew wrote his gospel. The Christian Jews had been expelled from the synagogues and the mission to the lost sheep of Israel was in a great impasse. Meanwhile, many Gentiles were accepting the Gospel. Could they be accepted? Should the evangelists preach to them as well? Was the bread of life to be given to them or their time had not yet come? It seems as if Jesus wanted to delay the time for the universality of the gospel. However, with her insistence, the Canaanite woman forced his hand. And Jesus answered: “Woman, you have great faith. Let your wish be granted.” After the resurrection, Jesus would open wide the gates of his Church, ordering the apostles to go and preach the Gospel to all nations (Mt 28:19-209.

The universality of God’s plan of salvation was already hinted at by the prophet Isaiah. The foreigners can climb the mountain of the Lord and enter his holy temple. For that to happen, there is only one condition: to serve the Lord, love his name and cling to his covenant. And the house of the Lord “will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.” (Is 56:6-7)