1.0. The God of all
What is it that causes segregation
among people? We easily classify people, prejudice against them and justify
excluding them from certain privileges or honour. Sometimes such injustice is
even gender based. What ought to bring
variety and beauty to life and society now becomes a source of pain and
dehumanization. However, our Christian life empowers us to overcome these barriers.
The Prophet Isaiah announced that ‘foreigners’
would join the ‘chosen’ people to become servants of God. People of all nations
shall gather in God’s house and offer acceptable burnt offerings and sacrifices;
“For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” The condition
for being acceptable before the Lord is made available to all: to keep justice
and do righteousness, to love the name of the Lord and to keep the Sabbath. According to Isaiah, the ordinances of the
Lord are the same for all; they are the gateway to enter His dwelling place.
2.0. Universal Mercy of God
Inviting foreigners to share in the
grace of the Chosen race is not to belittle the Jews. St Paul explains in the
second reading that his ministry to the Gentiles was equally to attract the
Jews to salvation indirectly. It was through the disobedience of the Jews that
the reconciliation of the world in Jesus Christ came. “For the gifts and call of
God are irrevocable.” That means their acceptance of Salvation will bring more
blessings to the world. God's mercy is now readily available to people, both Jews
and Gentiles. The Gentiles erred by following false gods; the Jews erred by rejecting
Jesus. “For God has consigned all men to disobedience, that He may have mercy
upon all.”
In the Gospel, Jesus declares this
universal mercy of God as He steps forward to break the barrier between the
Jews and the Gentiles. Accompanied by His disciples, He entered the Gentile
district of Tyre and Sidon. His presence in this territory is already an
indication that God’s salvation has come to ‘foreign’ nations, which is the
fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah. Jesus becomes the new Standard by which ‘foreigners’
and the ‘chosen people’ can become children of the Most High God.
3.0. Great Faith
As Jesus walked along, a Canaanite
woman from that district came out crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of
David; my daughter is severely possessed by demon.” There were lots of
socio-cultural barriers that would have prevented her from approaching Jesus. Notice
that she recognized Jesus as the universal Messiah as “Lord,” and as a full
time Jew as “Son of David.” To which of these two ‘identities’ of Jesus was her
faith directed at?
Jesus ignored her request and
continued moving. But she ‘ignored’ Jesus’ silence and continued following! As
Jesus dragged her on with silence, the woman’s faith was being tested and purified. When the disciples asked Jesus to send her away, He answered, “I was sent to
the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But the woman’s faith had bypassed the
human barrier of cultural identity, so she knelt down in humility and cried
out, “Lord, help me.” As if to confirm if she has ‘certitude of faith’ before
whom she was kneeling, Jesus said to her, “It is not fair to take the children’s
bread and throw it to the dogs.” But the woman would not reduce her faith to
human prejudice. So, she replied, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs
that fall from their master’s table.” Imagine such a pure and humble faith, not
limited by any human barriers! Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your
faith! Let it be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed at
once.
4.0. The Leap of Faith
The prophecy of Isaiah is already
fulfilled in Christ Jesus. The barriers that lock us away from each other have
been broken as Jesus stepped into the ‘district of foreigners.’ Salvation is nearer to us now (Rm 13:11). Either as
believers we fall into disobedience or as unbelievers we follow other gods, the
gate of salvation is now opened to all through Jesus Christ. We cannot claim to
follow Jesus and still build fences that separate people. The great faith that
answers and breaks barriers is one that acknowledges Jesus as Lord of all. And
such a believer loves all people as children of God. Is there somebody you are
finding it difficult to love or help because of their cultural identity? Do you
love your family to the exclusion of other families? Do you feel upset when you
hear other languages or see people dress in certain cultural attires? Do you
lack respect for people of certain cultural background? Do you respect all
genders as having equal dignity? Jesus has stepped into these ‘territories’ and
silently drawing us to rise above these limitations so that our faith itself can
become answers to our prayers. Amen.
Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic
Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.
Sunday August 16th, 2020.
www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com
Click below for another a recent version of today's Gospel:
https://nwachinwe.blogspot.com/2020/08/confidence-in-faith.html
