Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Here are the readings for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 17, 2014:

Isaiah 56: 1, 6-7
Psalm 67: 2-3, 5-6, 8
Romans 11: 13-15, 29-32
Matthew 15: 21-28

What a contrast between world events and the events of this Sunday's scriptures!  As violence erupts between cultures (pick the country/territory of the day, sadly there are too many to list), continually narrowing the definitions of who is accepted and acceptable, we see the expansion of God's saving and healing power, eventually encompassing all who desire it.

To be truthful, the depiction of Jesus in this Gospel is less than flattering. He ignores a worried mother, then refuses her requests, and finally insults her by likening her to a dog! What's going on?

There's plenty of room for interpretation, but it may well be that in this interaction, Jesus has been challenged to grow in his own understanding of the scope of his ministry. Back in Chapter 10, Jesus sends the apostles out to 'the lost sheep of the house of Israel' (Mt 10:6) and perhaps here (15:24) he is trying to be consistent. After all, he'd just come from a dispute with the scribes and pharisees about tradition and authority, and what kind of authority would Jesus be if he wavered? Then again, what kind of savior would he be if he ignored the pleas of any one of God's creation? While the woman did not share his religion, she recognized Jesus' power and her own helplessness. Through her faith, she helped Jesus come to a wider understanding of who is 'in' the Kingdom.

We draw boundaries all the time: Who gets to sit with us in the school cafeteria, gated communities to keep out 'the undesirables', barbed-wire walls at the borders, barricades of wood and of stoney hearts.

Our psalm declares "O God, let all the nations praise you!" and that indeed is the goal. It is nothing less than sinful when a person of faith (Christian, Jewish, Muslim or ANY faith) misuses the teachings of their tradition for violence. But conversion has to start with each individual. While you or I may not exclude and inflict violence on the level of the extremists in Syria, if we're honest, we know that there are limits to our love, to our acceptance of the other.

• Who or what is the Canaanite woman in your life?
• When have you expanded your personal borders to engage another?
• What can you learn from Jesus in this Gospel?

The topic for this Sunday's Catechumenate is Anointing of the Sick.