We are in the Twentieth Sunday
of ordinary time. In the Gospel the canaanite women is begging Jesus to heal
her daughter from the possession of demon. It is the custom in ancient times
that people go to some worship places, priests and magicians to get rid of the evil
spirit that possesses a person. First, they go to their own family or tribe
deity and their priests. If no good result is found from them, they move to
other gods and priests. In the same way the canaanite women, a non-Jew in today’s
gospel must have approached Jesus – a great teacher and healer in Judaism. But that
is only a possibility or our general assumption. The dialogue between the canaanite
women and Jesus in the gospel passage reveals that she has not come to ask Jesus’
help as one of her option among many but she has come to Jesus as her only option
and hope. In spite of Jesus refusal to extend His healing ministry to non-Jews,
the constant persistence of gentile women wins the favour from Jesus. Her reply
to Jesus, “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table”
(Mt 15:27) exhibits her complete faith in Jesus. The mercy that Jesus brought
down to His own people is extended to a gentile woman because of her faith. God’s
mercy is not only for chosen people or people who keep the commandments of God
rather His mercy is to each and every one who has complete faith in Jesus. It is
not the observance of law that saves us. It is our faith in Jesus that makes us
worthy to receive God’s mercy and keep His laws. As St. Paul says in his letter
to the Galatians; it is the faith of Abraham that made him worthy of God’s
promise, not the observance of law (Gal 4:1-5). Law is only assistance for human
beings to keep the faith. Thus, before practising the teachings of Jesus we
need to have faith in Jesus.
We human beings offer gifts
and make promises. They are time bound. We grant certain privileges to some
people as long as they are pleasing to us, once they rebel or go astray we
revoke those privileges. It is not same with God, “For the gifts and the call
of God are irrevocable” (Rom 11:29). Once God grants a favour they are granted
for eternity. God blessed the people of Israel as His chosen race. As a result
of that blessing God constantly sent His gracious aid to them through prophets
and kings in spite their rebellious nature. Jesus is also sent to them and only
to them. We gentiles inherited Jesus’ mercy because of our faith in Him as
happens with canaanite woman in today’s gospel. As per today’s first reading
the God of Israel blesses not only Jews but also gentiles who exhibit their
faith in Him (Is 56:1, 6-7). Once we place our faith in Jesus we receive His
mercy. Our faith in the sacrament of reconciliation grants forgiveness for our sins.
Our faith in Eucharist makes Christ Jesus present in the host. Our faith in
scripture as God’s word makes us to follow them devoutly. Our faith in the Holy
Spirit makes us strong in our faith. We are the people of faith. Christianity
is a fruit of people’s faith in Jesus. As we battle touch times in this coronavirus
crisis let us not lose our great faith. Like canaanite woman let us make every effort
to persevere in our faith. Our constancy in prayer and continual dialogue with
the Lord will the favour from Jesus. He will grant us His mercy. We will be
healed from our worries and crisis as He healed the daughter of canaanite
woman. Let our faith extract His mercy.
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