A contrast can be drawn between the Gospel Reading of the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) (Matthew 14:22-33) and the Gospel Reading of the 20th Sunday (Matthew 15:21-28), in terms of faith. The faith of the disciples in Matthew 14:22-33 was rather a shaky one. Because of this, they were unable to recognize Jesus when he was walking on the water during the storm. Their problematic faith let them assume that the man walking on the water was a ghost. And this resulted in the disciples’ fear. On the other hand, the faith of the Syrophoenician woman in Matthew 15:21-28 is firmly resolved, not letting anything to get in the way of it. And, the Gospel narrative also describes how her steadfast faith overcame the challenge that Jesus set before her.
During the post-Paschaltide Ordinary Time, a focus
in the Scripture readings for Sunday Mass is on the growth in faith. Therefore,
by contrasting the faith of the disciples in Matthew 14:22-33 for the 19th
Sunday and the faith of the Syrophoenician woman in Matthew 15:21-18 for the 20th
Sunday, as we reflect our own faith, we can ask ourselves – what is an area in
life where faith becomes shaky? And how can we grow in faith to attain the
unshaken and firmly resolved faith like the Syrophoenician woman?
****
Jesus and his disciples needed some respite time to
get away from his folks, the Israelites, as he had been quite busy, intensely
busy, upon his disciples’ return from their mission. As you read Matthew 14 and
15, you realize this.
After taking care of the sick in Capernaum and
feeding more than 5,000 out of 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish in Tabgha, Jesus
dismissed the crowds, who kept chasing him, and sent his disciples ahead of him
on the boat, so that he could pray alone and grieve over the death of his
cousin, John the Baptist. While the disciples were sailing the Sea of Galilee,
storm hit and Jesus was walking on the stormy water to catch up with the
disciples. Then, the disciples mistook Jesus for a ghost due to their shaky
faith. Peter even tested Jesus, saying, Lord,
if it is you, command me to come to you on the water”(Matthew 14:28). And,
Jesus commanded Peter to walk on the water, and Peter was actually able to walk
– until his attention drifted from Jesus as strong wind hit his body and his
shaky faith. He began to sin and cried for help to Jesus. And, Jesus rescued
Peter. Witnessing the whole thing, the disciples came to recognize Jesus as “truly
the Son of God”(Matthew 14:33).
Then, once they came to shore of Gennesaret, people
brought sick members of their communities to Jesus for healing. Once again, he
was busy taking care of people in the area. Then, the Pharisees from Jerusalem
argued with Jesus on cleanliness and Jesus exposed their hypocrisy in his rebuttal.
Just place yourself in the place of Jesus in this
strain of events. You sure would feel like having a break.
So, the setting of the Gospel narrative for the 20th
Sunday (Matthew 15:21-28) is Jesus and his disciples being on break in the
region of Tyre and Sidon in Phoenicia. It is a territory of the Canaanite.
Jesus went beyond where the Israelites lived in Galilee to get away, after
intensely taking care of them. Then, there came a woman of the area, asking
Jesus to heal her possessed daughter.
Though this woman did not chase Jesus all the way
from Galilee, perhaps, Jesus might have shared the feeling of Dr. Marvin, a
psychiatrist in 1991 movie, What about Bob?”, when his patient, Bob, popped up
to Dr. Marvin at his vacation site. Dr. Marvin was on vacation to get away from
an intense patient, Bab. But, Bob did not let his beloved psychiatrist, Dr.
Marvin, go away from him. And, Dr. Marvin’s vacation was ruined by Bob.
Jesus came all the way to the region of Tyre and
Sidon to have a bit of “vacation”. But, a local woman came and asked him to “work”
for her daughter.
The woman pressed Jesus, pleading to him, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My
daughter is tormented by a demon” (Matthew 15:22). But, Jesus responded
with his silence at first. And the disciples suggested Jesus to send her away,
as they did in response to the crowds (Mathew 15:23; cf. 14:15). And Jesus did
not object the disciples’ suggestion though he did not send her away, either
(Matthew 15:23; cf. 14:16). Then Jesus finally opened his mouth and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the
house of Israel”(Matthew 15:24). Because she was not an Israelite but a Syrophoenician
Canaanite, she knew she was out of the range of Jesus’ ministry. So, did she
give up, regretting that she was not an Israelite and asking a favor from an
Israelite healer? No.
Rather, she came closer to Jesus and said, “Lord, help me”(Matthew 15:25). Perhaps,
she felt she had no other choice but to ask Jesus, though she was told that he
was not to service the Gentiles. So, she would not go until she could mobilize
Jesus into action. Then, Jesus said, “It
is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs”(Matthew
15:26), alluding the Israelites to the children and the Gentile to the dogs.
And, I have noticed that many wonder why Jesus made such a “mean” response to a
non-Israelite woman, as to reject her earnest request.
They question: why Jesus had to make such a
rejecting statement in response to this Gentile woman’s request. Was it because
she was like Bob, bothering Jesus on his “vacation”, as Bob bothered Dr. Marvin
on his vacation? Or, was Jesus’ ministry was only for the Israelites, as he
indicated in Matthew 15:24? For a sure answer, you need to ask Jesus directly.
However, we can tackle these questions with some thoughts in reference to other
biblical passages and in reference to the First Reading (Isaiah 56:1, 6-7), the
Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8), and the Second Reading (Romans 11:13-15,
29-32).
The First Reading clearly prophesizes for the
catholic (universal) Church to worship Christ, in which both the Israelites and
the Gentiles worship together, as the Church is called “a house of prayer for all peoples”(Isaiah 56:7). And, the
responsorial Psalm sings for all nations to praise the Lord. Then, the Second
Reading tells that Paul’s mission concentrated in reaching out to the Gentiles
to let the fledging the catholic Church grow, the God’s covenants with the
Israelites, as addressed in the Old Testament, are irrevocable, indicating that
the Israelites, even though they did not recognize Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah,
to fulfill all the covenants for them in the Old Testament.
In fact, the Messiah promised and prophesized for
the Israelites in the Old Testament was not just for the Israelites but also
for the Gentiles, as well (Isaiah 9:1-7). So, Isaiah 56:7 and Zechariah 9:9-10
echo this. So, based on this, Jesus was predestined to extend his salvific
power also to the Gentiles.
If so, then, why Jesus did not respond to the Syrophoenician
woman’s request immediately but indicated his ministry being limited to the
Israelites?
It was not that Jesus “rejected” the Syrophoenician
woman’s request with a comment rather insulting for suggesting the Gentiles as
less worthy as dogs. Rather, Jesus must have been testing the strengths of her
faith. Perhaps, Jesus was setting a higher bar for the Gentiles to have his
attention for ministry service. If this is the case, then, the woman certainly
passed the test, by saying to Jesus, “Please,
Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their
masters”(Matthew 15:27). The woman cleared the standards that Jesus set in
Matthew 15:26 because of her strong faith in Jesus and her unconditional love
for her daughter. So, with these words of Jesus, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish”(Matthew
15:28), her daughter was healed.
In fact, this was not the first time Jesus actually
extended his healing power to a Gentile. He had healed a Roman soldier in
Capernaum (Matthew 8:5-13), even though the priority of his public ministry was
to save the lost Israelites (Matthew 15:24) and he even implicated this to his
disciples in sending them on mission, prohibiting them to enter a house of
Gentile (Matthew 10:5-6). During the time of Jesus, there was a rabbinic
teaching on spiritual contamination if a Jew enters into a house of Gentile.
Obviously, when the Roman centurion asked Jesus to heal a soldier under his
command and care, he understood this rabbinic teaching.
Jesus said that he would go to the house where the
soldier was to cure , when the Roman centurion approached Jesus and told about
his soldier’s paralyzing suffering, (Matthew 8:6-7). But, the Centurion told
Jesus, understanding himself being a Gentile, and perhaps the rabbinic
teaching, he said that he was unworthy to have Jesus under his roof, so simply
sending his healing word would be enough to heal his sick soldier (Matthew
8:8). This Roman centurion certainly showed his respect to the rabbinic
culture, in which Jesus was. Furthermore, the centurion appealed to Jesus’
authority as another man of authority. As a man of authority, the centurion
cares about all of his men under his command, and this mobilized Jesus to grant
healing without a physical presence or physical contact (Matthew 8:13).
Now juxtaposing the 20th Sunday Gospel
narrative (Matthew 15:21-28) to Matthew 8:5-13 in contrast. These are the first
two episodes of Jesus granting Gentiles’ requests for healing of persons whom
they care. To the Roman centurion’s request to heal a soldier under his
command, Jesus responded immediately. To the Syrophoenician woman’s request,
however, Jesus did not respond immediately but challenged her, alluding her and
her folks to dogs. To the Gentiles, was Jesus more favorable to men than to
women?
Such questions are intriguing but can prevent us
from appreciating something more important. As I indicated in the beginning, a
focus is on the faith of Syrophoenician woman, in contrast to the faith of the
disciples. Also, the faith of the Roman centurion is noteworthy.
The disciples are Israelites. And, their faith was
obviously not as resolved as the faith of the Syrophoenician woman and the
faith of the Roman centurion. The steadfast faith of the Syrophoenician woman
and the faith of the Roman centurion moved Jesus into action, crossing the
division between the Israelites and the Gentiles. Jesus did not see the faith as
strong as the Syrophoenician woman and the Roman centurion among the Israelites
(i.e. Matthew 8:10). And, this is echoed in Paul’s lament over the his fellow
Israelites’ lack of faith in Christ (Romans 9:1-5, the Second Reading for the
19th Sunday ) and the priority of his mission for the Gentiles while
still hoping for his fellow Israelites to see Christ as the Messiah to fulfill
all the covenants and prophecies for the Israelites, God’s first chosen (Romans11:13-15,
29-32; the Second Reading for the 20th Sunday).
Jesus was aware of his salvific mission was not just
limited to save the lost sheep of Israel but also the Gentile sheep (John
10:16), though he made an impression as if he was to care only the lost sheep
of Israel (Matthew 15:24).
So, the way that Jesus responded to the Syrophoenician
woman in Matthew 15:21-28) was to test her faith with a bit of hyperbolic
statement by contrasting the Israelites and the Gentile to the children and the
dogs (Matthew 15:26). Though Jesus would prefer to have a mini vacation in the
region of Tyre and Sidon, being a way from Galilee, where the Israelites demand
his service, he would never reject anyone with faith, seeking him, whether an
Israelite or a Gentile, given his statement in John 6:37.
In regard to Jesus’ hyperbolic comparison between
the Israelites and the Gentiles, juxtaposing to a comparison between the
children and the dogs, it is not necessarily insulting to the woman. The Greek
word used for Jesus’ comparison to the dogs is κυνάριον/kunarion, rather than κύων/kuon.
While the former has the connotation to a domesticated pet dog or cute puppy,
the latter is a general term for dogs, including scavenging dog. Therefore, if
Jesus were mean to the Gentiles, Matthew would have used κύων/kuon rather than κυνάριον/kunarion.
And, because of her steadfast faith, the Syrophoenician woman understood Jesus’
intent and therefore was able to respond accordingly to impress him.
*****
An important lesson from the 20th Sunday,
also reflecting a lesson from the 19th Sunday, is that shaky faith
can be easily let fear plague us but steadfast faith can overcome obstacles.
So, is our faith growing more steadfast and resolved
or still shaky as we continue to advance through this post-Paschaltide Ordinary
Time?
No comments:
Post a Comment