In the Gospel Reading of the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle , Matthew15:21-28, we find Jesus and his disciples outside the area where the Israelites were predominant residents. It was he who came to the Gentile region of Tyre and Sidon in Phenicia, which is not spiritually clean to the Israelites. So, why did Jesus come to such a pagan region?
What preceded Jesus’ visit to the region of Tyre and
Sidon was rebuking the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, who came all the way from
Jerusalem to criticize Jesus’ disciples not observing the purity tradition of
the elders (Matthew 15:1-20), upon healing many in Galilee (Matthew 14:34-36),
following feeding the great crowd out of five loaves and two fish (Matthew
14:1-21) and crossing the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 14:22-33). Jesus was keenly
aware that growing hostility of the Jewish leaders, such as the Pharisees,
toward him. In fact, the Pharisees had already began thinking of killing him for
healing a man with a withered hand on a Sabbath day (Matthew 12:9-14). Perhaps,
Jesus decided to seek a respite in a region where he would not face hostility,
because the Pharisees would not come to a region of the Gentiles.
Being away from the Pharisees in a pagan region for a
while, the one who found Jesus was not a Pharisee but a Phoenician woman, begging
him to heal her demon-possessed daughter, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of
David! My daughter is tormented by a demon” (Matthew 15:22). To this, Jesus
remained silent, while the disciples asked him to send her away (Matthew
15:23). Then Jesus opened his mouth and said:
I was sent only to the lost sheep of the
house of Israel (Matthew 15:24).
Here, Jesus reminded her that God’s salvific and
redemptive priority is on His first chosen people, the Jews, especially the
Jews who had fallen away from their faith. This is why Jesus said these words to
his disciples in sending them on mission:
Do not go into pagan territory or enter a
Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel
(Matthew 10:5-6).
Does this mean that Jesus did not care about the
salvation of the Gentiles? Of course not. Otherwise, Jesus would contradict the
spirit of the First Reading (Isaiah 56:1, 6-7) and the Second Reading (Romans 11:13-15,
29-32), in which we are assured of God’s salvation to all the faithful, both
the Jews and the Gentiles, so that all nations will praise God, as sung in the
Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8).
Jesus first let his disciples work on the lost Jews
(Matthew 10:5-6). But, it was to train them to be sent out to all nations to make
disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). This way, to bring “other sheep” to be brought
into his fold (John 10:16), as he send his disciples on the apostolic mission,
with the leadership of Peter (John 21:15-17) so that all those who believe,
both the Jews and the Gentiles, shall be one with the Triune God (John 17:20-23)
and the House of God is the house of prayer for all people (Isaiah 56:7).
This is why Paul wrote:
For I am not ashamed of the gospel. It is
the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: for Jew first, and
then Greek (Romans 1:16).
Now I am speaking to you Gentiles.
Inasmuch then as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I glory in my ministry in
order to make my race jealous and thus save some of them
(Romans 11:13-14).
But, when Jesus came to the region of Tyre and Sidon,
as Jesus said, God’s salvific ministry was primarily to redeem the lost
Israelites. And Jesus reminded the Phoenician woman of this.
In response, did this Gentile woman give up on her
appeal for her daughter, just because it was not time of God’s salvation for the
non-Jews yet?
No. She begged Jesus again, saying, “Lord, help me”(Matthew
15:25).
Though she was not asking for herself but for her daughter.
Yet, she asked Jesus to help “her”. It means that she embodies her daughter’s
great need of Jesus in her intercession for her.
In response to her second plea for his mercy, Jesus
further challenged her, saying:
It is not right to take the food of the
children and throw it to the dogs (Matthew 15:26).
Jews looked down Gentiles, assuming that they did not
believe in God Almighty as they engaged in idol worship. So, they called them “dog”.
But, here, Jesus did not regarded Gentiles like her derogatorily just because he
indicated her as one of “dogs” in the eyes of the Jews.
In the original Greek text, Matthew uses “κυνάριον/kunarion”, which means “house dog”, instead of “kύων/kuon” (e.g. Matthew 7:6; 16:21; Philippians 3:2; Revelation 22:15), which has a nuance of a filthy dog outside the house, eating garbage. By calling faithful Gentiles, like her, “house dogs”, Jesus was not necessarily insulting her but simply acknowledging her as not Jew but Gentile to be brought into the House of God, to be with the children of Israel.
So, she responded with her persistency in her plea for
her daughter without protesting Jesus’ acknowledgement of her as Gentile,
saying, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the
table of their masters (Matthew 15:27).
With the above reply to Jesus, the Phoenician woman hoped
that Jesus would see her and her daughter inside the House of God, enjoying the
same salvific benefits, first given to the children of Israel, after first given
to them. This shows not only her steadfast faith that withstands any tests and
her humility. She did not ask Jesus to treat her and her daughter equal to the
Jews. She respects that God’s salvation first brought to the Jews, the children
of Israel, then to the faithful Gentiles, “κυναρίοις/kunarioris” (obedient
house dog), to be with the children. In regard to her faith, she acknowledged
Jesus as the Son of David (Matthew 15:22). It suggests that she had actively studied
the Jewish Scriptures and reached the conclusion that the salvation is only
through the Messiah, who draws the Davidic lineage (Isaiah 11:10-11; Jeremiah
23:5-6). And her persistency in appealing to Jesus for her daughter echoes Jesus' teaching on prayer with perseverance (Luke 11:5-8).
So, her steadfast faith and humility let Jesus's salvific power break the barrier between the Jews and the Gentiles with these words:
O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish (Matthew 15:28).
The Phoenician woman represents us, who are not Jews by birth, but adopted as the children of God through Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit (Galatians 4:3-7), thought regarded not as children but rather “house dogs” first (Matthew 15:26). Now, we must ask ourselves to make sure that we are bound to the House of God as children of God, praising Him in the light of salvation:
Is our faith as strong as the Phoenician woman to
endure all trials?
Are we as humble as the Phoenician woman, who did not
feel jealous of those who had a privilege she did not?
Do we take up any challenges out of compassion for others in need in seeking Christ, as the Phoenician woman did for her daughter?
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