HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 5TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR I. (3)

HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 5TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR I.

THEME: FEMALE VS GENTILE DIGNITY!

BY: Benedict Agbo (Rev Fr)

* Gen 2: 18 – 25, Mk 7: 24 – 30.

It is difficult to figure out how the position and dignity of women became lowered in mid Eastern and pagan cultures after such beautiful beginnings we read from the Bible. The words of Adam in today’s 1st reading confers equal ontological dignity to the woman: ‘This, at last is the bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh’. Equality, according to Aristotle, consists in the same treatment of similar persons. If man and woman share the same human nature, same rights and privileges, same destiny, how come that the concept of equality of man and woman has become a mortuary in some cultures like the whole of Africa?

Perhaps some Christian chauvinists would like to harp on the argument that the woman was made only from the rib of the man and therefore should be subordinate or even go as far as buttressing the argument that the original sin was totally the idea of the woman and so the woman must continue to suffer the punishment of being dominated by the man, Gen 3: 16.

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But be that as it may, today’s readings present Christian salvation as a corrective package. Look at how Jesus treated women in the entirep gospels. Look particularly at how Jesus treated the Gentile woman of today’s gospel. She had two dangerous pedigrees going by Jewish perspective: Not only was she a woman, she was also praying from a disvantaged position. She had what Fr Stephen Njoku calls evil family roots or evil environmental condition. Jesus had to pull her faith through these 2 major obstacles and she passed her exams creditably. The 1st was what looked like an insulting but realistic statement: ‘It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs’. Jesus had a ministry with an immediate focus on the Jews who saw the Gentiles as dogs. The woman argued and won the case because she knew his weakest point – compassion. I am sure he smiled even as he released the ‘insult’. His facial expression gave the woman a tip off. That is why this passage has been described by many biblical scholars as the ‘miracle with a smile’.

Have you ever felt put off by the Lord? Always remember this gospel. This passage describes the only occasion in which Jesus ministered outside of Jewish territory to the region of Tyre and Sidon – present day Lebanese country. What does this expression mean?: ‘Throwing bread mearnt for children to the dogs’. Yes, like Muslims would refer to Christians as infidels while Christians would refer to them as ‘Ishmaelites’ or 2nd class children of Abraham, Jesus recognized the fact that the woman was a Gentile. Gentiles were excluded from God’s original covenant with Israel. But Jesus knows that he has come to be a light to the Gentiles. He therefore spoke the raw truth to the woman with a smile (like ‘njakiri’ – truth sometimes presented like a joke) and the woman responds with wonderful sense of wit and faith: ‘Even the dogs eat the crumbs from the children’s table’. And that was the winning trump card. Some have prevailed in their spiritual struggles by such radical prayer inspite of their negative spiritual background. Some have made themselves slaves of Mary sacrificing all their rights and privileges as children of God for the benefit of others. With faith, there is no circumstance we cannot surmount. May God bless you today!

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