HOMILY/SERMON FOR 18TH WEDNESDAY ORDINARY TIME — YEAR A

HOMILY/SERMON FOR 18TH WEDNESDAY ORDINARY TIME — YEAR A

HOMILY THEME: FAITH IN GOD BRINGS HEALING

BY: Fr. Isaac Awe

Jeremiah 31:1-7, Jeremiah 31:10-12,13, Matthew 15:21-28

Do we ever feel “put-off” or ignored by the Lord? This passage describes the only occasion in which Jesus ministered outside of Jewish territory. (Tyre and Sidon were fifty miles north of Israel and still exist today in modern Lebanon.) A Gentile woman, a foreigner who was not a member of the Jewish people, puts Jesus on the spot by pleading for his help. She addressed Jesus as Lord and Son of David. She recognized that Jesus was God’s anointed one who would bring healing and salvation, not only to the people of Israel, but to the Gentiles as well. She asks Jesus to show mercy and compassion to her tormented daughter. At first Jesus seemed to pay no attention to her, and this made his disciples feel embarrassed. Jesus does this to test the woman to awaken faith in her.

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When she persisted in asking Jesus to heal her daughter, Jesus answered by saying one shouldn’t take food prepared for their children and throw it to the dogs. What did Jesus mean by this expression? The Jews often spoke of the Gentiles as “unclean dogs” since they worshipped idols, offered sacrifices to demons, and rejected the true God. For the Greeks the “dog” was a symbol of dishonour and was used to describe a shameless and audacious woman. Matthew 7:6 records the expression: do not give dogs what is holy. Jesus was sent from the Father in heaven to first feed the children of Israel with the true bread of life that would bring healing, reconciliation, and lasting union with God. This humble Canaanite woman was not put-off by Jesus’ refusal to give her what she asked for. In desperation and hope for her tormented child, she pleads with Jesus to give some of the “crumbs that fall from the table” to the “little dogs”.

Jesus praised this woman for her faith and for her love because she made the misery of her child her own. She was willing to suffer rejection in order to obtain healing for her loved one. She also had indomitable persistence. Her faith grew in contact with the person of Jesus. She began with a request and she ended on her knees in worshipful prayer to the living God. No one who ever sought Jesus with faith – whether Jew or Gentile – was refused his help. Do we seek Jesus with expectant faith?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, your love and mercy knows no bounds. May we trust you always and pursue you with indomitable persistence as this woman did. Increase our faith in your saving power and deliver us for all evil and harm. Amen.

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