Word to the Wise
Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - Wednesday in the 18th Week in Ordinary Time
[Jer 31:1-7 and Matt 15:21-28]WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2016 WEDNESDAY IN THE EIGHTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME [Jeremiah 31:1-7 and Matthew 15:21-28] "Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us." [Matthew] The Canaanite woman is one of the most vivid characters in the Gospel of Matthew. In the Southern culture I was raised in she would be said to be showing "spunk!" To get to Jesus, she got in the faces of the disciples and made a nuisance (at least in their eyes) of herself. When Jesus tests her faith, she speaks up and lets him know that she deserves his attention even if she's not Jewish. Then she receives the wonderful exclamation from Jesus: "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." From the beginning of this gospel scripture we learn that Jesus was preaching in an area where paganism was common. That, in itself, should alert us to something different, given the very Jewish character of the Gospel of Matthew. Our mission as baptized persons is to more than those who are baptized and Catholic! Furthermore, it is a terrible irony if those who claim to be closest to Jesus turn out to be the ones who keep others from coming to Jesus. That is a contradiction in terms! Those "others" may well have to get in our faces before we realize what we are doing, even unintentionally. Faith is where we find it and it may show up in people we don't expect it from. AMEN