Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

(08/16/2026) Gospel Reading: Mathhew 15:21-28

“Great Is Your Faith! Be It Done for You as You Desire”

 

Jesus proclaimed the Gospel of the kingdom

and cured every disease among the people.

 

From the desk of Fr. Leo

     In this weekend's gospel, Jesus meets a pagan woman, a Greek, living in the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon. The area itself tells us she was probably a financially well- to- do person. She was a woman who was a loving mother and a very clever person. This is a unique story. We cannot think of any other story where Jesus seems so harsh with someone seeking His help. It is also the only one we can think of where someone got the better of Jesus in a debate. I would guess that the only part of this story that most people remember is with Jesus saying to her “it is not right to take the food of the children (the Jews) and throw it to the dogs (meaning the Gentiles).' Referring to someone as a dog in those days, as well as today, would be an insult. A dog would be an unclean animal for the Jews, just as Gentiles were considered unclean by the Jews. What if Jesus had said: “it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the birds?” Birds were unclean, too, for Jews. Would that have been less offensive? Actually, in Greek, the word that is used here generally means a puppy or a pet, rather than a mangy cur that just freely roamed the neighborhood. Was puppy offensive? We will never know which word would be most cutting. The important thing to notice is that the woman didn't turn and walk away in a huff. She was humble enough and clever enough and persistent enough to accept Jesus' remark and turn it to her advantage in order to gain His help to heal her daughter.

     In the gospel, the healing is not the primary focus of the story. It is the conversation between Jesus and the woman. In that, we find a lesson for ourselves. How many times have we prayed earnestly for something, something very dear to us, and God seems to have ignored us or rebuffed us. We turn our heels and walk away, angry, promising we will quit praying or going to Church or thinking God just doesn't care about us. Jesus has on other occasions in the gospels insisted on the importance of perseverance in prayer and not giving up, like the woman in the gospel who wouldn't give up.

     The gospel's story about the Canaanite woman reflects both the fact that Jesus came to save all people and, at the same time, it reflects the tension that this idea created. But one really valuable lesson we can make from hearing this weekend's gospel story is that Christ reaches out to all people in love, even those we don't think are worthy of His love. But there are a couple of other lessons we can take with us as well. This gospel is a good example of faith and perseverance in prayer. It also strikes us as a good example of asking others, including Jesus good friends whom we call saints, to pray for us. Notice that the woman tried to get the apostles to persuade Jesus for help and it worked. We don't understand the dynamics of prayer, but Jesus said there is great power in united prayer. Thus, we pray together the greatest prayer God gave us, the Eucharist.

Meditation: 

Do you ever feel "put-off" or ignored by the Lord?

This passage (Matthew 15:21) 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. 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.

Jesus first tests the woman's faith

What did Jesus mean by the expression "throwing bread to the dogs"? The Jews often spoke of the Gentiles with arrogance and insolence as "unclean dogs" since the Gentiles did not follow God's law and were excluded from God's covenant and favor with the people of Israel. For the Greeks the "dog" was a symbol of dishonor and was used to describe a shameless and audacious woman. There is another reference to "dogs" in Matthew's Gospel where Jesus says to his disciples, "Do not give to dogs what is holy" (Matthew 7:6). Jesus tests this woman's faith to see if she is earnest in receiving holy things from the hand of a holy God. Jesus, no doubt, spoke with a smile rather than with an insult because this woman immediately responds with wit and faith - "even the dogs eat the crumbs".

Seek the Lord Jesus with expectant faith

Jesus praises a Gentile woman for her faith and for her love. She made the misery of her child her own and she was willing to suffer rebuff 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 earnest faith - whether Jew or Gentile - was refused his help. Do you seek the Lord Jesus with expectant faith?

Lord Jesus, your love and mercy knows no bounds. May I trust you always and pursue you with indomitable persistence as this woman did. Increase my faith in your saving power and deliver me from all evil and harm.

read more at: http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org

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