Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 118

Reading 1

Isaiah 56:1, 6-7

Thus says the LORD:
Observe what is right, do what is just;
for my salvation is about to come,
my justice, about to be revealed.

The foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,
ministering to him,
loving the name of the LORD,
and becoming his servants—
all who keep the sabbath free from profanation
and hold to my covenant,
them I will bring to my holy mountain
and make joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and sacrifices
will be acceptable on my altar,
for my house shall be called
a house of prayer for all peoples.
 

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8

R. (4) O God, let all the nations praise you!
May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation.
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
 

Reading 2

Romans 11:13-15, 29-32

Brothers and sisters:
I am speaking to you Gentiles. 
Inasmuch 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. 
For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world,
what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. 
Just as you once disobeyed God
but have now received mercy because of their disobedience,
so they have now disobeyed in order that,
by virtue of the mercy shown to you,
they too may now receive mercy. 
For God delivered all to disobedience,
that he might have mercy upon all.
 

Alleluia

Cf. Matthew 4:23

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus proclaimed the Gospel of the kingdom
and cured every disease among the people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
 

 

 

 

Gospel

Matthew 15:21-28

At that time, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 
And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out,
"Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! 
My daughter is tormented by a demon." 
But Jesus did not say a word in answer to her. 
Jesus' disciples came and asked him,
"Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us."
He said in reply,
"I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
But the woman came and did Jesus homage, saying, "Lord, help me." 
He said in reply,
"It is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs." 
She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps
that fall from the table of their masters." 
Then Jesus said to her in reply,
"O woman, great is your faith! 
Let it be done for you as you wish." 
And the woman's daughter was healed from that hour.

 

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 

Revelation of the truth can sometimes be a slow process, taking time and patience. It is not always easy to discover or understand. Wisdom takes knowledge, understanding, and experience. None of these can be gathered quickly. It is through wisdom that the truth about anything and all things is revealed. As Christians, we learn that the ultimate truth is God. He is the answer to all things. It is through Jesus Christ that we get to know Him. It is through the Holy Spirit that we get to love him: a three-fold process and a three-fold solution. Wisdom, being one of the virtues, is something that we are required to pursue to establish a relationship with God and  to live justly in the world today. In the Scripture Readings today, there appears to be a shift in messaging from the First Reading to the proclamation of the Gospel. The word of God through the prophet Isaiah emphasizes God’s promise of salvation for all peoples, and not just the Jewish People:

 

“for my house shall be called

a house of prayer for all peoples.”

 

There is no exclusivity for the Jewish People. It is all who respond to God, follow the commandments, and life according to His will:

 

for my house shall be called

a house of prayer for all peoples.

 

We have been invited and God just waits for us to respond and enter into relationship with Him.

 

From Isaiah, we are led to the Apostle Paul and his Letter to the Romans. Here we find that Paul emphasizes that salvation is for the gentiles as well as the Jews: all peoples covering this Earth and all of God’s creation. He observes that we should be thankful at what was beings offered to us, and that it was through the process of our disobedience and God’s eternal mercy that we are given an opportunity for forgiveness and redemption. The forgiveness is for everyone and the opportunity is constant.

 

Coming to the Gospel Reading, there sounds at first to be a change in tone regarding salvation. Twice, a Canaanite woman asked Jesus for help regarding her daughter and Jesus refused, emphasizing He had only come for the salvation of the Jews. He then insulted her, comparing giving her the Word of God was like throwing food to the dogs. The Canaanite woman responded with her own justification:

 

"Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps

that fall from the table of their masters."

 

With that, her daughter was healed.

 

Jesus was not holding back anything from anyone. He was waiting for a specific answer that she gave: there is no prerequisite to receive what is being offered for free. Christ died once so that we may achieve eternal life. God is not selective when it comes to salvation. Jesus does not withhold his Divine Mercy and His healing grace. The Apostle Paul actually points this out: it is because we rejected God previously (original sin) that we became shareholders in Jesus Christ. The spiritual journey that the pursuit of wisdom offers us is a fulfilling journey with many blessings and gifts offered along the way. It enables us to have a deeper relationship with God through Jesus Christ that we would not have had otherwise. We become benefactors now, in this life, and in the next.

Not only was Jesus waiting for the revelation from the Canaanite woman but was using her for the benefit of all those who could hear and for all of us. There is always an intent behind Jesus’ actions and His words. Not only are these used for the person He is interacting with, but for all those who are witnesses and readers of what occurred. The woman was a gentile (non-jew). Yet, she possessed a wisdom that was lacking in many of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes of the time. Uneducated in Jewish tradition and Sacred Scripture, she was able to recognize who Jesus was and pleaded for His help. Initially rebuked, she possessed the knowledge and understanding to answer His rebuke, the central argument that many of the Jews believed: there would come a Messiah for the Jewish People, returning them to greatness and reestablishing their relationship with God. The Canaanite woman possessed the whole truth and acted upon it. We too have that opportunity, but we must constantly pursue wisdom to achieve these things. Ignorance does not become an excuse, especially when we know how to make the journey.

 

Time doesn’t matter. It is better to enjoy the journey and be transformed by it than to focus on the final destination, for we already know what that destination is. The thing that we do not know is how the journey will shape us along the way. That ends up being the exciting part and the part that matters the most.

 

Deacon Tom  

 

 

 

 

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 115

Reading 1

1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a

At the mountain of God, Horeb,
Elijah came to a cave where he took shelter. 
Then the LORD said to him,
“Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD;
the LORD will be passing by.” 
A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains
and crushing rocks before the LORD—
but the LORD was not in the wind. 
After the wind there was an earthquake—
but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 
After the earthquake there was fire—
but the LORD was not in the fire. 
After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound. 
When he heard this,
Elijah hid his face in his cloak
and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 85:9, 10, 11-12, 13-14

R. (8) Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD — for he proclaims peace.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and prepare the way of his steps.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.

Reading 2

Romans 9:1-5

Brothers and sisters:
I speak the truth in Christ, I do not lie;
my conscience joins with the Holy Spirit in bearing me witness
that I have great sorrow and constant anguish in my heart. 
For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ
for the sake of my own people,
my kindred according to the flesh. 
They are Israelites;
theirs the adoption, the glory, the covenants,
the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises;
theirs the patriarchs, and from them,
according to the flesh, is the Christ,
who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.

Alleluia

Psalm 130:5

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I wait for the Lord;
my soul waits for his word.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Matthew 14:22-33

After he had fed the people, Jesus made the disciples get into a boat
and precede him to the other side,
while he dismissed the crowds. 
After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. 
When it was evening he was there alone. 
Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore,
was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it. 
During the fourth watch of the night,
he came toward them walking on the sea. 
When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. 
“It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear. 
At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” 
Peter said to him in reply,
“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 
He said, “Come.” 
Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. 
But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;
and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 
Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter,
and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 
After they got into the boat, the wind died down. 
Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying,
“Truly, you are the Son of God.”

 

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 

In the Apostle Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians, he spoke of what is considered the Three Theological virtues today: faith, hope, and love. He deemed all three vitally important, with love transcending the other two. Without love there is nothing else because we were created out of love to love and be loved; God being the perfect form of love from which every other kind flows. This does not make faith and hope something less than. Instead these two should be approached with love. As Christians, nothing can be done without love, so it should become an encompassing force within our lives. When we love ourselves, other people, and God there is no room for conflict and negative feelings. Taking this love and applying it to our faith, while allowing it to form our expectations, sees us utilizing and implementing all three of these theological virtues. This will lead to a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ  and a more joyous life. It is easy to believe when the presence of God is felt and it is easy to expect things from Him when His presence is known.

 

How then can we feel the presence of god’s love in our life? For those who have felt it, it is easy to feel and easier to describe. Yet there are so many who cannot feel His presence or resist fully embracing Him on an intimate level. There are two worlds that we can live in, one that holds God as its primary presence, or we can choose the one that is filled with distraction and temporary self-gratification. If we choose the one with God, then that means our efforts and focus will be on God and building a relationship with Him. The more we focus on the relationship, the deeper it will become; the more gifts we will receive from it.

 

To fully understand about developing a relationship with God, the example of meditative prayer can be used. This type of prayer calls for us to enter into silence to find God. Through certain practices, slowly pushing out outside distractions and emptying one’s mind of any personal thought is learned. It is then in the silence that God can be found. We can then rest in His presence. Meditative prayer takes time and practice. There are those who cannot or will not succeed in this area, lasting only a couple of minutes before being distracted. There is then frustration and an unwillingness to continue doing it. Others will apply themselves, first doing it for a couple of minutes. Over time, these few minutes turn into hours of silence listening to God. The results are directly related to how great the commitment to finding God is. If we do not seek, we will never find.

 

The Prophet Elijah found God in a small whispering sound. God tends to minimize Himself instead of displaying His endless power and glory. He wants us to get to know Him on an intimate level; relating to Him as a friend and lover. Psalm 16 says,

 

“you will show me the path to life,

abounding joy in your presence,

the delights at your right hand forever.”

 

The act of showing indicates a relationship and joy is only experienced through God’s presence. So, it can be asked, do we not put as much in a relationship with God beyond Sunday obligations? If we are true to ourselves, we already have the answer. Living in this world always threatens to minimize God and urge us to turn our back on Him.

 

Deacon Tom