Woman, you have great faith

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A

Collect

O God, who have prepared for those who love you good things which no eye can see, fill our hearts, we pray, with the warmth of your love, so that, loving you in all things and above all things, we may attain your promises, which surpass every human desire. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Amen. 

Is 56:1, 6-7

A reading from the book of the Prophet Isaiah

Thus says the Lord: Have a care for justice, act with integrity, for soon my salvation will come and my integrity be manifest.

Foreigners who have attached themselves to the Lord to serve him and to love his name and be his servants – all who observe the sabbath, not profaning it, and cling to my covenant – these I will bring to my holy mountain. I will make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their holocausts and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.

The Word of the Lord.
℟. Thanks be to God.

Psalm 66 (67):2-3, 5, 6, 8

℟.: Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.

O God, be gracious and bless us
and let your face shed its light upon us.
So will your ways be known upon earth
and all nations learn your saving help. ℟.

Let the nations be glad and exult
for you rule the world with justice.
With fairness you rule the peoples,
you guide the nations on earth. ℟.

Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
May God still give us his blessing
till the ends of the earth revere him. ℟.

Rom 11:13-15, 29-32

A reading from St Paul’s letter to the Romans

Let me tell you pagans this: I have been sent to the pagans as their apostle, and I am proud of being sent, but the purpose of it is to make my own people envious of you, and in this way save some of them. Since their rejection meant the reconciliation of the world, do you know what their admission will mean? Nothing less than a resurrection from the dead! God never takes back his gifts or revokes his choice.

Just as you changed from being disobedient to God, and now enjoy mercy because of their disobedience, so those who are disobedient now – and only because of the mercy shown to you – will also enjoy mercy eventually. God has imprisoned all men in their own disobedience only to show mercy to all mankind.

The Word of the Lord.
℟. Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia. ℟. Alleluia.
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me.
℟. Alleluia.

Woman, you have great faith.
Mt 15:21-28

A reading from the holy gospel according to Matthew

Jesus left Gennesaret and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. Then out came a Canaanite woman from that district and started shouting, ‘Sir, Son of David, take pity on me. My daughter is tormented by a devil.’ But he answered her not a word. And his disciples went and pleaded with him. ‘Give her what she wants,’ they said ‘because she is shouting after us.’ He said in reply, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.’ But the woman had come up and was kneeling at his feet. ‘Lord,’ she said ‘help me.’ He replied, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house-dogs.’ She retorted, ‘Ah yes, sir; but even house-dogs can eat the scraps that fall from their master’s table.’ Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, you have great faith. Let your wish be granted.’ And from that moment her daughter was well again.

The Gospel of the Lord.
℟. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Reflection

Last Sunday we heard Jesus rebuke Peter for his little faith. Today, we hear Him praise and reward the Canaanite woman for her great faith.  

Jesus left Galilee, a Jewish region, and went to the district of Tyre and Sidon, two Phoenician cities well known as part of a pagan territory. The Canaanite woman, for her part, also came out from that region. Her faith moved her to leave her pagan surroundings so that she might meet Jesus and beg Him to have mercy on her. She had clearly already heard about Jesus and recognised who He was, for she addressed Him as “Lord” three times. Who among us does not feel the need to leave behind the pagan territory in which we so often find ourselves whenever we make false gods for ourselves? Today, let us take courage, draw near to the Lord Jesus in faith, and pray: “Have mercy on us, O Lord!”  

Throughout the Gospels we encounter Jesus giving generously and showing compassion to everyone. His silence in the face of this mother’s plea, however, and His reply may surprise us: “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” The disciples even wanted Him to send her away because she kept crying out after them. Yet this woman—humble, courageous and full of trust—while accepting what Jesus said, continued to persevere: “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Faced with the Lord’s silence, she brought into the open the treasure of faith that had long been hidden in her heart.  

This Canaanite woman is a model for us. Prayer springs from faith. She approached Jesus with confidence, knelt before Him, and pleaded with all her heart. From the very beginning she believed that Jesus had the power to help her. When we pray, do we truly believe in God’s love and mercy, trusting that He will give us what we need in His own time?  

Even though Jesus remained silent, she persevered in prayer. How do we react when the Lord seems silent in the face of our own cries? 

The Canaanite woman was also a woman of humility. She did not take offence when Jesus compared the Gentiles to dogs; rather, she accepted that she had no claim except to the crumbs that fell from the table. When we pray, do we insist that the Lord should give us what we want, or do we receive with joy and gratitude whatever He is pleased to give us? 

Jesus came to bring God’s love and mercy to all people. This is the Good News that we are called to proclaim to those around us—but first we must believe it ourselves. 

Prayer

Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!
O Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleas for mercy!
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope.

(Psalm 130:1-2, 5) 

 

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