ordinary time The Sánchez Archives

TWENTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Year A

By
Patricia Datchuck Sánchez

Ambassadors and Companions

ISAIAH 56:1, 6-7
ROMANS 11:13-15, 29-31
MATTHEW 15:21-28

Because my father was in the military for thirty years, our family had the opportunity to travel extensively. One overseas tour took us to Japan where we lived for three years in the mid-fifties. Ten years had passed since the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; the resulting horror was still in evidence as a scarred country and its citizens continued to bear the burdens of war and its aftermath.

Naturally, relations between east and west were strained and Americans in Japan were counseled regarding their conduct and attitude. U.S. sponsored public relations programs reached into the schools attended by American children and the workplaces of the soldiers. U.S. citizens abroad were reminded, via theater newsreels and radio spots, that good foreign relations between nations begin with good relationships between individuals. One public service announcement in particular has remained fresh in my memory. Tennessee Ernie Ford, a country music singer and entertainer in the prime of his popularity was the government’s spokesperson. Said Ford, “The A in American also stands for Ambassador. Americans overseas should be ambassadors of good will. Remember, over here, you are the foreigner!” The perspective with which a ten-year-old girl first heard that announcement has grown over the years and has afforded a certain degree of insight during travels to other places and among other people. Ford’s words seemed to be an invitation to “walk a mile in the other person’s shoes” so as to develop the necessary reverence for the differences of others without which a mature and honest interaction cannot occur. In a sense, the readings for today’s liturgy extend a similar invitation.

Israelites, because of their singularly special role (as God’s chosen people) in the saga of salvation, were susceptible to an “us versus them” mentality. The early Christians also were likewise prone to think of themselves as “a cut above the rest” of humanity which had not yet come to know or accept Christ. But the lesson conveyed by all three readings is one of universalism.

The prophet known as Trito-Isaiah (first reading) encouraged his contemporaries to follow God’s lead with regard to foreigners; Yahweh accepted all who approached him in faith, allowing them to share in the covenant and enter his house to pray (the temple). Paul (second reading) called for mutual respect and acceptance among Jewish and Gentile believers reminding them that God had shown mercy to them all. The Matthean gospel features a Canaanite woman who longed for a share in the blessings Jesus had come to bestow. Her persistence and faith eradicated the barriers of gender, race and geography which had previously kept her apart from others.

Each of today’s scriptural authors affirms the fact that God’s saving plan for humanity admits of no exclusiveness. The covenant relationship offered by God to his people has no limitations regarding race, gender or ethnicity.

Rather than bicker as to whom should or should not share in the banquet table which the Lord offers to all, or to label others as enemies, believers are called to look upon one another and to afford to one another the mutual gift of companionship. Theologian and minister, Robert McAfee Brown once said, “I believe we are placed here to be companions--a wonderful word that comes from cum panis (‘with bread’). We are here to share bread with one another so that everyone has enough, no one has too much and our social order achieves this goal with maximal freedom and minimal coercion.”

Invited guests of one divine host and ambassadors of divine good will, we are called to learn our “table manners” from the one who welcomed sinners and ate with them, who looked upon all others as brothers and sisters and who praised faith and goodness wherever and in whomever he found it.

ISAIAH 56:1, 6-7

A variety of linguistic and stylistic differences have caused scholars to regard chapters 56-66 of Isaiah as the work of yet another author, known simply as Trito- or Third-Isaiah.

First Isaiah, prophet and priest of Jerusalem was an eighth century B.C.E. advisor to at least four of Judah’s kings (Jotham, Uzziah, Ahaz, and Hezekiah). Deutero- or Second-Isaiah was a sixth century B.C.E. prophet who encouraged his fellow exiles in Babylon to take heart in the fact that Yahweh would soon see them home to their own land. Trito- or Third-Isaiah may have been a disciple of Deutero-Isaiah but his prophetic work reflects a change in tone, vocabulary and setting. No longer in exile, the contemporaries of Third-Isaiah have returned to Judah. Rather than simply focus on a happy homecoming (as in Isaiah 40-55) the mood of Trito-Isaiah focuses on a glorious future. References to the temple seem to indicate a time after 515 B.C.E. A new emphasis on temple worship, the importance of the Sabbath, and the law further distinguishes the work of Trito-Isaiah from that of his teacher. But as is evidenced in today’s first reading, there are echoes of the former prophet’s doctrine, particularly with regard to the theme of universal salvation.

Excerpted from a longer oracle concerning who may be admitted to worship in the temple (Isaiah 56:1-8), this pericope attends to the place of the foreigners among the Israelites. By law, foreigners (gerîm) in Israel were accorded limited rights and protection (Exodus 22:20, Deuteronomy 10:19). But Trito-Isaiah, reflecting the prerogative of God who called people unto himself from all backgrounds and nationalities (e.g. Aramean: Deuteronomy 26:5; Amorite, Hittite: Ezekiel 16:3, people of mixed ancestry: Exodus 12:38, Numbers 11:4) extended full privileges to all.

Even eunuchs who were formerly excluded from the worshipping assembly (Leviticus 22:24, Deuteronomy 23:2) because physical mutilation was considered a sin, were to be welcomed (Isaiah 56:3-5). Many eunuchs were simply the unfortunate victims of tyrannical rulers and during the exile, Israelites, forced into servitude, may have had to undergo such degradation, Trito-Isaiah extended to them a welcome that went beyond the law.

In his acceptance of eunuchs and foreigners, Trito-Isaiah distinguished himself from the exclusionist mentality reflected in Ezekiel 44, Ezra 9-10 and Obadiah, where such people were seen as a threat to the preservation of Israel’s religious traditions.

Because the period after the exile was a time of restoration and rebuilding of a treasured heritage, any influence (pagan, unclean or otherwise) which may have diverted their efforts, was understandably avoided. While the universalism reflected in Deutero and Trito-Isaiah’s prophecies appeared to be a radical departure from the status quo, nevertheless, these prophets were authentic representatives of God’s universal saving plan. As such they were also harbingers of the person and mission of Jesus in whom God’s all-embracing plan was accomplished.

Today, the prophet’s words appeal to the largesse of heart of each of his readers. As the pilgrim people of God, we are all spiritual immigrants moving toward the kingdom. Only sin can make us foreigners and aliens and since sin has been conquered, so also must class consciousness and the mentality of the ghetto yield to universal acceptance of each and all.

ROMANS 11:13-15, 29-31

Jean Marie Cardinal Lustiger, a twentieth century French Catholic prelate once explained, “I was born Jewish and so I remain, even if that’s unacceptable for many. For me, the vocation of Israel is bringing light to the goyim. That’s my hope and I believe that Christianity is the means for achieving it.” In this same regard, Karl Barth noted, “Jews have God’s promise and if we Christians have it too, then it is only as those chosen with them, as guests in their house, that we are new wood grafted on to their tree.” Speaking to an audience of Jewish men and women, Pope John Paul II declared, “You are our dearly beloved brothers, and in a certain way, it could be said that you are our elder brothers.” Each of these three statements underscores the rootedness of Christianity in Judaism and recalls the experience of Paul, a Jew who accepted Christ as his Messiah and longed for the day his fellow Jews would do likewise.

While Paul understood that his primary mission was in preaching the good news of salvation to the Gentiles (vs. 11), he acknowledged that his work could also have some benefit for his fellow Jews. If Paul’s ministry was successful, then perhaps the Jews may long to share in the blessings enjoyed by the Gentiles, and so turn to Christ and be saved.

As Craig S. Keener has observed, “Paul’s argument in Romans places Jews and Gentiles on the same level with regard to salvation but now he reminds the Gentiles to remember whose faith they have adopted.” (The Bible Background Commentary, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove: 1993). Just as Jewish intolerance of Gentiles was not acceptable nor was Gentile arrogance concerning Jews. Both Jews and Gentiles are called by God, and his call, as well as his gifts, are irrevocable (vs. 29). Even if God’s call is not attended, it is not revoked. Paul noted that the Jewish rejections of Jesus (vs. 15) as well as the Gentile rejection of God (1:18-32), could not thwart God’s intention to slow his saving mercy to all.

Keener (op.cit.) also noted that most readers of Paul today subscribe to one of two systems: (1) Israel and the Church are separate and irreconcilable entities and Israel will be restored. or (2) Christians have become the true Israel and ethnic Israel has no more purpose in God’s plan. As this reading indicates, Paul would have rejected both system as extreme; because God’s call is irrevocable there is salvation for all and a share in the abiding covenant for Jews as well as Christians.

Although the church has not always been as magnanimous as it should regarding the prerogative of Israel in God’s saving plan, the participants at the Second Vatican Council took steps to correct this failure. Asserting that “all persons are called to belong to the one People of God”, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (#16, 21, November 1964) described the Jewish people as “those to whom the covenants and promises were made, and from which Christ was born according to the flesh (Romans 9:4-5). In view of the divine choice, they are a people most dear for the sake of the fathers, for the gifts of God are without repentance (Romans 11:29).”

MATTHEW 15:21-28

Jesus’ healing of the Canaanite woman’s daughter was not the first instance in scripture of God manifesting his saving power in the district near Tyre and Sidon. During the tenure of Elijah the prophet, a widow from Zarephath in Sidon was granted a miraculous supply of food and the restoration to life of her son (1 Kings 17:8-24). When Jesus was confronted by his neighbors as to why he did not perform in Nazareth as he did in Capernaum, he cited the Sidonian widow and insinuated that if faith similar to hers were to be found in Nazareth, then there would also be similar wonders worked there (Luke 4:23-29). Indeed, it was the pure and persistent faith of the Canaanite woman in today’s gospel that overcame what seemed to be insurmountable obstacles and resulted in the cure of her daughter.

Because the girl was healed by word from Jesus and at a distance, the exorcism appears to be secondary to the dialog which took place between Jesus and the woman. In this lively exchange, the true import of this event is told; a missiology is being propounded, viz., first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles. John P. Meier believes that this story is so weighted with “the heavy freight of later Christian theology, specifically a theology of mission” that is was probable the “creation of a first-generation Christian community” concerned for the extension of the good news to the gentiles. (A Marginal Jew, Vol.II, Doubleday, New York: 1994). Other scholars regard the event as entirely consonant with Jesus’ ministerial concerns and support its historicity.

Its origins notwithstanding, the woman featured in this narrative is a remarkable person. She had probably heard of Jesus’ words and works and out of concern for her daughter’s well-being determined to seek his help. Several factors militated against their meeting. She was a woman and a foreigner, trying to approach a man in order to obtain a favor which his contemporaries thought she did not deserve. The harshness of Jesus’ response to her cannot be denied. The lost sheep of Israel were, in fact, the first to whom Jesus’ mission was extended (vs. 24). Gentiles were frequently referred to as dogs by the Jews. Scavengers who ate whatever they found, dogs were considered unclean, as were those who were not members of the covenant community. But in the discourse immediately preceding this event, Jesus had given a new definition of clean/unclean: “It is not what enters one’s mouth that defiles but what come out of the mouth is what defiles one” (Matthew 15:11). Regardless of how she was perceived by Jesus’ Jewish contemporaries, what came out of the woman’s mouth was an expression of faith in Jesus’ messiahship (Son of David) and in his power over demons (vs. 22). Her faith obviated any obstacle that may have deprived her of God’s attention and her humble humor (even dogs eat the scraps, vs. 27) merited some of the highest praise paid by Jesus to anyone in the gospels. . . “O woman, great is your faith!” (vs. 28). Contrast this statement with that of Jesus to his disciples in last Sunday’s gospel. . . “O you of little faith!” (Matthew 14:31).

Commenting on this gospel, Megan McKenna (Not Counting Women and Children, Orbis Books, New York: 1994) believes it to be an example of the two poles or extremes with which scripture presents us, viz. prophecy and pity. Prophecy is the Word of God, pure and evocative; it lays down a foundational base of experience and stands there and speaks, calling everyone, not as individuals but as the people of God to repentance, transformation and faithfulness. The other pole is pity, tender regard for the person, the one or the few people caught in the net and broken web of the community that allows certain people to be excluded. What draws prophecy and pity together and integrates them is the person of Jesus who is the Word from all eternity and the Word spoken here in this time and place with great care and specificity. In the cure of the gentile woman’s daughter, the prophecy and pity of God were proclaimed and experienced; Jesus was the Word’s ambassador and the woman became its companion.

[NOTE TO USERS: This archive is available for use without charge, but it remains the property of the author and under copyright with Celebrations Publications. Users are permitted to print individual Sunday commentaries for pastoral use, but are prohibited from downloading or copying files or printing any portion of this for sale or distribution.]

http://www.ncrpub.org
e-mail the Celebration editor at patmarrin@aol.com



Copyright © 2000 Celebration Publications

Illustration prepared by Julie Lonneman.

The National Catholic Reporter Publishing Company
Celebration Publications
115 E. Armour Blvd.
Kansas City, MO 64111
1-816-531-0538