Tyre and Sidon were two cities on the coast in the south of the country called Phoenicia. The word Canaanite stresses the paganism of the woman, because the Canaanite were the ancient pagan inhabitants of Palestine, from whom the Israelites conquered the land, and who were the main enemies of the Jews and their religion. The pagan people of Phoenicia could well have heard reports of the preaching and miracles of Jesus. The woman in today’s Gospel must have heard of him, otherwise she would not have made her request. There are only two cases recorded in the Gospel of Jesus dealing with Gentiles-this one and the healing of the centurion’s servant. Both these pagan people showed great faith in him, and he even predicted, after seeing this faith, that Gentiles would take the place of the children of Abraham in the kingdom of heaven. St. Matthew makes the point that Jesus’ own mission is only to the Jews and not to the pagans. It was the apostles who would start preaching to the pagans. Jesus made an exception in favour of this woman, as he had done in the case of the centurion. But he did it because of the strong faith she showed, as he did in the case of the centurion. And He tested her faith first in a surprising way. St. Matthew says that at first he took no notice of her. When the apostles asked him to do what she wanted, because she kept on pestering them, he answered her with a proverb which seemed like a refusal. The food that is meant for the children 9the Jews) must not be given to the dogs (the pagans). It is well known that the Jews usually spoke of the pagans as “dogs,” and later also of the Christians. But the word which Jesus uses for dogs in the Gospel text is the Greek word for “housedogs” not street or bush-dogs. The woman still refuses to be put off. She says “well, if we are dogs, let us at least have the pieces of bread that fall on the floor for the housedogs to eat under the table. Jesus has tested her faith, and she has passed the test and so he rants her request.
The prophet is sometimes called Third Isaiah. It seems that the deliverance from Babylon has taken place, which began in 538. It sems that the temple in Jerusalem has been rebuilt which was completed in 515. The liberation from Babylon was in some way like the liberation from slavery in Egypt 700 years before. At the same time, it was a preparation for a liberation that was still to come. When the Messiah would come he would set all people free from their slavery to sin and from their estrangement from God; he would make people members of the world-wide and everlasting kingdom of heaven; people who were not Jews all over the world would accept the true God and keep his laws, and worship him, not any more in the temple at Jerusalem by offering the sacrifices required by the Jewish law, but everywhere by offering Christ himself as their sacrifice and by offering themselves, their own lives, together with him. We are reminded of what our Lord said to the woman at Jacob’s well: The time will come when people will worship God neither on Mt. Gerizim nor on Mt. Sion, but his true worshippers will worship him in spirit and in truth, wherever they may be. The prophet clearly states that God’s salvation is for all people, not only for Israelites, and Godwill be worshipped by people of all nations, and this was quite against traditional Jewish belief and practice. The church, which is the Christian Community, is the New Chosen People of God. It is open to people of all nations. In it men and women become God’s sons and daughters. In it also men and women must do their best to worship God, not just by church services but by the conduct of their lives. As members of God chosen people neglected their obligations to him, many of his new chosen people neglected their obligations to him, because their interests lie in other directions. Some do not even worship him in the “temple,” but those who do worship him in the “temple” should make sure they also worship him in their lives. The Christian life is not only what we do in church, but everything we do.
Paul never forgot that he was a Jew by birth and that he was loyal to the Jewish faith and practice until called by Christ. After that, he took every chance he could get to bring his fellow-Jews to Christ. He always spoke first to the Jews in any place where he went and then he spoke to the pagans, who were his special concern because of the call Christ gave him. The Jewish leaders in Jerusalem had already rejected Christ. To a large extent the Jewish communities rejected Paul and his preaching of Christ. To a large extent the Gentiles accepted Paul and his preaching of Christ. He hopes that his fellow-Jews may be moved, at least by jealousy of his success with the Gentiles, to accept Christ. In spite of the rejection of Christ by the Jewish leaders, in spite of his own lack of success in the Jewish communities to which he preached, in spite too of the difficulties which they put in his way, Paul never ceased to believe and hope that his fellow-Jews would accept Christ, first because through Abraham God had called them to salvation, and second because they would see the saving mercy of God in the lives of the Gentile Christians, those who were converts from paganism. The pagan peoples in the past had been ignorant of the true God and had not lived according to his will, in recent times the Jews rejected Christ as the Messiah sent by God. As God showed his mercy to the pagans in spite of their long-standing estrangement from him, so too he would show his mercy to the Jews in spite of their recent rejection of his Son. Every year on Good Friday Christian communities pray a special prayer in the liturgy for the Jews. Our ancestors were pagans and did not know the truth about God, but we, who are their descendants, have come to know the true God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent. The task of living up to our Christian faith is not an easy one, but it is not impossible either, as many who have gone before us have shown. Let us not be reluctant Christians, as so many seem to be, but rather always do our best to live up to our Christian calling with glad and joyful hearts.
Kefa W. MHM
What you’ll find here is my personal reflection on Scripture. I don’t claim to have all the answers, only a sincere desire to seek truth. Some of the references used are drawn from past study and experience, and I may no longer be able to recall all their exact sources. Feel free to leave your comments or personal reflections below as we continue to grow deeper together in the Word of God. I’ll see you next Sunday.
