Homily - 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Sunday 20th August 2023

Homily

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sunday 20th August 2023

All our readings this week talk about the outsider, those not part of the in-crowd. The ones most people look down on. The foreigners, the pagans, the other ones. The prophet, Isaiah lived at a time after the Northern Kingdom of Israel had been conquered by the Assyrian Empire, and the Southern Kingdom of Judah had been ravaged by the Babylonians. Those who had survived were in exile. The temple had been destroyed and there was no altar. Pre-exile religious practises had to be changed and new forms of worship developed, including “fixed prayers; public fasts; … confessions”; and gatherings to study the Torah. There were no formal places to worship, which led to the setting up of literary centres that helped nurture the community.

A key feature of the Israelite’s faith was keeping the Sabbath, which also attracted interest from non-Jews drawn to the hope of being accepted by the Lord when the house of God was re-established at some future date, after the Israelites' exile and returned to Jerusalem.

Paul’s mission was to evangelise the pagans so that all those who were prepared to be obedient to God would be saved. Often these days, many people struggle with the word obedient. To obey. But obedience is about being willing to comply with a request, to be happy to follow a certain way of life that enables us to live as we wish others to have the opportunity to do. To love one another as oneself. The Golden Rule is to “treat people the same way you want them to treat you” (Matthew 7:12). To be able to achieve this, there needs to be rules. Most games have rules to maintain fair play, so no one cheats.

Paul reminds us that at some point in life, we all have rejected God when we have fallen into sin. Yet, as we have now changed our ways and become acceptable to God, those who currently reject him are loved because of their heritage. God accepts our free will and our right to choose. Our disobedience is our prison, but we continue to have a choice to follow God’s way which frees us from our prison. Likewise, we should be prepared to accept others who may seem foreign to us but are also God’s children and wish to follow him. Jesus knows everyone’s hearts, and that all who listen to his voice belong to him and will follow his way.

Matthew was also an outcast. He was a tax collector, hated by the Israelites for taking from them and giving to Casear, often unjustly. Yet when he heard Jesus’s call, he instantly followed and changed his ways. Yet, many struggled to accept him into the fold because they judged him on his sins and had not forgiven him. They too had to change their ways, as no one else is our judge other than Jesus.

Matthew tells us about Jesus visiting Gennesaret (gih Ness uh ret), near the region of Tyre and Sidon. Originally, God had given this region to the tribe of Asher. Still, because of their disobedience, they found the area well-defended and were forced to live alongside pagans who served foreign gods.

Jezebel, who had brought much evil to the Israelites, was a princess of Sidon. Through Jezebel’s influence, the Israelites abandoned God for the likes of Baal. Elijah had to flee for his life because he had demonstrated the Lord was more powerful than Baal and had caused the death of Jezebel’s 400 oracles. It was quite a struggle to practice the Jewish faith. The Canaanites had lived right across the region, which had been promised to the Israelites after the Exodus from Egypt. The Canaanite people were a mix of different races.

When Jesus visited this region with his disciples there were mostly gentiles living there. They were opposed to Israel’s God. So, when the Canaanite woman approached Jesus and asks for his Mercy to save her daughter, his response appears harsh. “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs”.

Often when Pharisees talked about non-Jews they would use the Greek word for dog which suggests they were “street mongrels”, similar to our term “strays”. Instead, Jesus used a word less harsh referring to pets, animals that are cared for.

In our culture, pets are often treated the same way as children, being given the same love and care. Yet, the children can come to the table and the pets remain on the floor, but they are both welcomed in the house. So, although the Canaanite woman might be shunned by the Pharisees, Jesus treated her like a lost sheep who heard his voice and came to him for help. In her response, the Canaanite woman recognised the hierarchical system that was dominant in her society. Yet she also demonstrated she knew the only way to be saved was through Jesus and had the humility to ask simply for the crumbs that fell from the table, knowing they were enough to save.

We are encouraged to not be blinded by our own prejudices and to see all humans have the right to be saved through Our Lord Jesus’s blessings and grace. He is the judge, not us.

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