A Canaanite Woman before a Patriarchal Society August 17, 2008, 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Isaiah 56:1, 6-7 Romans 11:13-15, 29-32 Matthew 15:21-28
To the churched and unchurched[1]
gathered in a temple not built by human hands[2]
First reading from 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.
The word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Alleluia, alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew
(15:21-28)
Glory to you, Lord.
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 their masters’ table.” 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
Introduction
An infamous wall
In the opening prayer of this Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time we pray, “Oh Lord, may the walls which prejudice raises between us crumble beneath the shadow of your outstretched arm.” It is a timely petition, because August 13 (last Wednesday) is the anniversary day when the Communists began building the infamous Berlin Wall in 1961. The wall was 10 feet wide, 15 feet tall, and it ran through the heart of Berlin for 28 miles. It was built not so much by brick but by xenophobia – fear of the foreigner. The foreigner is the one who doesn’t look, dress, eat, think, worship or transact business as you do. Communists feared capitalists who transact business differently than they do. So they built a wall to keep them out!
Erich Honecker, an old Nazi party chief, vowed that the Berlin Wall would stand for a hundred years. It lasted for only 28 years. Then in one historic moment, at the stroke of midnight on Nov. 9, 1989, mobs with hammer and chisel scaled the wall, and humpty dumpty the wall came tumbling down. The prayers of people were answered. “May the walls which prejudice raises between us crumble beneath the shadow of your outstretch arm.”
The foreigner theme
The “foreigner” theme unites the first and third readings of this 20th Sunday. In the first, the Lord promises that the foreigner (the Gentile), who joins himself to the Lord and loves His holy name, will be welcomed to His holy mountain,[3] for His house shall be called a house of prayer for all people. (Is 56: 6-7) In the third reading, the foreigner is a Canaanite woman – a non-Jew – a Gentile.
Jesus and His disciples were traveling through territory which is present-day Gaza Strip, Israel, West Bank and Lebanon. That territory belonged to Gentile Canaanites. Tyre and Sidon were famous commercial cities of theirs. Jesus was not on a mission trip to these Canaanites. (After all, He was sent “only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”-- Jews). Fed up with the ruses of the Scribes and Pharisees back home Jesus was simply running away from His fellow Jews. He wasn’t on mission.
When He got into Canaanite territory a woman called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” Jesus didn’t say a word. His disciples were even more unaccommodating. “Tell her to get going,” they said, “for she is bothering us with all her begging.” (Mt 15: 23) Jesus put her off saying, “I was sent to help the Jews—the lost sheep of the house of Israel--not the Gentiles.” (Mt 15:24 --Living Bible translation) The woman did not give up. She humbly knelt before Jesus and again pleaded, “Lord, help me!” Then Jesus used some rather harsh words on her. “It isn’t fair to take food from the children (Jews) and throw it to the dogs (Gentiles).” (Mt 15:26)
Risky business
Jesus, a Jew, calling a Canaanite Gentile a dog is very risky business. Two thousand years later the tables would turn, and Gentiles would be calling Jews dogs! We remember (because we cannot forget) that Gentile German and Polish Nazis considered Jews as dogs. That is why it was a cakewalk for Nazis to hoard six million Jews into railroad cars and send them off to die in concentration camps of Auschwitz, Dachau and Buchenwald. (Here I am reminded of what a friend who loves animals wrote many years ago. “If the Nazis would have known how to treat dogs, they would have known how to treat Jews! The two go hand in hand!”)
Islamists calling us infidels proved to be as deadly as German and Polish Nazis calling Jews dogs. The Koran commands the killing of infidels. “Allah is an enemy to infidels.” (Sura 2:98) “Infidels are the curse of Allah.” (Sura 2:161) “Kill the infidels wherever ye find them and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter.” (Sura 2:191) Etc. The tirade against infidels in the Koran is a litany. And it is deadly. It turned the apocalyptic event of 9/11, which brought down two imposing towers and three thousand innocent human beings in Lower Manhattan, into a cakewalk.
The cultural climate
The Israelites of old entertained an equally ruthless attitude toward Canaanites. That attitude was imbedded in the words of Moses to the Israelites, “But when you capture cities in the land that the Lord your God is giving you, kill everyone. Completely destroy all the people: the Hittites, the Ammorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, as the Lord ordered you to do. Kill them, so that they will not make you sin against the Lord by teaching you to do all the disgusting things they do in the worship of their gods.” (Deut 20:16-18) That sounds just like Sura 2:191. An even more detailed and ruthless attitude of Israelites toward Canaanites is evident in Deuteronomy, 7:1-6. With such cultural-religious indoctrination, calling a Canaanite woman a dog was a cakewalk.
Not as harsh as they sound
The words of Jesus, on the other hand, might not be as harsh as they sound. For one thing, the Greek here for dogs can be translated as "pets" or "puppies.” Then Jesus would simply be telling the Canaanite woman that the children of the family (Jews) come before the family pets (Gentiles). Nothing harsh about that. What’s more, if we heard the tone and inflection of Jesus’ voice and saw His bodily gesture (which can’t be captured on paper), perhaps His words would sound milder. Did He have His tongue in cheek when He called the woman a dog? Was He simply quoting the cultural-religious climate into which He was born but which He did not approve?
Firing back
Jesus said to the Canaanite woman, “It isn’t fair to take food from the children of the house and throw it to the dogs.” She fired back, “Yes, it is fair! Just remember, Rabbi Jesus, that dogs eat the leftovers that fall from their masters’ table.” (Mt 15:26-27)
Dear Canaanite Woman,
We have never heard anyone talk to Rabbi Jesus the way you did! How dare you, a foreigner (and a woman!) speak that way to one who belongs to the house of Israel! On second thought, dear woman, it was really Jesus who was the foreigner! He had wandered off into your home-turf of Tyre and Sidon! What was He doing there? You would tell Him what He was doing there. You begged Him saying, "Have mercy on
me, Son of David. My daughter is tormented by a demon."You kept following those guys and crying out after them. They asked Jesus to tell
you “to get going.” He ignored them. But He ignored you too, and some of us who know Rabbi Jesus found his silence even more disturbing than your cries. Then He spoke, and things got worse. "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." At that point, had I been you, Canaanite woman, I would have gotten very angry.
"Sent only to the house of Israel, huh! Then what in the hell are you doing in Tyre? Need a map, Omniscient Son of God?" But you, gentle woman, though very anxious about your daughter, did not get angry.You, Gentile woman, standing in the midst of Jewish men who want you to get
lost even on your own home-turf (!), you are so out of place. But you are exactly where your daughter needs you to be. "Have mercy on me, Son of David. My
daughter is tormented by a demon." By your constant entreaty you, a Gentile,
changed the mind of Jesus, a Jew. He finally gave in, and with His arms outstretched to you He said, “Oh woman, your faith is great! I grant what you ask.” (Mt 15:28)
Ignorant woman, you taught the Jewish Teacher. You and your fierce need taught God's own Son Himself to see that His mission had far more generous dimensions than He had at first thought. He, who had been culturally and religiously conditioned not to look for anything worthwhile in a person like you (Gentile and female), found faith. He saw your tenacious conviction that He could help you, and amazed, He helped you.Canaanite woman, some of us Jews go daily to the temple, and there with old Anna and Simeon we pray, “Lord God, may the walls which prejudice raises between us crumble beneath the shadow of your outstretcheded arm. “Canaanite woman, with your constant entreaty you scaled the wall between Jesus and you, and with hammer and chisel you brought it tumbling down
.
Conclusion
Prayer to the Canaanite women in heaven
Throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus challenging deep seated patriarchal assumptions; prodigal sons are not to be disowned but are to be welcomed home with a huge party thrown by a prodigal father. (Lk 15:1-32) Women are not to bear the whole burden of sexual sins; men are to be challenged to own their complicity in adultery. (Jn 8:1-11) Women are not to be shunned or discounted. The Samaritan woman at the well becomes a missionary bringing her whole hometown to belief in Jesus (Lk 10:25-37) In today’s gospel, the Canaanite woman's fierce concern for her daughter succeeds in broadening Jesus' own horizons as to whom the Good News is sent.
Patriarchal assumptions die hard in society and in the church. There are women today who are knocking for entrance into ordained ministry, but a patriarchal culture discounts them and tells them “to get going.” Women of the church, be persistent like the Canaanite woman. Women of the church, pray to the Canaanite woman now in heaven because of her great faith. Pray that she opens the heart of a patriarchal society and church, just as she opened the heart of Jesus.
[1]] By the “the unchurched” is especially meant not those who have left the church but those whom the church has left!
[2] Acts of the Apostles 17:24
[3] Reference to the Temple in Jerusalem
