TWENTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

A Wilted Chrysanthemum Still Has a Proud Frosted Branch

First Reading (Is 56:1,6-7): The Gentiles who love the Lord will be accepted
Second Reading (Rom 11:13-15,29-32): Both Gentiles and Jews can obtain God’s salvation
Gospel (Mt 15:21-28): The faith of the Canaanite woman

Chinese Classics
“The sharp edge of a sword comes from polishing, The fragrance of the plum flowers comes from the bitter cold.” (1)

The book of Isaiah said,’ the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, to minister to him …… these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer ……for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.’ (Ref Is 56:1,6-7)

Isaiah’s words were very revolutionary because according to the Jews, the Lord was their God only, and only they were God’s Chosen People. All other people (Gentiles) were destined for punishment, none of the Gentiles belonged to God and God had abandoned them. Now Isaiah says there was no difference between Gentiles and Jews. If they were converted and served the Lord, in the same way God would bring them to God’s holy mountain and make them joyful in God’s house of prayer.

Throughout the history of the Jews and throughout the Old Testament, the image of God was one of the God of Abraham.

God was like a ‘family God’ (the family of Abraham), or a tribal God (the God of the tribe of Israel). God was even portrayed as a ‘God of war’ who together with the Chosen People destroyed the Gentiles.

This God was God of only a small inconsequential group of people. But Isaiah said clearly that God was the Lord of all people.

The Jewish people’s thinking was similar to that of present day Christian fundamentalists or fundamentalists of other kinds. They lock up God into their own inner circle; they put God in their pockets, and think that God belongs to themselves only.

Today’s Gospel records an interesting story, the story of a Canaanite woman. The Canaanites were what we would call Gentiles. The Jews despised them and considered them a group whom God had abandoned.

Once a Canaanite woman saw Jesus and started shouting, ‘Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.’ But he did not answer her at all. His disciples came and urged him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.’ He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’

Jesus’ words reflected the attitude of the Jews of his time; God was the Savior of the Israelites and belonged to the tribe of Israel.

The Canaanite woman, who was not one of the chosen people, came and knelt before Jesus, saying, ‘Lord, help me.’ Jesus answered, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’

But the Canaanite woman did not take these words as an insult. She said, ‘Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.’

Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.’ And her daughter was healed instantly. (Ref 15:21-28)

This account tells us clearly that a ‘Gentile,’ a person without belief, can have greater faith than those who consider themselves people of faith, part of the ‘Chosen People.’

There is a very meaningful couplet: “The sharp edge of a sword comes from polishing, The fragrance of the plum flowers comes from the bitter cold.” Why was the sword so sharp? It was because the sword had undergone a long period of polishing. It was grinded against the polishing stone for such a long time that the edge was so fine it could slice through things as thin as hair or as hard as iron. The plum flowers have a very sweet smell, especially in the severe winter. When the world is suffering from the bitter cold, we will see the plum flowers standing upright and blooming brilliantly, giving out the sweetest fragrance. The colder it is, the sweeter the flowers.

One could say the Canaanite woman had been ‘polished’ and gone through the ‘bitter winter.’

Jesus’ words would have hurt her deeply and wounded her self-respect, even her sense of tribal identity. But they were only Jesus’ words reflecting current prejudice. Or perhaps Jesus used these words to try the woman’s faith. In the end she measured up to Jesus’ hope. She answered him with great humility, “yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

What kind of faith do we have? Have we gone through testing? Are we afraid of the ‘bitter winter’? Are we willing to be converted, to undergo all for the sake of faith? Isaiah says clearly, ‘the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, minister to him – these I will bring to my holy mountain.’ And again, those called the ‘Lord’s Chosen People, those of us called ‘Christians,’ have we been converted? We have been baptized but are we really converted to the Lord? We have a Baptismal certificate, but do we serve the Lord? Our name may be Peter or John or Mary, we have received a Christian name, but do we adhere firmly to the covenant we made with God? When we were baptized we made a promise to God, vowed to reject the devil and have faith in God and love our neighbor. Do we firmly adhere to all of this?

Chosen People or not, believers or non-believers, are not a matter of name only, but rather a matter of conversion, service, love and faithfulness. Only in this way can we be called the Lord’s people.

(1) 寶劍鋒從磨礪出，梅花香自苦寒來。