August 14, 2011
Twentieth Sunday Ordinary Time A
By Rev. Joe McCloskey, SJ
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. Isaiah 56:1
Just as you once disobeyed God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, so they have now disobeyed in order that, by virtue of the mercy shown to you, they too may [now] receive mercy. For God delivered all to disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all. Romans 11:30-32
But the woman came and did him 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 the table of their masters.” Matthew 15:25-27
Piety
Piety sees the coming of the Lord as imminent. Now is always the acceptable time. Now touches the eternal now of God’s love for us and calls on the promise of a love that extends beyond the boundaries of race and nations. God is always waiting for us with a love that is everlasting. Piety knows that love cannot be reserved and is forever observing what is right and just for the salvation that is about to come. Piety does not know the limits of nationality. It reaches beyond the boundaries of birth and race. It is open to the foreigners. Paul is the Apostle to the Gentiles. He glories in his ministry. Piety takes us beyond selfish self interest. It opens us up to the needs of our world which in this time are so numerous that one could despair. Piety is the challenge of God’s universality.
Study
We study how Christ reacts to the Canaanite woman. Christ is challenged beyond the mission that he has accepted to the Hebrew people. The working of the Spirit challenges Christ in the statement of the women that even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters. Christ is amazed by the challenge she gives in her humility and her comparing herself to the dogs eating from the tables of their masters. We study what we know about the miracles of Christ to be also challenged to reach beyond our job descriptions to do what it is right to do in the love of God flowing in our outreaches to the needy around us.
Action
Apostolic Actions flow out of the good we see needing doing for the sake of the hurting around us. Actions are the proof of our faith. They reach beyond what we do comfortably to what otherwise might seem impossible. Actions are how we bring Christ into our lives in a big way. What we do out of love for another reveals Christ working in the outreach of our heart’s concern for others. We are called to be the hands and the feet of Christ. Action gets our hands dirty for the sake of Christ. When we offer what Christ has given us, we receive the gift of Christ. We have to empty ourselves out for his sake so that he can fill our emptiness. Only our emptiness is big enough for God. The more we give of ourselves, the more Christ comes to us. Actions are louder than words. Our actions are the proof of our faith in Christ. The miracles of our lives flow out of our reaching beyond ourselves to share Christ.
