XX SUNDAY
IN ORDINARY TIME - CYCLE A – AUGUST 20, 2017
ü The first reading and the Gospel today speak of the
universality of salvation, of the love of the Father God toward all his
creatures, no matter what nationality, language, culture, religion o lack of
religion.
ü And Paul in the second reading, taken from the letter
to the Romans, speaks about the fidelity of God to his promises.
FIRST READING Is 56: 1.6-7
Ø
Chapter 55 at the
end of the book of the Second Isaiah or Deutero-Isaiah, also called the Book of
Consolation, speaks to us of listening to the Word of God.
Ø
The book of the
Third Isaiah is a call to put in practice the word we have heard.
Ø
It is a call to
practice justice and equity.
Ø
God will treat in
the same way those who belong to the people of Israel, the people of the
election, as well as those belonging to the gentiles, if both practice justice,
that is to say if both allow God to be part of their lives.
Ø
The Lord will
lead them to his holy mountain, Jerusalem.
Ø
Here, in his
Temple the Lord will fill them with joy.
Ø
He will accept
his/her sacrifices and offerings.
Ø
Because the House
of the Lord is a house of prayer, a house for the loving conversation of the
human being with his/her Father, God.
Ø
Thus it will be
called and known by all peoples
Ø
Later, Jesus will
remind the people in the temple that “the house of my Father is a house of
prayer…”
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Ps 67: 2-3. 5. 6. 8
O
GOD, LET ALL THE NATIONS PRAISE YOU!
May God have pity on us and bless us;
May he let his face shine upon us
So may your way be known upon earth
Among all nations, your salvation.
O
GOD, LET ALL THE NATIONS PRAISE YOU!
May the nations be glad and exult
Because you rule the peoples in equity
The nations on the earth you guide.
O
GOD, LET ALL THE NATIONS PRAISE YOU!
May the peoples praise you, O God
May all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us
And may all the ends of the earth fear him!
O
GOD, LET ALL THE NATIONS PRAISE YOU!
Ø
This psalm is a
hymn of thanksgiving made of three stanzas separated by a refrain.
Ø
It is an
invitation to all peoples to praise and give thanks to God, to sing his
wonderful works for all of us.
GOSPEL Mt 15:21-28
v
Jesus has
withdrawn to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
o
These two cities
were famous in the Ancient Middle East.
o
Their names are
also mentioned in the Old Testament as well as in the New Testament.
o
They are about 12
or 13 miles apart from each other.
o
They
belong to Lebanon and are situated close to the Israel’s border.
o
Sidon
is called now Saida, Arabic word which means “fishing”.
o
Tyre
is called in Arabic language “rock” because it is built on a rocky isle in the
Mediterranean Sea.
v
Maybe the Lord
has gone to this region seeking some peace and rest.
v
But here his
Father is going to speak to him through the mouth of a pagan woman.
v
In this episode,
which Matthew has transmitted, we see Jesus as always attentive to what his Father
wants to tell him in his interaction with every human being he encounters in
his life journey.
v
Jesus says to his
disciples, and also to the woman, although in a very strange way, that he has
been sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, this is the will of his
Father.
v
The gentiles are
not included in his mission.
v
The woman is a desperate
mother, she does not know what to do, where to go or who to ask for help, her
daughter is very ill.
o
We do not know
anything about this woman, only that she is a Canaanite, this is the only thing we
need to understand this episode.
o
Besides being a Canaanite, we are
told that she has a daughter who is sick and tormented by an evil spirit;
therefore we understand that she is a mother in great need of help.
o
We do not know if
this demon is some of the consequences of her illness, by that time sickness
was very often considered as diabolic possession.
v
This woman must
have heard about Jesus, about his powers to cure, his goodness and compassion,
his unconditional help.
v
And she walks
behind Jesus and the disciples shouting and asking for help “Lord, Son of
David, have pity on me!”
v
What a beautiful
prayer full of trust and humility! Trust in the goodness of Jesus, humility
because she asks for help, she acknowledges her poverty and helplessness.
v
Every time I read
this Gospel two things call my attention in a especial way:
o
First the
reaction of the disciples which is very much like the reaction they had before
the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. Do something to get rid of this problem!
o
Second the words
of Jesus, he has been sent… the bread of the children is not given to the
dogs.
o
Certainly dogs
may mean pagan or gentile as it was customary to call them.
v
But looking more
deeply into the meaning of the text and trying to find the message we are surprised
of what has happened here:
o
Jesus is honestly
convinced of what he says and wants to be faithful to the will of his Father.
o
The woman does
not get angry at Jesus’ answer.
o
She acknowledges
that it is true what Jesus says about the children of the house and the doggies,
but she also knows that the doggies, the puppies eat the scraps that fall from
the master’s table.
o
You may translate
these words as follows: it is true my Lord that we, pagans, are the dogs, but
the puppies receive the scraps, what is leftover by the children, which are you
the people of Israel.
o
Briefly, you can
also help us, even having been sent to seek those who are lost of the house of
Israel, the children of the household.
o
Jesus becomes
surprised by the faith of this pagan woman, and says to her “O woman, great is
your faith!” “Be it done for you as you wish.” Here
again Jesus is surprised by the faith of someone pagan, as it happened to him
when the Roman centurion approached him.
o
The Gospel ends
with these words “and the woman’s daughter was healed from that hour.
v
What has happened
to Jesus?
o
Many scholars see
in that episode that Jesus, although being faithful to what he understands to
be the will of his Father over his mission, he is open to whatever the Father
wants to reveal to him.
o
I think that what
has happened here is very much like what had happened at the Wedding at Cana.
The words of Mary helped Jesus to discover the will of his Father in that
situation. At the beginning he did not planned to do anything because his hour
had not come yet.
o
But in both
cases, he is open and attentive to his Father. Jesus is humble, as I have read
in one of the commentaries to this reading.
o
I believe that
this episode is a strong call to all of us and to the whole Church as a faith
community, the Lord speaks to us through the events, many times contrary, and
also through any human being, believer or not, walking on the right track or
not, on our side or against us.
o
Because Jesus has
not come to do his will but the will of the one who has sent him. We should
also repeat over and over again, we have been sent to do the will of the Lord
Jesus who has sent us, and we have not been sent to do our own will.
SECOND
READING Rom 11:13-15.29-32
In last Sunday’s Reading Paul said to us that he was
suffering for his own people, that if he could he would be willing to be
separated from Christ for the sake of his people. Today he speaks to the gentiles and tells them how
proud he is to be their apostle. And he adds that he glories in his ministry in order to
make jealous his own people. Because if their rejection of the message has brought
about the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be? And he continues as if reflecting aloud, the gifts of
God are irrevocable, because our negative responses do not make God change his
will over us. This is cause for a great confidence for all of us,
the Lord who calls us, continues to call us to life, to his friendship, to
mission, to faith, and he waits for us until we decide to come back after moving
away from him.
CLARETIAN CORNER
…I
humbly turn to Your Beatitude in
supplication that, you may grant me the faculty to admit to the profession some
of the mentioned virgins, once their novitiate be approved by Your
Holiness. Thus this so useful Institute
will have its beginnings in this region, and thus his spirit, to serve God and
to help their neighbors, will be spread very quickly. The new religious house
will have the same name as it had in Tarragona and, it will substantially
fulfill the same rule of St. Benedict.
However, I considered necessary to do verbally, as I have already mentioned, some adaptations responding to the circumstances, time and climate. Because fearing to fall into error, I entrusted this business to the All Powerful before putting in writing such modifications. What will be established later is now kept in practice. Saint Anthony Mary Claret, Founder of the Claretian Missionary Sisters, Petition to Pius IX November 20 1854.
In view of the good effects
produced by the exact observance of our Constitutions, which with great
pleasure of our heart we are fulfilling for 24 years, I have the honor to
present to Your Holiness a copy of them, humbly and instantly asking Your Holiness,
that as you deigned so benignantly give the Document for the foundation, in the same
way, may you deign to put to our Constitutions the seal of your approval.
Carcagente,
November 4 1875.Venerable María Antonia París, Foundress
of the Claretian Missionary Sisters, Leter to Pope Pius IX, November 4 1875.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CLARET, Antonio María
Claret, Letters
PAGOLA, José A. El camino abierto
por Jesús. PPC 2012
PARIS, María Antonia, Letters
STOCK, Klemens. La Liturgia de la Palabra. Ciclo A (Mateo) 2007
