HOME


The BASICS


• Mass Times


• Coming Events


• Sacraments


• Ministries


• Parish Staff


• Consultative Bodies


• Photo Gallery


• Virtual Tour


• History


• Contribute


PUBLICATIONS


• Bulletin


• In Your Midst


• Pastor's Desk


DEPARTMENTS


• Becoming Catholic


• Bookstore


• Faith Formation


• Funerals


• Immigrant Assistance


• Liturgy


• Mental Health


• Music


• Outreach/Advocacy


• Pastoral Care


• Weddings


• Young Adults


• Youth Ministry


PRAYER


KIDS' PAGE


SITE INFO



The 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 20, 2023

Watch this homily! (Begins at 35:40)

 
    There’s not one among us, I’m quite sure, who doesn’t have stories to tell about praying earnestly to God for something we dearly wanted and not receiving what we asked for; stories, too, about the disillusionment we felt, not to mention the questions that arose about the point of prayer and the value of prayer. Over time I have found some reassurance – and maybe you have, too – in something spiritual writers have long told us about prayer – that prayer is not so much about changing God’s mind: that it’s more about deepening our relationship with God to the point that our will comes closer to God’s will – so much so that we’re able to accept whatever it is that God gives us. And it’s hard to argue with that – if not always easy to live with it….

     Today’s gospel, however, does not advance that argument. The story about the fiercely determined mother going after Jesus to heal her tormented daughter makes a strong statement about persistent prayer, mind-changing prayer, prayer that absolutely refuses to take no for an answer. It’s a story with a happy outcome, but not every aspect of the story is happy. For me, among all the gospel stories, this one stands out for its power to puzzle, to surprise and, yes, even to shock.

     The surprising – even shocking – part of the story is that Jesus doesn’t really come off all that well. He seems quite out of character, doesn’t he, when he rather brusquely rebuffs the poor woman. He does have his reasons, of course: she was an outsider, after all - a foreigner, a Canaanite - and Canaanites had been enemies of the Israelites for generations, sworn enemies. But was that a good reason for Jesus to ignore her, to turn his back on her - even to insult her by his talk of taking the children’s food and throwing it to the dogs?

     Some commentators, it’s true, get Jesus off the hook by suggesting that he was only joking with the woman – engaging in some light banter with her, and that’s possible even though it seems like a stretch to me. There’s no reason to think Jesus didn’t meant it when he said to the woman, “It is not right to take the food of children and feed it to the dogs.”

     And the woman certainly meant it when she delivered her feisty comeback: “Please, Lord, even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from their masters’ tables!”

     The woman was as clever as she was determined. She may have been a foreigner but notice how she addresses Jesus – she uses insider titles like “Son of David,” and “Lord” – perhaps hoping that these would get his attention and win him over to her cause. But Jesus was having none of it. He was holding to a very fixed notion about the nature of his mission – that his mission was to his own people, not to foreigners. But was the woman deterred by that?  Not for a moment. Jesus could say all he wanted about boundaries, priorities, nationalities. That wasn’t going to stop her – not when the life and well-being of her tortured child was at stake!

     For me, this rather jarring exchange speaks to the authenticity of the gospels. By including the story, the evangelist seems to be telling us that Jesus could listen and learn – grow in understanding, gain new perspective – even be ‘converted’ to a new point of view - because that, in fact, is what seems to have happened. But if Jesus was human as well as divine, why not? Fast-forward to his agonizing prayer in the garden of Gethsemane. His humanness was much in evidence there, too. Remember how he had to struggle and sweat to bring his own will into conformity with his Father’s….

     And there’s another aspect to this story of the Canaanite woman that is worth commenting on. It’s one of two stories in all the gospels where Jesus changes his mind and in both stories it’s in response to a request made by a woman. You know the other story very well: it’s the story of the wedding feast at Cana where Mary, his mother, is the one who gets Jesus to change his mind. All this is quite surprising because in the world in which Jesus lived, women were marginalized, to say the least: their rights were few to none at all. All the more striking, then, that Jesus would allow a woman – and a Canaanite woman at that - not only to teach him something but also to get him to change his mind. All the more striking, too, that she would succeed not only in getting Jesus’ help but earning his admiration as well. “Woman, great is your faith!’ has to be one of the highest compliments Jesus pays anyone in the gospels.

     So, my friends, the Canaanite woman makes it clear that there is a place for persistent, tenacious prayer, prayer that doesn’t readily take no for an answer. And there is this, too: that nameless, faith-filled Canaanite woman should bring encouragement to those who find themselves on the fringes or at the margins. Women in the Church come to mind. I think you will agree that, when it comes to recognizing and affirming women’s gifts for leadership and giving them the kinds of positions where they can truly exercise those gifts, the Church still has a long way to go. Happily, this has come up time and again in the whole Synodal process – not only here but across the world. Clearly, it’s an issue that must and will be addressed. And as that happens, can you think of a better model, a better advocate, than the Canaanite woman? And what better place to focus our prayer on these things than here at the table of the Eucharist where eyes can be opened and hearts and minds can be changed?!

Father Michael G. Ryan

 

 

 

 

Return to St. James Cathedral Parish Website

804 Ninth Avenue
Seattle, Washington  98104
Phone 206.622.3559  Fax 206.622.5303