Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A. Is.56:1; 6-7; Rom.11:13-15; 29-32. Matt.15:21-28
Is.56:1; 6-7; Rom.11:13-15; 29-32. Matt.15:21-28
Some years back, while in the seminary chapel one Sunday morning, a little baby continued screaming, distracting all of us in the process. One man couldn’t take it. He would shout “O my Gawd”, any time the child raised her voice. Eventually, his “O my Gawd” became more of a distraction to us than the baby’s screams. For him, that child had no place in Church. In the same vein, some of us feel that some persons have no place in the Church. There’s this utopian idea that the Church is designed only for Saints – that we the sinners and the struggling people ought to worship somewhere else. But this idea is false.
The readings of today point to the fact that no one is a ‘sacred cow’ in God’s house. All of us have equal chances to be saved. We don’t have special people who will go to heaven. In the first reading, God says through the prophet Isaiah that ANYONE who keeps justice and does righteousness (including foreigners) will come to His Holy Mountain. In a similar way, Jesus extends his healing touch to the Canaanite woman’s daughter in the gospel reading because of her uncommon faith. St Paul, who became the Apostle to the Gentiles, tells us that God made us prisoners of disobedience, that he might show us all His Mercy. Friends, let’s stop acting like the dog under the children’s table. Christ gave us a chair on that table a long time ago. Question is, are we ready enough to sit on it?
Happy Sunday!
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