From: Matthew 15:21-28

The Canaanite Woman

[21] And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of
Tyre and Sidon. [22] And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region
came out and cried, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my
daughter is severely possessed by a demon.” [23] But He did not answer
her a word. And His disciples came and begged Him, saying, “Send her
away, for she is crying after us.” [24] He answered, “I was sent only
to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” [25] But she came and knelt
before Him, saying, “Lord, help me.” [26] And He answered, “It is not
fair to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” [27] She
said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their
master’s table.” [28] Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your
faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed
instantly.

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Commentary:

21-22. Tyre and Sidon were Phoenician cities on the Mediterranean
coast, in present-day Lebanon. They were never part of Galilee but
they were near its northeastern border. In Jesus’ time they were
outside the territory of Herod Antipas. Jesus withdrew to this area to
escape persecution from Herod and from the Jewish authorities and to
concentrate on training His Apostles.

Most of the inhabitants of the district of Tyre and Sidon were pagans.
St. Matthew calls this woman a “Canaanite”; according to Genesis
(10:15), this district was one of the first to be settled by the
Canaanites; St. Mark describes the woman as a “Syrophoenician” (Mark
7:26). Both Gospels point out that she is a pagan, which means that
her faith in our Lord is more remarkable; the same applies in the case
of the centurion (Matthew 8:5-13).

The Canaanite woman’s prayer is quite perfect: she recognizes Jesus as
the Messiah (the Son of David)—which contrasts with the unbelief of
the Jews; she expresses her need in clear, simple words; she persists,
undismayed by obstacles; and she expresses her request in all humility:
“Have mercy on me.” Our prayer should have the same qualities of
faith, trust, perseverance and humility.

24. What Jesus says here does not take from the universal reference of
His teaching (cf. Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-16). Our Lord came to
bring His Gospel to the whole world, but He Himself addressed only the
Jews; later on He will charge His Apostles to preach the Gospel to
pagans. St. Paul, in his missionary journeys, also adopted the policy
of preaching in the first instance to the Jews (Acts 13:46).

25-28. This dialogue between Jesus and the woman is especially
beautiful. By appearing to be harsh He so strengthens the woman’s
faith that she deserves exceptional praise: “Great is your faith!” Our
own conversation with Christ should be like that: “Persevere in
prayer. Persevere, even when your efforts seem barren. Prayer is
always fruitful” ([St] J. Escriva, “The Way”, 101).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Readings at Mass

First reading

Numbers 13:1-2,25-14:1,26-29,34-35 ©

The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Paran and said, ‘Send out men, one from each tribe, to make a reconnaissance of this land of Canaan which I am giving to the sons of Israel. Send the leader of each tribe.’

At the end of forty days, they came back from their reconnaissance of the land. They sought out Moses, Aaron and the whole community of Israel, in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh. They made their report to them, and to the whole community, and showed them the produce of the country.

They told them this story, ‘We went into the land to which you sent us. It does indeed flow with milk and honey; this is its produce. At the same time, its inhabitants are a powerful people; the towns are fortified and very big; yes, and we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekite holds the Negeb area, the Hittite, Amorite and Jebusite the highlands, and the Canaanite the sea coast and the banks of the Jordan.’

Caleb harangued the people gathered about Moses: ‘We must march in,’ he said ‘and conquer this land: we are well able to do it.’ But the men who had gone up with him answered, ‘We are not able to march against this people; they are stronger than we are.’ And they began to disparage the country they had reconnoitred to the sons of Israel, ‘The country we went to reconnoitre is a country that devours its inhabitants. Every man we saw there was of enormous size. Yes, and we saw giants there (the sons of Anak, descendants of the Giants). We felt like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.’

At this, the whole community raised their voices and cried aloud, and the people wailed all that night.

The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said:

‘I have heard the complaints which the sons of Israel make against me. Say to them, “As I live – it is the Lord who speaks – I will deal with you according to the very words you have used in my hearing. In this wilderness your dead bodies will fall, all you men of the census, all you who were numbered from the age of twenty years and over, you who have complained against me. For forty days you reconnoitred the land. Each day shall count for a year: for forty years you shall bear the burden of your sins, and you shall learn what it means to reject me.” I, the Lord, have spoken: this is how I will deal with this perverse community that has conspired against me. Here in this wilderness, to the last man, they shall die.’

Psalm

Psalm 105:6-7,13-14,21-23 ©