Wednesday, August 9, 2006
18th Week in Ordinary Time
Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
(Edith Stein)


MERE CRUMBS?

Jer 31:1-7; Jeremiah 31:10, 11-12ab, 13; Matthew 15:21-28


Daily Gospel

Opening Prayer

Father of all,
long ago you chose the people of Israel
to make your name known to all the nations.
Your Son Jesus Christ made it clear
that forgiveness and the fullness of life are the share
of all who believe in him.
Make your Church truly a place of encounter
for all those who grope for you,
that all obstacles and barriers may be removed
and that the riches of all nations and cultures
may reveal the thousand faces
of the love you have shown us
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Liturgy of the Word

Introduction to the First Reading
       To a people that has almost as a whole deserted God, Jeremiah gives the assurance that God will never be unfaithful to them. There will be a remnant that responds to God's love. The clue to this is as simple and tremendous as this: God loves his people, the one from the past and that of the present. And so he loves us also. He loves us with a love that does not wear out. His affection remains constant.

First Reading: Jer 31:1-7

At that time, says the LORD,
I will be the God of all the tribes of Israel,
and they shall be my people.
Thus says the LORD:
The people that escaped the sword
have found favor in the desert.
As Israel comes forward to be given his rest,
the LORD appears to him from afar:
With age-old love I have loved you;
so I have kept my mercy toward you.
Again I will restore you, and you shall be rebuilt,
O virgin Israel;
Carrying your festive tambourines,
you shall go forth dancing with the merrymakers.
Again you shall plant vineyards
on the mountains of Samaria;
those who plant them shall enjoy the fruits.
Yes, a day will come when the watchmen
will call out on Mount Ephraim:
“Rise up, let us go to Zion,
to the LORD, our God.”

For thus says the LORD:
Shout with joy for Jacob,
exult at the head of the nations;
proclaim your praise and say:
The LORD has delivered his people,
the remnant of Israel.

Responsorial Psalm: Jeremiah 31:10, 11-12ab, 13

R. (see 10d) The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.

Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,
proclaim it on distant isles, and say:
He who scattered Israel, now gathers them together,
he guards them as a shepherd his flock.
R. (17) The Lord will build up Zion again, and appear in all his glory.

The LORD shall ransom Jacob,
he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror.
Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion,
they shall come streaming to the LORD’s blessings.
R. (17) The Lord will build up Zion again, and appear in all his glory.

Then the virgins shall make merry and dance,
and young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into joy.
I will console and gladden them after their sorrows.
R. (17) The Lord will build up Zion again, and appear in all his glory.

Introduction to Gospel Reading
      There are some obvious problems with the story of the Canaanite woman. The words of Jesus sound harsh and discriminating against non-Jews. Some exegetes see in it an exchange of wits between the woman and Jesus, reflecting the prejudices of their time and yet fundamentally revealing that salvation is for all without discrimination and prejudice wherever faith is found. The way this story is told reflects the problem of the primitive Church whether to accept non-Jewish converts. Everyone who believes may eat from the Lord's table and is fed more than crumbs.

Gospel Reading: Matthew 15:21-28

       Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. Now a Canaanite woman came from those borders and began to cry out, "Lord, Son of David, have pity on me! My daughter is tormented by a demon." But Jesus did not answer her, not even a word. So his disciples approached him and said, "Send her away: see how she is shouting after us."

        Then Jesus said to her, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the nation of Israel."

        But the woman was already kneeling before Jesus and said, "Sir, help me!" Jesus answered, "It is not right to take the bread from the children and throw it to the little dogs." The woman replied, "It is true, sir, but even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their master's table." Then Jesus said, "Woman, how great is your faith! Let it be as you wish." And her daughter was healed at that moment.

Commentary

God has loved us with an age-old love and is always restoring us, bringing us back to serve him and be a light to other nations. This time it is a remnant that is delivered. It is the same in ordinary time with us, year after year, needing to hear the cries and stories of the prophets of old and the prophet/God Jesus. Usually it is outsiders who believe when we take Jesus for granted or ignore him, or reject something he teaches. A Canaanite woman pleads on behalf of her child and amazes Jesus in her need-she takes anything he gives: leftovers, what is thrown to the dogs, what others who claim to believe in God don't want.

Who do we plead for? Do we look for leftovers, anything from the hand of God?

General Intercessions

- That there may be room in the universal Church for the cultural riches of various peoples and for manifesting one and the same faith in a variety of languages and forms of expression, we pray:

- That we may have open hearts and homes for people who are hard to accommodate: strangers and refugees, the jobless and the poor, victims of discrimination and oppression; that we may do all we can to integrate them into the human and Christians community, we pray:

- That all of us here may be concerned about those who are not here because they are estranged from the Church, that our lives may reveal Christ to them, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord God, Father of all,
you set the table of your Son
for all who are willing to come:
for saints and for sinners,
for the poor and the rich.
Give us your Son Jesus Christ.
May we learn from him
to give to all those who ask for food or love
not meager crumbs or leftovers
but the food of ourselves,
as Jesus does here for us,
he who is our Lord for ever.

Prayer after Communion

God our Father,
in this eucharist we have all been one
in Jesus Christ your Son.
He died and rose to life for all;
his likeness is reflected
in the face of every human being:
let it become visible in all.
Let his face not be marred or divided
by our prejudices and fears.
Do not allow our love to be less than universal,
and unite us more in him
who is our common way to you and to one another,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Blessing

Music from one instrument can be beautiful, but the most beautiful form is found in the harmony of many different instruments together in one symphony, or many human voices blending in one chorus. May God give us the symphony and chorus of many cultures and peoples together, with the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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