18

20^th Sunday in Ordinary Time —Year A

Fr. Jijo Kandamkulathy CMF

 甘天霖神父

Gospel: Matthew 15:21-28

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew,

Glory to you, O Lord!

Then Jesus went from that place and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, "Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon." But he did not say a word in answer to her. His disciples came and asked him, "Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us." He said in reply, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But the woman came and did him homage, saying, "Lord, help me." He said in reply, "It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters." Then Jesus said to her in reply, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed from that hour.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily: THE "DOGS" TURN INTO "LAMBS" BY FAITH

The first Christian community had to confront their own exclusivism. There were those who believed that salvation was meant only for the Jewish converts. There were also liberals like Saint Paul. The evangelist presents the perspective of Jesus on the issue.

As the evangelist relates the dialogue between Jesus and the woman in today’s gospel, he sounds almost delighted to emphasize the increasingly harsh tone of the Master’s responses. In the beginning, he ignores. As the woman insists, he becomes even more severe and says: "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the nation of Israel."

Presenting himself as a shepherd of Israel, Jesus declares that he intends to fulfill the prophecies, and the woman understands. She knows that she is not of the chosen people. She is conscious of not belonging to the "flock of the Lord" and not having the right to salvation. However, she relies on the goodwill and free intervention of God. Bowing down to Jesus, she begs: "Lord, help me!" The answer to her insistence is an insult, "It is not right to take the bread from the children and throw it to puppies.”

The Israelites are the sheep, the Gentiles are the dogs. The term dog was often derogatively used to refer to the pagans in those days. On the lips of Jesus this expression is surprising, especially if one takes into account the fact that the Canaanite woman turned to him with great respect. Three times she called him, "Lord"—the title with which Christians profess their faith in the Risen One—and once, "Son of David," which equates to recognizing him as the Messiah. It seems that, like all his countrymen, he also has an abomination to foreigners. But is it so?

The conclusion of the story clarifies our doubt. "Woman—says Jesus—how great is your faith.”It is a praise that has never been addressed to an Israelite woman.

The preceding provocation, the contempt for the pagans, the reference to their impurity and unworthiness were all but a clever staging. Jesus wanted his disciples to radically alter the way they deal with foreigners. He "played the part" of the integral and pure Israelite to show how ridiculous and senseless the separatist mentality cultivated by his people was. While the "flock of sheep" kept themselves away from the shepherd, who wanted to gather them (Mt 23:37), the "dogs" approached him and, because of their great faith, obtained salvation.

The message is as timely as ever. The Church is called to be a sign that all discriminations related to gender, membership to a race, to a people, or to an institution are ended. Paul declares, “In Christ Jesus … there is no longer any difference between Jew or Greek, or between slave or freed, or between man and woman; but all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” The Canaanite woman is the model of the true believer.

证道：靠着对“主”的信德，终结一切人间的歧视

初期教会团体不得不面对自身的排外主义。有一些人坚信：救恩意味着只为犹太教的皈依者；也有一些像圣保禄的自由主义者。圣史在这个问题上呈现的是耶稣的视角。

正如圣史叙述耶稣与今日福音中妇人的对话，他似乎高兴地强调主耶稣越来越严厉回应的语气。在开始，他忽视了这些。正如妇人所强调的，祂甚至变得更加严厉的说：“我被派遣，只是为了以色列家迷失的羊”。

耶稣用以色列牧人来呈现自身，并宣告自己意欲满全先知预言，而且妇人也明白了。她知道自己不是选民，意识到自己不属于“上主的羊群”，并没有权利获得救恩。然而，她信赖的是天主的善意和自由干预。她向耶稣低头恳求说：“主，援助我罢！”对她坚持的回应是种羞辱：“拿儿女的饼扔给小狗，是不对的”。

以色列人是羊，外邦人是狗。“狗”这个词通常是贬义的用法，在那个时代用于外邦异教人。在耶稣口中，这种表达令人惊讶，尤其是考虑到客纳罕妇人以极大的尊重转向耶稣的事实情况。她三次称呼耶稣为“主”——这是基督徒对复活的那位宣告信德的称呼，并且有一次是“达味之子”，等同于将祂视为默西亚。看起来，就像祂的同胞，祂对外邦人也有厌恶。难道就这样了吗？

故事的结尾澄清了我们的疑惑。耶稣说：“啊！妇人，你的信德真大。”这个称赞从未用在一个以色列妇人身上。

前面的挑衅，对外邦人的蔑视，提到他们的不洁和不配都是一个巧妙的表演。耶稣想要门徒们 彻底改变对待外邦人的方式。祂“扮演了”完整和纯洁以色列人的角色，显示出祂的子民培养的分裂主义心态是多么荒谬和愚蠢。当“羊群”远离想要聚集他们的牧人时（玛23：37），“小狗”却接近祂，并因着他们的大信德而获得救恩。

这讯息跟往常一样及时。圣教会被召叫作为终结所有性别歧视，以及成为一个民族、种族和机构成员资格的标记。圣保禄宣称：在基督内，不再有犹太人和希腊人的区别，不再有奴隶和自由人的区别，不再有男人和女人的区别，因为所有人都在基督耶稣内成为一体。客纳罕妇人是真信者的模范。