Father Koch: A Canaanite woman teaches us how to approach Jesus
August 18, 2023 at 7:00 a.m.
Gospel reflection for Aug. 20, 2023, 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
There emerges an important shift in the ministry of Jesus as to how the people address him with their needs. Some of the requests are very specific: “I want to see”, for example. In the passage we heard last week Peter cries out “Lord, save me.” In the Gospel passage this weekend a Canaanite woman approaches Jesus and pleads: “Lord, have pity on me.” This shows a deeper understanding as to the person and mission of Jesus. This shows a shift from seeing Jesus as simply a miracle healer -- and he was not alone in this mission -- to a prophet and perhaps even more than a prophet as this Canaanite woman calls him” “Lord, Son of David.”
The Gospels demonstrate, to one degree or another, the movement of the mission of Jesus from the Jewish people to the multiple nations of the Gentiles. This was not always a welcome shift. There are times when it seems that Jesus resists the movement, often the disciples do, and we also note that the Jewish authorities castigate Jesus for his relationships with various “unclean” peoples. Often the Gentile peoples are unwelcoming and suspicious of this rabbi and his disciples.
The Jewish people, for their own specific religious sensibilities, while deferential to Jesus as a teacher (hence, “rabbi”) yet they are extremely reticent to refer to him as “Messiah,” “Son of David,” and certainly not as “Lord.’” These are very densely packed religious terms that one does not use haphazardly or carelessly.
It has been gradually unfolding in our reading of St. Matthew’s Gospel this year that Jesus is the Messiah, and indeed he is the Son of God. His disciples called him the Son of God in the account we recently heard as Jesus walked on the water. Recognizing his authority over nature, they expressed their belief that he is God in their midst. Yet, they do not continue to address him that way during the rest of his ministry, and they do abandon him as he is arrested. The insight they had did not seem to carry a great impact on them.
A Canaanite woman has the audacity to approach Jesus and ask that her daughter be healed. The disciples cannot believe that Jesus would even entertain such a request from one like her. Even though she is put off, and even clearly disrespected, she was persistent. Yet, unlike even the disciples, she uses this remarkable term: “Son of David” when she addresses Jesus. It cannot be that he thinks she is just addressing a Jewish man all of whom are sons of David, because they were not and would never have been thought of as such. Instead, she is using a precise term from the Scriptures, informed by the Jewish tradition, as she approaches Jesus. She knows that he is a miracle worker, and even one who is able to exorcise demons. She does not ask him to come to her home -- a common motif for Gentiles as they ask for healing from Jesus -- and instead she addresses Jesus in clear messianic terms.
The Gentiles had no expectations, hopes, or ideas about a Jewish messiah. This woman does not live in the Jewish territory as did many other Gentiles. Yet, she is compelled to cry out to the Son of David for pity for her daughter.
Jesus acknowledges her great faith, and she goes her way, confident that what has been promised her will be fulfilled. Indeed, so it is.
How we approach Jesus -- how we address Jesus -- is a demonstration of our faith. Throughout the evolution of the ages, many different titles have been attributed to Jesus. The Church, in her liturgy, employs various titles for Jesus. Each of us in our prayer, addresses Jesus in specific ways. We call him “Lord,” “Christ,” “Savior,” “King of Kings,” among many other titles. Some prefer to think of Jesus as “Brother’ or “Friend”.
Whatever title is the preferred of our personal prayer reflects our sense of a relationship with him. Yet we must all come to recognize Jesus primarily as the Lord and Savior who died on the Cross for our salvation. This Canaanite woman helps us to understand Jesus in our own journey of faith.
Father Garry Koch is pastor of St. Benedict Parish, Holmdel.
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Gospel reflection for Aug. 20, 2023, 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
There emerges an important shift in the ministry of Jesus as to how the people address him with their needs. Some of the requests are very specific: “I want to see”, for example. In the passage we heard last week Peter cries out “Lord, save me.” In the Gospel passage this weekend a Canaanite woman approaches Jesus and pleads: “Lord, have pity on me.” This shows a deeper understanding as to the person and mission of Jesus. This shows a shift from seeing Jesus as simply a miracle healer -- and he was not alone in this mission -- to a prophet and perhaps even more than a prophet as this Canaanite woman calls him” “Lord, Son of David.”
The Gospels demonstrate, to one degree or another, the movement of the mission of Jesus from the Jewish people to the multiple nations of the Gentiles. This was not always a welcome shift. There are times when it seems that Jesus resists the movement, often the disciples do, and we also note that the Jewish authorities castigate Jesus for his relationships with various “unclean” peoples. Often the Gentile peoples are unwelcoming and suspicious of this rabbi and his disciples.
The Jewish people, for their own specific religious sensibilities, while deferential to Jesus as a teacher (hence, “rabbi”) yet they are extremely reticent to refer to him as “Messiah,” “Son of David,” and certainly not as “Lord.’” These are very densely packed religious terms that one does not use haphazardly or carelessly.
It has been gradually unfolding in our reading of St. Matthew’s Gospel this year that Jesus is the Messiah, and indeed he is the Son of God. His disciples called him the Son of God in the account we recently heard as Jesus walked on the water. Recognizing his authority over nature, they expressed their belief that he is God in their midst. Yet, they do not continue to address him that way during the rest of his ministry, and they do abandon him as he is arrested. The insight they had did not seem to carry a great impact on them.
A Canaanite woman has the audacity to approach Jesus and ask that her daughter be healed. The disciples cannot believe that Jesus would even entertain such a request from one like her. Even though she is put off, and even clearly disrespected, she was persistent. Yet, unlike even the disciples, she uses this remarkable term: “Son of David” when she addresses Jesus. It cannot be that he thinks she is just addressing a Jewish man all of whom are sons of David, because they were not and would never have been thought of as such. Instead, she is using a precise term from the Scriptures, informed by the Jewish tradition, as she approaches Jesus. She knows that he is a miracle worker, and even one who is able to exorcise demons. She does not ask him to come to her home -- a common motif for Gentiles as they ask for healing from Jesus -- and instead she addresses Jesus in clear messianic terms.
The Gentiles had no expectations, hopes, or ideas about a Jewish messiah. This woman does not live in the Jewish territory as did many other Gentiles. Yet, she is compelled to cry out to the Son of David for pity for her daughter.
Jesus acknowledges her great faith, and she goes her way, confident that what has been promised her will be fulfilled. Indeed, so it is.
How we approach Jesus -- how we address Jesus -- is a demonstration of our faith. Throughout the evolution of the ages, many different titles have been attributed to Jesus. The Church, in her liturgy, employs various titles for Jesus. Each of us in our prayer, addresses Jesus in specific ways. We call him “Lord,” “Christ,” “Savior,” “King of Kings,” among many other titles. Some prefer to think of Jesus as “Brother’ or “Friend”.
Whatever title is the preferred of our personal prayer reflects our sense of a relationship with him. Yet we must all come to recognize Jesus primarily as the Lord and Savior who died on the Cross for our salvation. This Canaanite woman helps us to understand Jesus in our own journey of faith.
Father Garry Koch is pastor of St. Benedict Parish, Holmdel.