Fr. Roger J. Landry

Conversations with Consequences Podcast

Homily for the Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time, A, Vigil

August 19, 2023

 

To listen to an audio recording of this short Sunday homily, please click below: 

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/catholicpreaching/8.19.23_ConCon_1.mp3

 

The text on which the brief homily was based was:

* This is Fr. Roger Landry and it’s a privilege for me to be with you as we enter into the consequential conversation the Risen Lord Jesus wants to have with each of us this Sunday, when Jesus will give a pagan woman the greatest compliment he ever gave anyone. It is the type of tribute he wanted to give to every one of his fellow Jews, the accolade he wants to bestow on every Christian, and the commendation he wants to say to each of us now and when we meet him face-to-face: “Great is your faith!”

* Jesus’ praise of the woman in this Sunday’s Gospel was not cheap. It was a result of the way the woman responded to the terrible predicament of having a possessed daughter and all the problems that likely contributed to her possession and followed upon it. Jesus’ admiration was also the result of his dialogue with her that would have tested her faith to the limit. His tribute was the end result of a process of growth in faith that culminated with his amazed acclaim. We are able this Sunday to enter the scene and learn from this Syro-Phoenician woman how we, too, can grow in faith so that our faith may, too, become great and praiseworthy.

* The question we ought to ask at the outset, however, is whether our faith is great, small or just average right now. Are we living by faith part-time or full-time? Is our relationship with our triune God the most important aspect of our self-identity? Jesus once wondered aloud whether when he returned he would find faith on earth (Lk 18:8). If Jesus were to come right now, would he compliment us like he praised the Canaanite woman or would he say of us what he often said of some of his closest followers as we heard last Sunday: “O you of little faith?” Most of us, if we’re honest, might respond like the man whose son Jesus healed of possession, who said to Jesus, “Lord, I do believe. Help my unbelief!” This Sunday Jesus gives us that assistance through his interaction with this needy mom. We see her great faith shine and grow in the four tests Jesus gave her.

* The first test happened when she went up to Jesus and called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” Jesus’ response was total silence. St. Matthew, an eyewitness, tells us, “He did not say a word in answer to her.” Jesus’ silent treatment seems a cruel thing to do to a desperate mom. Jesus, however, who almost certainly was prepared to work the exorcism, wanted to effectuate another miracle that day, a greater one, for the woman, for the disciples with him, and for all of us. To do that, though, he needed to try her faith. He did so first by his silence. Even though he was seeming to ignore her, the woman didn’t give up.

* Her second attempt was intercession. She ran up to the disciples and asked them to intervene. We can imagine her grabbing on their clothes and arms, raising her voice, begging their assistance. It drove the disciples to their breaking point. They approached Jesus and said with frustrated urgency, “Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us!” They were asking Jesus to work a miracle just to get rid of the lady, she was so bothersome. Jesus refused their advances, too. “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” he said, within her hearing. This was her second test. Jesus treated her as if she were a pagan have-not.