TWENTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME CYCLE A HOMILY
We all want to be saved! We want to be saved from the pile of debts! We want to be saved from the bitterness and anger of people who do not like us. We want to be saved from the pains and heartaches which others inflict upon us. We all want to be saved!
In our First Reading today, we are given an assurance from the prophecy of Isaiah that salvation is near; that one day the Lord will also be ministering to the foreigners; that their offerings and sacrifices will be acceptable to the Lord. Our first reading prefigures the mission of Christ here on earth—that salvation which comes from Him is for all! His ministry will be for all! His message of love and mercy is for all!
Our Gospel today fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah! The "burnt offering and sacrifice" of the Canaanite woman was accepted and granted by Jesus after her insistence. Her daughter received healing from our Lord. Such act of Jesus was a “going beyond” His mission to the Jewish people. Such healing of a daughter of a Gentile woman signals to us the reality of Jesus' universal mission of salvation.
It was not because of political affiliation, race, status, or arguments that made Jesus grant healing to the woman's daughter. It was because of faith!
"O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish."
Indeed, faith spells out the difference. If you remember in our Gospel last Sunday, Peter, who was a disciple, a friend of Jesus, was admonished by our Lord because of his doubt. Peter wasn't able to walk on water because he did not have faith because he feared the tossing waves. But the woman in today's Gospel, who probably met Jesus for the first time, despite being rejected, insisted on her request, and in the end experienced salvation because of her faith.
St. Paul in our Second Reading today explains to us the relationship between universal salvation and faith. He preached to the Gentiles that the gifts and call of God are irrevocable. His salvation is simply irresistible. And it is out of the faith which they once rejected but now have accepted that they will experience the mercy of God.
The salvation of God is like a pool of fresh water. It is simply irresistible. Yet we die of thirst not for lack of water but because we refuse to open our mouth. We refuse to receive God's gift of faith.
Upon realizing that salvation is for all, and that faith is a prerequisite to salvation, let us now apply these realization into our lives.
Since Jesus Christ is our model in Christian living, then we are expected to become like Him. If His offer of salvation is for all regardless of religion, distance and time, then our being Christians should be for all people, in all places and at all times. Let us be Christians not only when we are in churches, instead, let us be "unlimited" Christians. Let us share with the rest of the world the love, mercy, and joy of Christ's salvation. If Christ brought healing to a daughter of a Gentile woman, someone who does not share in the traditions of Jesus, then, let us also bring salvation to other people especially those who are marginalized. Pope Francis has always insisted that he would rather have a Church that is wounded because of helping the poor than a Church which is drowned by her own self-absorption.
In particular, I would like to highlight the genocide happening now in the Middle East especially in Iraq and Syria. Everyday in the news and in social media, I see stories of people walking on the desert notwithstanding the scorching heat to run away from Muslim fundamentalists. I also see pictures and videos of the many innocent Christians and other minorities who are murdered, crucified, beheaded and displayed on public places mercilessly.
We may be very far away from them. But they are Christians still, they are human beings. The question is this, what are we doing now? Are we even aware of what is happening in that part of the world? If the salvation of Christ is for all and we are His followers, then, we have to do something! Like the insistent woman in our Gospel today, let us begin by being incessant for the world to be aware. Let us make some noise that the world will do something about this horrible event in history. Let us be Christians not only on Sundays and on days when we are happy, safe, and secured. Rather, and most importantly, let us be Christians amidst the suffering and trials in the world today.
It was because of faith that the woman was granted salvation. It is also because of faith that our Christian brothers and sisters in Iraq right now are suffering, persecuted, and even killed. By that same faith, they now receive the crown of martyrdom. That very faith has created for them a place in heaven, earning for themselves the salvation which Christ offered for all.
And so we pray,
Amen.
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