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Posted: 8/16/2014 1:15:46 AM EDT


Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
17 AUG 2014
Lectionary: 118
Reading 1 IS 56:1, 6-7

Thus says the LORD:
Observe what is right, do what is just;
for my salvation is about to come,
my justice, about to be revealed.

The foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,
ministering to him,
loving the name of the LORD,
and becoming his servants—
all who keep the sabbath free from profanation
and hold to my covenant,
them I will bring to my holy mountain
and make joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and sacrifices
will be acceptable on my altar,
for my house shall be called
a house of prayer for all peoples.

Responsorial Psalm PS 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8

R/ O God, let all the nations praise you!
May God have pity on us and bless us;

may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation.
R/ O God, let all the nations praise you!

May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.
R/ O God, let all the nations praise you!

May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!
R/ O God, let all the nations praise you!


(Christ and the Caananite Woman, Juan de Flandes, ca. 1500)

Reading 2 ROM 11:13-15, 29-32

Brothers and sisters:
I am speaking to you Gentiles.
Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles,
I glory in my ministry in order to make my race jealous
and thus save some of them.
For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world,
what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.
Just as you once disobeyed God
but have now received mercy because of their disobedience,
so they have now disobeyed in order that,
by virtue of the mercy shown to you,
they too may now receive mercy.
For God delivered all to disobedience,
that he might have mercy upon all.


(Christ and the Canaanite Woman, 1617, Pieter Pietersz Lastman)

Gospel MT 15:21-28

At that time, Jesus 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 Jesus did not say a word in answer to her.
Jesus’ 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 Jesus 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 the woman’s daughter was healed from that hour.


Overview of the Gospel:

• This Sunday’s Gospel takes place right after a discussion between Jesus and his
opponents, the Pharisees, who are critical of Jesus’ disciples for not following their
interpretations of the minute details of the Jewish purity laws (Matthew 15:1-20).

• Many of these Pharisees (the name means “separated ones”) made it a point to not
associate with those whom they felt did not live up to these laws. They also distanced
themselves from Gentiles (non-Jews) whom they considered unclean. They would not
even enter their house for fear of defilement (John 18:28-29).

• After this confrontation, Jesus takes a nearly 100-mile round trip “detour” to the Gentile
region of Tyre and Sidon (present day Lebanon). Sidon was named after the son of
Canaan (see Genesis 10:15-19), forefather of the original inhabitants of the Holy Land
who were traditional bitter enemies of the Jews.

• Though Jesus is sometimes seen to be taking a cold approach to the Canaanite woman
seeking his aid, he is in fact mimicking the “separateness” of the Pharisees to highlight their
blindness and to make a point about how God, on the other hand, shows no partiality (Acts
10:34; Romans 2:11; Colossians 3:25; James 2:1,9).

Questions:

• Regarding the 2nd Reading: from what religious roots does Christianity come? If you are not
ethnically Jewish, what do those roots make you, as a believer in Christianity? With what kind
of awe, then, should you regard Judaism? With what kind of awe should you regard the grace
of God in you?

• In the 1st Reading, the prophet Isaiah foretells the inclusion of Gentiles in the kingdom of God,
and the enthusiasm and sincerity of their worship. How well are you fulfilling this prophecy?

• Look at a map of Israel in Jesus’ time. Where is Tyre and Sidon in relation to Jerusalem? Map

• How would Jesus’ accusers in verses 1-20 have viewed his 100-mile “detour” to the region of
Tyre and Sidon? Would they have likely done the same? Why or why not?

• What do we learn about the Canaanite woman? How are you like her? Not like her?

• What do we learn about Jesus? About Jesus’ attitude toward non-Jews?

• When you deal with needy people or “outsiders,” are you more like the disciples or Jesus?
Why? How has God gone a long distance to heal you?

• Do you ever feel “put off” by the Lord? What happens to your faith when God appears not to
answer? Do you give up, or do you persist? Do you seek Jesus with expectant faith?

Courtesy of Scripture Study for Catholics

Bible Study--20th Sunday in Ordinary Time--Cycle A

Courtesy of St. Chales Borromeo Church, Faith Studies, Picayune, MS


(Canaanite Woman, Jean Drouais, 1784)
"Persevere in prayer. Persevere, even when your efforts seem barren. Prayer is always fruitful." –St. Josemaria Escriva
Link Posted: 8/20/2014 1:17:18 PM EDT
[#1]
Why did Jesus say, "“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Link Posted: 8/20/2014 2:06:27 PM EDT
[#2]
Gospel MT 15:21-28

At that time, Jesus 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 Jesus did not say a word in answer to her.
Jesus’ 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 Jesus 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 the woman’s daughter was healed from that hour.
Link Posted: 8/20/2014 2:07:51 PM EDT
[#3]
Might want to read again and then reflect more in-depth on given Scripture.
Link Posted: 8/20/2014 2:25:05 PM EDT
[#4]
" I assure you: Unless someone is born of the water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born again. The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don't know where it comes from or where it is going.

So is everyone who is born of the Spirit,"



Jesus Christ Our Perfect Sacrifice

John 3: 5-8

Jesus Speaks as the Forerunner Concerning all Spiritual Matters: The Prerequisites of Eternal Life
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