Daily Retreat 08/09/06
2006 Aug 9 Wed: Ordinary Weekday/ Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, v, mt
Jer 31: 1-7/ Jer 31: 10. 11-12ab. 13/ Mt 15: 21-28
From today’s readings: “Thus says the LORD: With age-old love I have loved you; so I have kept My mercy toward you.... The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.... O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.”
Rude or Shrewd?
One of the clearest demonstrations of the need for scholarly scripture study are those Bible passages in which, at first reading, Jesus seems almost “un-Christlike.” For example, when the Canaanite woman begged Jesus to help her daughter, He at first refused to even reply to her plea, and then basically called her a dog - how rude that response rubs us!
How does scripture study shed new light on the situation? Well, first of all, when Jesus withdrew to Tyre and Sidon, He entered Gentile territory, and the prevailing custom of the time was for Jews to have as little contact as possible with Gentiles, especially where the people were descendants of the Canaanites, the ancient enemies of the Israelites.
But something is different here, because the pagan Canaanite woman addresses Jesus, not as a despised alien, but as “Lord, Son of David.” So, it was appropriate for Him, if only for the disciples’ sake, to elicit a confirmation from her that she was not just being sarcastic, and to affirm the central place in His mission for the house of Israel.
When Jesus pointed out that “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs,” He is not stooping to name-calling, so much as He was emphasizing the dignity of those whose faith has embraced God as Father. The Canaanites worshiped idols - what help could they expect from the God they refused to acknowledge? And yet, interestingly, the word Jesus used for “dogs” is actually less of a pejorative and more of a diminutive, perhaps better translated as “pets” or “puppies,”viz., something that is loved and welcomed, but necessarily not in the same way as children are.
So, when the woman acknowledges the aptness of the allegory, and then even extends it with her insight that “dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters,” she demonstrates a degree of faith quite extraordinary for her circumstances, as Jesus does not begrudge in acknowledging and rewarding!
Jer 31: 1-7/ Jer 31: 10. 11-12ab. 13/ Mt 15: 21-28
From today’s readings: “Thus says the LORD: With age-old love I have loved you; so I have kept My mercy toward you.... The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.... O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.”
Rude or Shrewd?
One of the clearest demonstrations of the need for scholarly scripture study are those Bible passages in which, at first reading, Jesus seems almost “un-Christlike.” For example, when the Canaanite woman begged Jesus to help her daughter, He at first refused to even reply to her plea, and then basically called her a dog - how rude that response rubs us!
How does scripture study shed new light on the situation? Well, first of all, when Jesus withdrew to Tyre and Sidon, He entered Gentile territory, and the prevailing custom of the time was for Jews to have as little contact as possible with Gentiles, especially where the people were descendants of the Canaanites, the ancient enemies of the Israelites.
But something is different here, because the pagan Canaanite woman addresses Jesus, not as a despised alien, but as “Lord, Son of David.” So, it was appropriate for Him, if only for the disciples’ sake, to elicit a confirmation from her that she was not just being sarcastic, and to affirm the central place in His mission for the house of Israel.
When Jesus pointed out that “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs,” He is not stooping to name-calling, so much as He was emphasizing the dignity of those whose faith has embraced God as Father. The Canaanites worshiped idols - what help could they expect from the God they refused to acknowledge? And yet, interestingly, the word Jesus used for “dogs” is actually less of a pejorative and more of a diminutive, perhaps better translated as “pets” or “puppies,”viz., something that is loved and welcomed, but necessarily not in the same way as children are.
So, when the woman acknowledges the aptness of the allegory, and then even extends it with her insight that “dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters,” she demonstrates a degree of faith quite extraordinary for her circumstances, as Jesus does not begrudge in acknowledging and rewarding!
posted by FrPitstick | 8/07/2006
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