FIRST READING: Isaiah 56:1,6-7

These verses begin a third part of the Book of Isaiah, which some scholars refer to as Trito-Isaiah.  They are the last eleven chapters of this prophetic work.  It was probably addressed to the returnees from the Babylonian Exile.  The Lord God of Israel is recognized as the Lord of all people and nations.  During their separation from their nation and the formal Temple rituals, the people learned that God still was with them.  He restored them and renewed His promise to be in their midst.  That was a powerful lesson that would sustain them as a people of God, when they will lose their land and Temple again.

“Observe what is right” reflects on the personal commitment that each person must have.  There is an individual responsibility to be obedient to the Lord.  But there is more.  We are also to “do what is just.”  The word “justice” often appears in the prophetic literature.  It refers to an active practice in society to protect and respond to the needs of the marginalized, especially widows and orphans, those who have little economic or political standing.  It is also a quality of God, who equates “my justice” with His work of salvation.

SECOND READING: Romans 11:13-15,29-32

This is the last of eight excerpts from the Letter to the Romans.  After addressing “my kin,” his fellow Jews, Paul turns to the new members in the Church, the Gentiles.  Paul left the confines of Palestine to bring the Gospel to a much wider audience.  “You” are the Gentiles.  “Their rejection. . .their disobedience” refers to the Jews.

Paul sees the disobedience and lack of faith of the Jews as the means by which the “gifts and call of God” are extended to all others.  It is not worthiness, but the mercy of God that brings Jew and Gentile together as brothers and sisters in faith.

For every mention of the word “disobey,” four times, on the part of Jew and Gentile, Paul also uses the word “mercy” from God.”  The number four symbolizes universalism in the Scriptures.  Disobedience brings about the inclusion of the Gentiles into a relationship with God.

GOSPEL: Matthew 15:21-28

The seaside cities of Tyre and Sidon were north of the lands of Israel.  They were in ancient Phoenicia, now southern Lebanon.  The focus of this miracle is on the faith of the Canaanite woman, a person who is outside the boundaries of Israel – both in location and in religion.  She receives three rejections to her request for her daughter to be free from a tormenting demon.  Her faith overcomes the obstacles and rejection of her requests, so that “the woman’s daughter was healed” without any further display or proof of her faith.

Some scholars have seen an example of humility or faith – or both! – in the actions of this foreign woman.  She begins by acknowledging that Jesus was “Son of David.”  It expressed His mission to the “house of Israel.”  But then she twice uses the title that translated the name of Yahweh in the Old Testament, “Lord.”  Her unconditional trust in Jesus leads to healing for another, her daughter.  The consequences of faith extended beyond individual human boundaries.

The feeding of the four thousand follows this passage.  Jesus will give the bread to the disciples to feed the crowds, who experienced the healing presence of Jesus.  They will take the bread that He gave them to feed others.              It is the presence of the Lord in the midst of His disciples, whether in or out of the land of Israel, that will bring healing to the needy.

I marvel at the number of adults that enter the Church each year at the Easter Vigil.  Many have become active members and leaders in the parish.  Over the years, I have worked with two Directors of Religious Education, a pastoral associate and many catechists that have entered the Church as adults.  One of my classmates, now a pastor in the suburbs, entered the Church, when he was in college.  Some of our dedicated lectors, Special Ministers of Holy Communion, ushers and committee members joined the Church as adults.  In one of my assignments, I met very active and involved parishioners, whose grandfathers burned crosses on the lawns of Catholics in earlier years.

What would we have lost, if we just ignored them or, even worse, scorned them as unbelievers?  There are many members in the Church, baptized as Catholics, who have experienced some deep hurt in their life that needs the healing presence of the Lord.  They may be the “lost sheep” that Jesus came to save.  There have been times when I have felt like the disciples of Jesus.  I wanted to say, “Send her/him away!”  The patience of God is much greater than mine.

The Scriptures do not tell us whatever happened to that unnamed woman of humility and faith.  But we know that the example of Jesus foreshadowed what the disciples of Jesus would and are doing now in showing people the way to Him.   Our parishes must become an invitation and “house of prayer for all peoples,” who seek to become servants and handmaidens of the Lord.