Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time
August 16, 2026
Matthew 15: 21-28
The healing in today’s gospel does not seem to be the main point it seems to me. Rather, the point is the conversation between Jesus and the Canaanite woman. The conversation leads to the healing.
This foreign woman should not expect that Jesus would take any notice of her. After all, she was a woman who should not make public demands on anyone, much less a rabbi. And further, she was not even of the Jewish religion; she was outside the notice of a rabbi. And, yet, she possessed a single minded focus. She was intent on the spiritual and mental health of her daughter.
This woman demanded to be heard. No doubt Jesus heard her first request, but chose to ignore her. And yet, she continued to cry out loudly and insistently: “Lord, have pity on me.” She was a person at her wit’s end. She could see that she was inadequate to solve her daughter’s problem. But when she saw Jesus, she had complete trust. And, she made people nervous. She was so loud and persistent that the disciples were driven to ask Jesus to send her away.
Jesus tells her that it is not her time yet; he is busy with the people of the fold of Israel, not its neighbors. She had to wait. She even argued with Jesus pointing out that “even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from their [master’s table].” However, her simple trust was wonderful; who could disregard it for so long. So, Jesus tells her, “O woman, great is you faith.” And at last, Jesus grants her wish and her daughter is healed.
This tell us something important: God seems to like to be trusted and asked. We may find this hard to believe. After all, we do not like to ask someone for help. It shows us as inadequate. We may put off our request because we think that the person will not want to be bothered. Maybe they are too busy. We forget that God is not limited as we are. He loves all of us the same, and at the same time. He can listen because he has no time, or all the time in the world.
God is not some remote CEO. The Book of Proverbs has God’s Wisdom saying: “I found delight in the sons of men.”(8:31) In time, Jesus came into our world to live just as we do, to share our ordinary human life. He has told us that he is always with us, until the end of the world. He actually enjoys human companionship and friendship. Today, we can talk to him in prayer as in a conversation. We can tell Jesus our issues and ask his help. His answer may not come at that very moment, perhaps in a few hours or days. He will answer in his good time.
Fr. John Tran