Matthew 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.
Every day, observant Jews would and still do recite the Shema… from the books of Deuteronomy and Numbers… “Hear, O Israel that the Lord is God, the Lord alone...You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul.”... And so forth for several verses. This is a reminder for the people of Israel, a reminder of their status as the chosen people of God… as his adopted children, his family, and it was a reminder that God dwelt among them. There is a certain level of pride one can take in being a member of the chosen people of God.
From the beginning, God called this people to himself in order to prepare the world for the greatest act of love to ever occur and it would occur from within this chosen people … the Incarnation, Crucifixion, and Resurrection of Jesus… Jesus Christ, the Son of God would become man in the family of God, to be the fulfillment of their longing... to be their savior, a savior who was foretold and prophesied.
The readings of the Mass today open participation in this family to all of us… God says through the prophet Isaiah… “the foreigners..(that’s us, the non-Israelites)..who join themselves to God… who love God… them I will bring to my holy mountain… my house shall be a house of prayer for all people.”
And Jesus in the Gospel answers the plea of the Canaanite woman... a pagan, certainly not a Jewish believer, and therefore not considered part of the family of God at that time, yet… he heard her plea… because this was his mission… yes to come to the House of Israel and to bring them redemption, but to also redeem all mankind and to dwell among us forever.
Yes, God was preparing the world for a savior through the Jewish people, but even further, God was preparing the world for the establishment of the Church instituted by Jesus as his body here on earth, God was preparing the world for him to come and dwell forever!
This is why when we look at the chosen people of Israel and their religious practices, their prayer, worship, fasting, sacrifice... we find so many similarities with our own practices as Catholics… many of our practices grew out of their practice… and God intended it to be that way…
St. Paul was of course one of the greatest preachers of this… the “Apostle to the Gentiles”, the one charged with preaching to and converting the non-Jews… the one who grew this new family of God, who brought membership in the Body of Christ to those outside of Israel, who preached the mercy of God that extends to the whole world.
We have become his chosen people through baptism, we become part of his body on earth, the Church… and we are given access to his grace. As Catholics we ought to have a little bit of pride in being part of this Body of Christ, in being made members of his chosen people…
God dwelt with his people in the cloud, in the tabernacle or the tent of meeting, and in the temple...and now he dwells with his people, he dwells among us in the Eucharist… in the tabernacles throughout the world the Lord dwells.
During this Eucharistic revival and as we approach this altar today let us pray for a greater awareness of our dignity as the chosen people of God, and members of his Body, and let us pray for a greater awareness of his presence among us in the Eucharist.
The Eucharist can be for us like that Shema, that reminder that we are God's adopted children, we are his chosen people. The Eucharist is the reminder we need that he dwells among us… The Eucharist is telling us… Hear Oh people, the Lord your God is God alone, you shall love him with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. He will be your God and you shall be his people.