The Lord exclaims some pretty interesting words to this Canaanite woman: ”I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
This echoes back to the words of the prophet Jeremiah, “My people have been lost sheep: Their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: They have gone from mountain to hill, They have forgotten their resting place.”
Here Jesus is reminding that His earthly ministry was to the people of Israel. It was these people who were chosen by God as His chosen people. As is stated of them in the Book of Deuteronomy, “The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.”
This mission of Christ is further reflected in the Gospel of Saint Matthew, “And he shall bring forth a son, and he shall call his name Jesus: for he will save his people from their sins.” This Canaanite woman falls outside of this chosen people. Nevertheless, the Lord heard her cries and through her faith He was moved to give her aid.
So too the Church has been extended throughout the world. As the Lord stated at His Ascension into Heaven, “Go out and make disciples of all nations.” As members of the Church we are the people that Christ has come to save. Nevertheless, there are those times when we chose to reject Him and the message of salvation that He brings into the world. With this we become “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
It must become our mission to set our sight upon Him. It is easy to reject truth when it makes us uncomfortable. It is easy to get caught up in the ways of the world and to push Christ off to the side. As those who have been claimed for Christ through the waters of baptism we must live each day for Him.
In the sacrament of confession we come to heal that which has been broken down by sin as we proclaim, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David.” In all that we encounter and do we must profess our faith in Him and state, “Lord, help me.” Truly may we come to allow the Lord to help us as we kneel at His feet in humble prayer.
The Lord’s response to this Canaanite woman invites her to partake of the Master’s table. So too do we humbly come to receive our Lord who feeds us in the Most Holy Eucharist. May we remain united in our practice of faith through this most wondrous of gifts. Through the Eucharist we come to receive our Lord who is in present with us Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. In all things let us not become lost sheep, but sheep who humbly come to follow and love their Shepherd.
No comments:
New comments are not allowed.