Keep Moving Toward Jesus – Homily for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

Start here with the readings for this Sunday.

In the Canaanite woman in today’s Gospel reading, we see a woman who desperately needs Jesus. Her daughter is suffering terribly, and in the midst of her suffering and desperation, this woman goes out in search of the Lord. She is a Canaanite, a non-Jew, a pagan who did not worship the God of Israel. And yet somehow, she has come to believe in this God-man she has heard about. She cries out to Him, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!”

Her suffering has made her sensitive to the presence of Jesus. Her pain has driven her out in search of Him. Suffering can do the same thing for us, if we allow it. Suffering can either move us closer to God or further away from Him, and we get to choose. What is so striking about this woman is that everything that could have driven her away from Jesus instead drives her closer to Him. She keeps moving toward Jesus.

First, Jesus responds to her with silence. She cries out to Him, and He does not say a word in answer. But she keeps moving toward Jesus. Then the disciples become annoyed with her and want Jesus to send her away. Even the people closest to Jesus seem to stand between her and the Lord. But she keeps moving toward Jesus. Then Jesus finally speaks to her, but His words do not seem very encouraging: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But still she keeps moving toward Jesus. She comes closer, does Him homage, and makes perhaps the simplest and most beautiful prayer we could ever make: “Lord, help me.”

And then comes the most difficult moment of all. Jesus says to her, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” But Jesus knows this woman, and He knows what He is doing with her. Jesus is testing her faith, and yet even these shocking words do not make her turn away. Instead, we see this woman’s extraordinary humility and hope. She does not become offended. She does not argue with Jesus or insist upon what she thinks she deserves. Instead, she takes the very image that Jesus has given her and turns it into an act of faith: “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.”

This woman is humble, but her humility does not make her timid. It actually makes her bold. She knows that she does not deserve to demand anything from Jesus, but she also believes so deeply in His goodness and mercy that she refuses to leave Him. She believes that even a crumb from the Master’s table will be enough. And Jesus responds, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.

Brothers and sisters, this woman should challenge us because you and I tend to give up so easily in the face of obstacles and difficulties. When we pray and do not sense an immediate response from the Lord, we can become discouraged. When God is doing something that we do not understand or do not like, we can begin to pull away from Him. When we suffer, when our prayers seem unanswered, when God seems silent, we can begin to wonder whether He is listening to us at all.

But this woman teaches us to do exactly the opposite. When God seems silent, move toward Jesus. When we do not understand what He is doing, move toward Jesus. When our prayers seem unanswered, move toward Jesus. When suffering and disappointment tempt us to turn away from Him, move toward Jesus. Keep praying. Keep pursuing Him. Keep coming back to Him with faith, courage, humility, and hope: “Lord, help me.”

Notice what this woman asks for in the end. She would be satisfied with just a crumb from the Master’s table. She believes that even the smallest gift from Jesus will be enough. In just a few moments, you and I will approach the table of the Lord. But look at what Jesus gives us from His table. He does not give us merely a crumb of His grace. He does not give us merely a small portion of Himself. Under the appearance of this small and seemingly insignificant host, He gives us His whole self—Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. Even the smallest particle of the Eucharist is the whole Christ.

Sometimes it may seem like God is not listening to us. Sometimes He does not answer our prayers in the way that we want or at the time that we want. Sometimes, like the Canaanite woman, we may have to persevere through silence, confusion, and suffering. But God never ceases to give Himself to us. And ultimately, that is what we need most. The answer to all of our prayers, whatever they are, is ultimately God Himself. And here He is, in every Mass, giving Himself completely to us.

Whatever suffering we are carrying right now, whatever prayer seems unanswered, whatever we do not understand about what God is doing in our lives, let us learn from this Canaanite woman. Do not turn away. Do not give up. Keep moving toward Jesus, no matter what, because He Himself is the answer to our every need. Fall at His feet and pray, “Lord, help me.” And then come to His table with faith in every Mass, knowing that the Lord who gave Himself completely for us on the Cross now gives Himself completely to us in the Eucharist.