Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A (2026) - Fr Paul Rowse, OP

Jesus' reaction to this woman is a real problem, that is, if we think Jesus changed his mind about her and, up to then, he was being unkind to her. It's also a problem if we ourselves expect to change Jesus' mind: if we keep all this up, surely Jesus has to stop being indifferent and unkind towards me, and start giving me what I want. This is a problem.

We must begin from the will of God. What is God's will for this non-Jewish woman and her daughter? From all that follows in the Gospel, we know that God wills for them to receive salvation through Jesus Christ. So, this episode in the Gospel is to be interpreted through this fact. Jesus encounters this woman so that she and her daughter will be saved. Remember, he entered her country: on the political map, she is the local; he the foreigner. Jesus has come for her.

Those sometimes called Gentiles recognise the good things Israel receives from God and are attraced to them. And rightly so: God indeed enriches Israel with his gifts. Through his covenant, he bestows on them the grace of his presence, the wisdom of his law, the virtues of the patriarchs. Indeed, one of the reasons why Herod so enlarged the profane space of the Jerusalem Temple was so that Gentiles could satisfy their curiosity about the proceedings there without the disturbance of sacrilege. In this episode, our heroine seeks the freedom and peace which comes from evil's subjugation to the all-holy God. Those whom Israel calls Gentiles have come near, and they will keep coming.

To this approach of the Gentiles, Israel's reaction has been mixed: everything from near tolerance to outright rejection. But this will not do. God wants more than this for the Gentiles, more for humanity than mere co-existence. He wills for everyone to receive salvation through Jesus Christ. This is what Israel's prophet heralds: Isaiah foresees the Gentiles' advent to God's mountain, and there God will receive them, hear their prayers, and accept their sacrifices on the same altar.

Jesus' initial reactions to this woman correspond with Israel's reactions to the Gentiles. He ignored her, like Israel sometimes did the Gentiles. Then he confirmed his own vocation, like Israel did among themselves. Then he repeated, but more gently, the taunts some in Israel would make. But that is not all. Jesus also finally accepted her, who had wisely addressed him as "Son of Daivd" and humbly knelt before him as her Lord. This final acceptance of Gentiles by Jesus will simply stand in the Church's memory until after the resurrection; then will the Lord of glory send the disciples after all the nations.

Thus, in this episode Jesus fulfils the Scriptures, Old Israel's prophecies about New Israel's welcome. The Gentiles too will come to God, and be accepted by him. They too will draw near, and be welcomed into the eternal covenant by its first members who confess Christ. And all because of Jesus, who is the Son sent by God to unite all humanity in worship of him.

What shall we make of this for ourselves? We shall recognise that the place we have before God is a grace. We are here, not because we have earned our place or because we are doing anyone any favours, but solely because God has loved us and welcomed us into the new and eternal covenant in his Son's Precious Blood. He who has no need of us yet wants us, and having fulfilled his want for us, enriches us with his presence, wisdom, and virtues, the better to live well and serve him for ever.

Therefore, we shall present ourselves to God with the same wise humility as this woman, confident that we too shall accepted by God in Christ. In the same certain knowledge, we know Jesus to be God's anointed sent to deliver us from all evil. Also on our knees, we call on the Lord Jesus to rule us in love on earth. And in return, we receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. We are those who are being saved by God's grace through faith in Jesus as his only Son.

There is a prayer which the priest prays during the Mass, which expresses all that we might humanly hope to say to God. Your priest will pray this prayer again at this Mass. Just after he has prepared the gifts of bread and wine, he bows before the altar to pray that the offerings we make will make us acceptable:

With humbe spirit and contrite heart,

may we be accepted by you, O Lord,

and may our sacrifice in your sight this day

be pleasing to you, Lord God.

The sure sign that we ourselves have been made acceptable to God is that we receive the Sacred Body and Precious Blood of Christ from the altar. So, as we prepare for the greatest of gifts, let us give humble thanks to God that he is saving us through our Lord Jesus Christ. To whom be the glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Fr Paul Rowse, OP is the Parish Priest of Camberwell East, Victoria