August 18,
20th Sunday of the Year. Mt. 15/21-28

Background

There has been almost from the beginning of Christianity much agonizing over this text. Why was Jesus so rude to the Canaanite woman, Jesus who was more courteous and more respectful towards women than anyone of his own time about whose life we have information? However, the lesson in the story was intended for those Jewish Christians who were uneasy about the Church opening itself up to gentiles. The dialogue (probably) was composed in the tradition with them in mind. However, the incident itself almost certainly goes back to the time of Jesus and was retained in the memory of the early Christians despite the fact that many thought it strange that he would be kind to a Canaanite woman. Wasn’t it bad enough that he was kind of a Samaritan woman. As St. Paul would later say there was neither Greek nor Roman, Jew nor Gentle, male nor female among the followers of Jesus, but all one in him.

Story

Once there was a very unpopular new group in American cities. The best people in the cities said that this group was hopeless. They were slovenly, devoid of ambition, quarrelsome, drank too much, fought too much, were inclined to be brutal criminals, had too many children whom they did not know who to bring up to be proper citizens. Because of their sloppy ways and their dirtiness, they were prone to illness. They did not know how to protect the health of their children. They were a drain on the economy and the finances of the cities. The neighborhoods in which they lived were unsafe at night and often in the daylight too. They simply did not have what it takes to become good Americans. No more of them should be admitted into the country. Those who were already here should be kept in their own neighborhoods and not be permitted to live in the same communities with other Americans. They were physically, even genetically inferior. The New York Times said editorially that even the African Americans were not as bad as these people. Who were they? Why the Irish of course. Who else?

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