Sunday of the Canaanite

I was originally planning to only have readings for Monday to Saturday, but since some readers might be unable to attend church every Sunday, or perhaps attend a parish where the readings are not done in English, I thought it might be a good idea to include Sunday's readings as well. When possible, I will also post the sermon from the weekly Bulletin of Spiritual Edification published by the Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain, written by priests of that archdiocese.

Matins: Luke 24:1-12

On the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marvelling at what had happened.

2 Corinthians 6:16-7:1

Brethren, you are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. 

Matthew 15:21-28

At that time, Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

From the Bulletin of Spiritual Edification (No. 1271)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

In the words of Fr. Alexander Schmemann "Long before the actual beginning of Lent, the Church announces its approach and invites us to enter into the period of pre-Lenten preparation". The first of these announcements comes through the Gospel reading of the Canaanite woman, which is often replaced by the Gospel story of Zacchaeus, and read before the opening of the Lenten Triodion, which beings on the following Sunday. This year we are given the Gospel reading of the Canaanite woman and our attention is turned toward the spiritual aspects which today's Gospel wishes to convey. On this occasion let us focus on the aspect of humility, a central and characteristic virtue for our spiritual journey through Holy Lent.

This poor but remarkable woman in today's Gospel is a prime example of the kind of humility necessary for our encounter with the Lord. The Canaanite woman not only has a strange and somewhat puzzling encounter with the Lord but she also manages to receive from Him her special request: the healing of her daughter tormented by the devil. Her success lies in her humility grounded in faith.

Matthew, the Evangelist, does not hesitate to describe the Lord's deliberate refrain from answering this poor woman's request: "he answered her not a word". In addition, when He decides to speak to her, He responds in a seemingly non-consoling way. He speaks very harshly. While the woman cries for help, making a public spectacle of herself, the Lord answers her and says: "It is not right to take the children's bread, and to cast it to the dogs". In our culture, where one is accustomed to a more passive and polite attitude toward others, such behaviour could be considered extremely rude and offensive. But what are we to make of this enigmatic story?

Needless to say the Lord's behaviour was deliberate. Everything the incarnate Word did or said was deliberate and instructive. On this occasion, it was hoped that his disciples would reflect on this remarkable woman's humility, as a prerequisite for their salvation. Perhaps the Lord's words to this poor woman stand as an allusion to those words, which He once spoke to His disciples: "When ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, we are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do" (Luke 17:10). But such humility does not come so easily. It comes with faith and willingness. It comes through contemplating Christ, the divine humility incarnate. His words to us are: "Learn from Me for I am meek and humble in heart". His way is the way of humility. Humility, therefore, is the antidote for healing our sins, that venomous pride, which forever steers us away from God and is the root of all our transgressions. Let us seek the Lord! Call upon Him ceaselessly like the Canaanite woman: "Have mercy on me!" He will not deny our request. Neither will He despise us. On the contrary He will consider us as His own, since He Himself vested Himself with the garment of humility to draw us closer to Him.

Indeed, humility is the key to our salvation. Let us constantly strive to acquire it, calling upon the name of the Lord, fulfilling the precepts of His commandments and willingly seeking His will and not ours. Amen.