Matthew 15:21-28; 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Many of us, Catholics, take it for granted that because Jesus was (and still is) both human and divine, God must have wired his brain to perfection, right? Every year, I have students who start out their course in Christology thinking that Jesus didn’t have to be taught anything at all. “He was divine!” They find it inconceivable that Jesus had to learn from scratch how to read, write, do math, tie sandals, say prayers, etc. So, I ask my class every year, “Did Jesus ever change his mind? If, as you say, he knew everything from the get go due to his divinity, did he ever change his mind? Or ever have a change of heart?” Jesus’ encounter with the Canaanite woman was a pivotal moment in this respect, a life-changer. Here was one instance when Jesus, fully human, changed his mind, and more importantly, had a change of heart.

 Notice how his apostles rushed him along when a Canaanite woman importuned him for a cure? Ever the devout Jew, they, as well as Jesus, obeyed the rule that forbade Jews from speaking and relating with pagans. “My daughter is tormented by a demon, sir, can you cure her, please?” She caught him flat- footed. Should he have just resumed walking and brushed off a desperate mother? Rule said so. And he tried. “Jesus did not say a word in answer to her,” the Gospel says. Eh hindi siya tinantanan. So, he caved a little bit (gasp! A violation of the Law!) because he had to clarify: “Ma’am, I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” I bet even Jesus himself wondered if his power would even work with pagans, since they did not believe in his God. He was in Tyre and Sidon, pagan territory. May universal coverage ba ang powers niya? May roaming ba?

The woman didn’t ask for much. She asked for only the “crumbs” of a miracle. Jesus must’ve realized, “Hmm, this woman trust me and must have more faith in me than I first thought she had.” Maybe not a whole lot, since they were mutual strangers. But you know, that she trusted Jesus enough to beg for even just the “crumbs” of his power, that was more than enough. “O woman, great is your faith. Let it be done as you wish.”

Sisters and brothers, it took a Canaanite woman, a pagan, to put Jesus through a change of mind and heart. If you wish, God must’ve sent this desperate mother to make Jesus hear him, saying: “Anak, it’s not just to Jews I’m sending you, but also to anyone in desperate need. And healing people is more important to us than obedience to the letter of the Law.” From here forward, Jesus changed the trajectory of his whole mission. May universal coverage pala ang powers niya. May roaming! “Gano’n pala gusto ng Ama,” he must’ve realized, “that I put people’s desperate needs first, before my fear of breaking religious boundaries.” Jesus changed his mind. Jesus had a change of heart.

When I was missioned for a month to help in a parish in a province in the north, I presided over two funerals one day. I said a funeral mass in the morning. Afternoon came, it was time for the second mass. I was all vested when I saw that the altar table still had the cover on. The books were nowhere on the lecterns. The wine, water, chalice ciborium, hosts were still neatly tucked away in the sacristy where I was. “Bakit hindi pa po nakahanda ang mga gamit sa misa?” I asked the sacristan mayor. “Ay, Padre, wala pong misa. Blessing lang po.” Huh? But I just said a funeral mass this morning. This one was just a blessing? “Padre, blessing lang po ang binayaran nila.”

I headed out to the sanctuary to do the “blessing” of the patay, but I kid you not, dear sisters and brothers. I couldn’t hear myself think while I muttered the words off the book in my cold hands. Because whenever I raised my head to glance at the families gathered there, I saw how poor they were. Their casket looked like it had seen better days, like it was a hand-me-down. And sisters and brothers, the faces of the families were not just sorrowful, they were afflicted. I stopped in the middle of the prayers to walk back to the sacristy and ask the sacristan mayor, “Hindi po ba tayo talaga pwede magmisa?” I remember how he answered with much trepidation, “Baka magalit po kasi si Father,” the kura paroko. And I figured, if I angered the kura paroko, he might send packing; I had just gotten there a few days back. So, this craven Jesuit hurried back to the sanctuary and “soldiered on” with the blessing. The family must’ve felt they just came from the shower after that. Because I made sure they were sprinkled with all the holy water I had to make up for my pitiful gutlessness.

I should’ve just changed my mind, changed my fear, changed my way, and risked being sent home sooner. Whenever I remember that day, sisters and brothers, I’m surer each time that the poor family would’ve really appreciated a Mass for their father, especially because all they could pay for was a “blessing.” Crumbs. But I’m also sure that God’s love and mercy has more universal coverage than either a blessing or a mass from this fainthearted priest. Ang Diyos na ang magpupuno sa lahat ng aking kakulangan. At kapag ang Diyos ang pumuno, punung-puno ‘yon. Not just crumbs. Only people give out crumbs. God doesn’t give out crumbs.

Are you in a place right now where you believe you need the strength to change your mind, or need that extra push for a change of heart? Who knows? The impulse might come from a most unlikely messenger who believes and trusts in you and your power more than you actually believe and trust in yourself.

*image from the Internet