Other Sunday and Holy Day Readings
20th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Cycle A)
Readings:
Isaiah 56:1, 6-7
Psalm 67:2, 3, 5, 6, 8
Romans 11:13-15, 29-32
Matthew 15:21-28
All Scripture passages are from the New American Bible Revised Edition unless designated NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), IBHE (Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English), IBGE (Interlinear Bible Greek-English), or LXX (Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation). CCC designates a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The word LORD or GOD rendered in all capital letters is, in the Hebrew text, God's Divine Name, YHWH (Yahweh).
The two Testaments reveal God's divine plan for humanity, so we read and relive the events of salvation history in the Old and New Testaments in the Church's Liturgy. The Catechism teaches that the Liturgy reveals the unfolding mystery of God's plan as we read the Old Testament in light of the New and the New Testament in light of the Old (CCC 1094-1095).
The Theme of the Readings: The Universal Call to
Salvation
Jesus made it the mission of the Church to spread the Gospel
"to the ends of the earth," calling the people of all nations to salvation in
Christ Jesus (Mt 28:19-20). However, God's plan was always to invite all
peoples to covenant unity with the One True God, returning them to the one family
in fellowship with God that existed before the Fall of Adam. Today's readings
affirm that universal call in God's Divine Plan for humanity.
In the First Reading, God told His covenant people through the prophet Isaiah that the Jerusalem Temple shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. Isaiah received prophetic visions and oracles that concerned the "new Zion" of God's redeemed people. God promised that all peoples of the earth could look forward to the Messianic Era when He would extend the gift of salvation to all nations (Is 56:1-12). The Lord promised that in the "new Zion" of the Messianic Era, He would open His house of worship to those Gentiles previously excluded from Temple worship (Is 56:1, 6a). In the promised new age, all the righteous who observed His commandments could look forward to participation in the future Messianic salvation regardless of their national origin. Jesus quoted this verse from the Book of Isaiah concerning God's promise for universal salvation when He cleansed the Jerusalem Temple on Sunday and again on Monday of His last week in Jerusalem (Mt 21:10-13 and Mk 11:12, 15-17).
The covenant people proclaimed God's plan of universal salvation in their Temple liturgical worship services when they sang from Psalm 67: So may your way be known upon earth; among all nations, your salvation (Responsorial Psalms). The psalm may have been part of the pilgrim feasts of the harvest festival known as the Feast of Weeks and also the feast of ingathering at the end of the liturgical year, known as the Feast of Shelters (Ex 23:14-17; Lev 23:15-22 and 33-43). While both feasts celebrated the history of Israel's liberation from Egypt, Psalm 67 anticipated the Messianic Age when God called the chosen people and the non-Jewish nations together to serve Him as the One True God.
All nations coming together to offer worship, prayer, and praise to God comes about through the mission of the Universal (Catholic) Church. The New Covenant Church of Jesus Christ fulfills the desire expressed in this psalm by welcoming all nations into the family of God through the Sacrament of Baptism. The Church's Liturgy uses Psalm 67 on the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. In that feast, we acknowledge our Blessed Mother's role in bringing the gift of eternal salvation to all nations through the courage of her submission to God in willingly bringing forth the promised Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary and Son of God.
St. Paul reminds us in our Second Reading that all peoples of all nations, Jews and Gentiles, can have confidence in God's call to salvation because the gifts and call of God are irrevocable. Just as God extended His love and mercy to the Gentiles outside the covenant, so must the Christians, both Jewish and Gentile Christians, as one covenant people, extend God's mercy and love to our old covenant brothers and sisters. With the Sinai Covenant fulfilled and replaced by the New Covenant in Christ, Jesus is their only means of salvation (Acts 4:12; Heb 8:6, 13). As the younger brothers and sisters, Christians are bound to our Divine Father's promise to Israel, the elder sons and daughters of the covenant. God promised the children of Israel on the eve of their conquest of the Promised Land: For Yahweh your God is a merciful God and will not desert or destroy you or forget the covenant which he made on oath with your ancestors (Dt 4:31, NJB). The Catechism of the Catholic Church expresses our Christian commitment to our Jewish brothers and sisters of the Old Covenant faith in CCC 674.
The Gospel reading has two messages for us. The first message is that no one is unworthy of God's mercy or gifts. The second message is that we must persist in prayer when petitioning the Lord. Our persistence demonstrates our faith in God's power to intercede in our lives. In the Gospel Reading, Jesus demonstrated God's mercy in the universal granting of His gifts. Jesus's mission was first to announce the coming Kingdom of God to the Jews, the "lost sheep of the House of Israel," but He healed the child of a Gentile woman who was not a member of the Sinai Covenant when she expressed her faith and trust in Jesus to save her child. Jesus's gift of eternal salvation is available to everyone who comes to Him in faith and obedience.
God's gift of eternal salvation does not mean that everyone will receive the gift of eternal salvation regardless of their beliefs or practices. The belief that everyone will achieve eternal salvation is the heresy of universalism. See the document "Ancient Heresies Recycled in the Modern Age." One must make the free-will commitment to accepting God's gift of salvation by living in a covenant relationship with God the Son; no one can make it to Heaven on their own merits.
The Church prays, in today's alternate opening prayer, that people of all races and nationalities will answer God's call to salvation and join the family of the universal Church: "Almighty God, ever-loving Father, your care extends beyond the boundaries of race and nations to the hearts of all who live. May the walls that prejudice raises between us crumble beneath the shadow of your outstretched arm. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen."
The First Reading Isaiah 56:1, 6-7 ~ Welcoming Foreigners
into the Covenant
1 Thus says the LORD: Observe what is right, do what is
just; for my salvation is about to come, my justice, about to be revealed. 6 The
foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, ministering to him, loving the name
of the LORD, and becoming his servants—all who keep the Sabbath free from
profanation and hold to my covenant, 7 them I will bring to my holy mountain
and make joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and sacrifices
will be acceptable on my altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.
Isaiah 56:1-66:24 is the third part division of the Book of Isaiah. It contains prophetic visions and oracles concerning the "new Zion" and the promise that all peoples of the earth can look forward to the Messianic Era when God's gift of salvation extends to all nations (56:1-12). In the "new Zion" of the Messianic Era, God promises to open His house of worship to the Gentiles previously excluded from Temple worship (56:1, 6-7). In the promised new age, all righteous people who observe God's commandments can look forward to participating in the future Messianic salvation, regardless of their national origin.
In verse 6, the Lord lists five necessary conditions of obedience:
How many of these obligations of obedience do you keep? The New Covenant Sabbath is Sunday, "The Lord's Day," commemorating Jesus's Resurrection. Observing the holiness of the New Covenant Sabbath is one of the Five Precepts that are the minimum obligations for members of the Universal Catholic Church (CCC 2041-43).
7 them I will bring to my holy mountain and make joyful
in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be acceptable
on my altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.
God promises to bring the obedient faithful to His "holy
mountain." It is a possible reference to Mt. Moriah (also symbolically called
Mt. Zion) in Jerusalem, the site of God's holy Temple, where the faithful
offered worship in prayer, praise, and sacrifices to Yahweh. But it can also
refer to the universal Church in the Messianic Age, the age in which we live. A
"holy mountain" is symbolic language in Scripture for a revelation of God, as His
chosen people (the children of Israel) experienced a revelation of Yahweh at the
"holy mountain" of Mt. Sinai (Ex 19:16-19). Our "holy mountain" experience in
the Messianic Age is in the Liturgy of the Mass, where the faithful "lift up their
hearts" and experience a revelation of God the Son in the Eucharist.
7b for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.
God's invitation to worship Him in a covenant relationship is
not limited to the covenant people of Israel. It extends to all peoples of
every nation, ethnicity, and social status who seek the Lord with a pure heart
and live according to His commands. Jesus quoted verse 7b when He drove the
money lenders out of the Temple precincts during His last week in Jerusalem (Mt
21:13a and Mk 15:17a). The money lenders had likely set up their tables in the
Court of the Gentiles. Buying and selling there would profane the sacred space set
aside for teaching the Gentiles about the God of Israel, bringing them into the
covenant with Yahweh, and giving them the hope of eternal salvation.
The "universal" (meaning of the word "Catholic") Church of Jesus Christ fulfills the Messianic hope of salvation extended to all nations promised in this passage. The Church's mission is to carry the Gospel of salvation to the ends of the earth and to welcome all people of every nation into the family of God through baptism in Christ Jesus (Mt 28:19-20; Mk 16:15-16). For more information on the "new Zion," see the document "Zion and the Presence of God."
Responsorial Psalm 67:2, 3, 5, 6, 8 ~ Praise for the Lord
of all Nations
The response is: "O God, let all the nations praise you!"
2 May God have pity on us and bless us; may he let his
face shine upon us. 3 So may your way be known upon earth; among all nations,
your salvation.
Response:
5 May the nations be glad and exult because you rule the
peoples in equity; the nations on the earth you guide.
Response:
6 May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples
praise you!
8 May God bless us, and may all the ends of the earth
fear him!
Response:
The title of this psalm in the superscription is, For the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song. In this hymn, the psalmist asks God to continue to show His favor to His covenant people. The other nations of the earth will see God's favor to His covenant people as a sign that will reinforce God's call to all the peoples of the earth to seek His promise of eternal salvation (verse 3). The psalmist prays that all nations will acknowledge God's just rule and praise Him (verses 5-7). The hymn concludes in verse 8 by asking for God's blessing upon His covenant people and expresses the hope that all nations of the earth will learn to fear offending God and will give Him their reverence and praise.
The mission of the Universal (Catholic) Church is to be the vehicle that fulfills the Messianic promise that all nations will find a home in the Church of Jesus Christ. The Church carries out the desires expressed in this psalm by welcoming all nations into the family of God through the Sacrament of Baptism. The Church's Liturgy uses this psalm on the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. We acknowledge our Blessed Mother's role in bringing God's gift of salvation to all nations through the courage of her submission to God in willingly bringing forth the promised Messiah, Jesus.
The Second Reading Romans 11:13-15, 29-32 ~ God's Irrevocable
Gifts and Call
13 I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the
apostle to the Gentiles, I glory in my ministry 14 in order to make my race
jealous and thus save some of them. 15 For if their rejection is the
reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?
29 For the gifts and call of God are irrevocable. 30 Just
as you once disobeyed God but have now received mercy because of their
disobedience, 31 so they have now disobeyed in order that, by virtue of the
mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. 32 For God delivered all to
disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all.
In this passage, St. Paul asked what God intended when He allowed Israel to stumble over what St. Peter called the "stumbling stone" that is Jesus Christ by rejecting the Messiah (1 Pt 2:8). He asked, "Was it that Israel's fall should be irredeemable?" Paul answered his rhetorical question by pointing out that their "stumbling" has brought salvation to the Gentiles. Then he continued with the consequences for the Jews of extending salvation to the Gentiles.
13b Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I glory
in my ministry 14 in order to make my race jealous and thus save some of them.
Interestingly, Paul will repeat the word jealous (arouse to
jealousy/envy = parazeloo) three times in Romans 10:19, 11:11, and 11:14
as a key to understanding God's plan that at first veiled the minds of the
Israelites and would later bring them to salvation. Paul hoped that the Gospel
of salvation would stir them to envy the riches of the blessings of the New
Covenant people and motivate them to accept, through grace, the eternal salvation
promised by Jesus Christ.
This hope of salvation is brought about not through Jesus Christ as the "stumbling stone" but as the "stone untouched" by human hands prophesied by the prophet Daniel: In those days the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and this kingdom will not pass into the hands of another race; it will shatter and absorb all the previous kingdoms and itself last forever—just as you saw a stone, untouched by hand, break away from the mountain and reduce iron, bronze, earthenware, silver, and gold to powder. "The mountain" in the passage refers to the Jerusalem Temple. Many Israelites/Jews refused to accept Jesus as their Messiah, and yet they remained the "chosen people." It is the "new Israel of the holy "remnant" of Jesus's Jewish Apostles and disciples who functioned in God's plan as Israel's representatives, as the nucleus of the universal Church, and as the pledge of God's promise of the future restoration of all Israel. See Isaiah's promise in 4:3-6 and Paul's proclamation of the salvation of Israel in Romans 11:25-26 (also see CCC 877).
St. Paul's point was that Israel's loss was a gain
Why? Because:
Saint Paul's belief in the promises of God made through His holy prophets gave him the confidence to make this claim of a future restoration of his people. Isaiah prophesied the fulfillment of the worldwide blessing and the ingathering of the nations in Isaiah 66:18; I am coming to gather every nation and every language. They will come to witness my glory.
In Romans 11:13-15, Paul spoke of his pride in being an apostle to the Gentiles, but the reunification of Israel as a covenant people was also part of Paul's mission. When Paul suffered in blindness and repentance in Damascus after his conversion experience, God told the Christian prophet Ananias concerning Paul: "... for this man is my chosen instrument to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel" (boldness added for emphasis). Significantly, God didn't say "Judah" (the nation of Israel ceased to exist with the Assyrian conquest in 722 BC, and only the Southern Kingdom of Judah remained). St. Paul understood that his mission included reunifying all the lost tribes of Israel back into the covenant family by bringing their descendants back from the Gentile peoples, in whom their bloodlines became mixed throughout the centuries.
15 For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the
world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?
In verse 14, Paul said he hoped to
stir his Israelite brothers to envy to bring them into the New Covenant. Then
in verse 15, he compared the ingathering of the lost tribes into the New Covenant
family with the promise of resurrection from the dead. However, what Paul meant
by this comparison is not clear. He may be comparing the resurrection of a spiritually
dead Israel to a rebirth in the Sacrament of Christian Baptism (called the
"first resurrection"). He might also be using the comparison of a new life in
Christ for those who carry the blood of Abraham, even unknowingly, in Gentile
nations with Jesus's Resurrection from the dead (see Rom 6:4). However, he
might also be expressing that the conversion of Israel would be a miracle that could
only be compared to the final ("second") bodily Resurrection of the dead at the
end of time when Jesus returns in glory.
29 For the gifts and call of God are irrevocable.
There were Jews who rejected the
salvation offered to them through the Gospel of Jesus Christ and openly became the
enemies of Christians. In doing so, they opposed God's Divine Plan of universal
salvation. God permits this reversal for Israel in the Messianic Age of the universal
Church. However, since the gifts and the covenants with God are irrevocable, He
is still faithful to the promises He made to the Patriarchs in choosing the
children of Israel as His covenant people. There is no change of mind on God's
part about the gifts He made or His choice. In Paul's statement, we have
the tension between the two significant stages of Salvation History: Election
and Gospel.
30 Just as you once disobeyed God but have now received
mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they have now disobeyed in order
that, by virtue of the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. 32 For
God delivered all to disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all.
Then, in verses 30-32, St. Paul
addressed the Gentile Christians. He admonished them to remember that they sin
just as the Jews sin, so they are equal in that regard. However, just as God
has shown mercy to the Gentiles to bring them to salvation through Israel's
rejection, He will also show mercy to the Jews.
Verses 30-32 are similar to what Paul wrote in Galatians 3:21-22 ~ Is the Law contrary, then, to God's promises? Out of the question! If the Law that was given had been capable of giving life, then certainly saving justice would have come from the Law. As it is, Scripture makes no exception when it says that sin is master everywhere; so the promise can be given only by faith in Jesus Christ to those who have this faith. Just as God extended His love and mercy to the Gentiles who were outside the covenant, so too must Christians, both Jewish and Gentile Christians, as one covenant people, must extend God's mercy and love to exiled Israel. With the Sinai Covenant fulfilled and replaced by the New Covenant in Christ, Jesus is their only means of salvation (Acts 4:12; Heb 8:6, 13). As the younger brothers and sisters, Christians, are bound to our Divine Father's promise to Israel, the elder sons and daughters of the covenant. God promised the children of Israel just before the conquest of the Promised Land: For Yahweh your God is a merciful God and will not desert or destroy you or forget the covenant which he made on oath with your ancestors (Dt 4:31 NJB).
The Catechism of the Catholic Church expresses our Christian commitment to our Jewish brothers and sisters of the Old Covenant faith. CCC 674: "The glorious Messiah's coming is suspended at every moment of history until his recognition by 'all Israel,' for 'a hardening has come upon part of Israel' in their 'unbelief' toward Jesus. St. Peter says to the Jews of Jerusalem after Pentecost: 'Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for establishing all that God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old.' St. Paul echoes him: 'For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?' The 'full inclusion' of the Jews in the Messiah's salvation, in wake of 'the full number of the Gentiles,' will enable the People of God to achieve 'the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,' in which 'God may be all in all'" (quoting from Rom 11:20-26; Acts 3:19-21; Rom 11:15; Rom 11:12, 25; Eph 4:13 and 1 Cor 15:28). To pray for and to be a witness for Christ to our Jewish brothers and sisters is the obligation of every Christian.
The Gospel of Matthew 15:21-28 ~ Reward for the
Persistence of Faith
21 At that time, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and
Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out,
"Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon." 23 But
Jesus did not say a word in answer to her. Jesus's disciples came and asked
him, "Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us." 24 He said in reply,
"I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 25 But the woman
came and did Jesus homage saying, "Lord, help me." 26 He said in reply, "It is
not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs." 27 She
said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table
of their masters." 28 Then Jesus said to her in reply, "O woman, great is your faith!
Let it be done for you as you wish." And the woman's daughter was healed from
that hour.
In this passage, Jesus made His second expedition into Gentile territory where Jews lived. His first visit to Gentile territory was the eastward journey into the Decapolis (Mt 9:28-34). This time He traveled west toward the Mediterranean Sea into the district of two great Gentile trading centers, Tyre and Sidon. These cities were Phoenician, but in Jesus's time, they were centers of Hellenistic (Greek) culture and prestige under Roman rule.
22 And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came
and called out, "Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented
by a demon."
A Gentile woman, described as a descendant of the
Canaanites, approached Jesus and asked Him to heal her demon-possessed daughter.
The woman appealed to Jesus three times, and He tested her faith three times. In
her first appeal, she respectfully called Jesus "son of David," acknowledging
His Messianic title as the promised Davidic heir. In St. Mark's Gospel, he
tells us that the woman "fell at his feet in homage" (Mk 7:25), showing Jesus
the respect He deserved as the promised Davidic heir.
23 But Jesus did not say a word in answer to her. Jesus's
disciples came and asked him, "Send her away, for she keeps calling out after
us." 24 He said in reply, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
Jesus's first test was to ignore her request, but when she
persisted, He finally responded. Jesus's reply seems unfeeling. He told her
that He had only come for the "lost sheep of the house of Israel." That was His
Messianic mission, as stated in Ezekiel chapter 34. His mission was to gather
the scattered sheep of Israel and heal and restore God's people of the new Israel
to fulfill their destiny to carry the Gospel of salvation to the Gentile
nations of the earth.
25 But the woman came and did Jesus homage saying, "Lord,
help me." 26 He said in reply, "It is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs."
The woman, however, was not discouraged by Jesus's reply,
and she made a second appeal. In His second reply, "the children" are the
children of Israel who are God's chosen people, the "food" is the word of God
and His merciful blessings, and the "dogs," unclean animals not fit for
sacrifice, are the Gentiles. The Jews often referred to Gentiles as unclean
"dogs" because they were unfit to give God worship or sacrifice as a people not
in covenant with Him. St. Mark's Gospel softens Jesus's response. Jesus said, let
the children be fed first. For it is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the [little] dogs" (Mk 7:25a). The Greek softens Jesus's
response by using the term "little dogs" or "puppies" (kynarion),
suggesting domesticated "house dogs." Jesus intended to test the woman's faith.
Nevertheless, the essence of His answer is the same that He gave the Samaritan
woman at the well: salvation is from the Jews (Jn 4:22).
27 She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the
scraps that fall from the table of their masters." 28 Then Jesus said to her in
reply, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And
the woman's daughter was healed from that hour.
The Gentile woman continued to press her petition. Her
clever reply was that even the house dogs eat the scraps under their master's
table, suggesting that, from His bounty, God fed the Jews and Gentiles. The
persistence of the woman's petition and her faith that Jesus had the power to
heal her daughter moved Jesus to reward her. He complimented her on her faith
and healed her child.
The Gospel reading has two messages for us. The first message is that no one is unworthy of God's mercy or gifts. The second message is that we must persist in prayer when petitioning the Lord. Our persistence demonstrates our faith in God's power to intercede in our lives. God's gift of eternal salvation does not mean that everyone can expect the gift of salvation regardless of their beliefs or practices. The belief that everyone will achieve eternal salvation is the heresy of universalism. See the document "Ancient Heresies Recycled in the Modern Age." One must make the free-will commitment to accept God's gift of salvation by living in a covenant relationship with God the Son; no one can make it to God's heavenly Kingdom on their own merits. As St. Peter testified before the Jewish Sanhedrin (court of law): "There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved" (Acts 4:12).
Today, in the alternate opening prayer, the Church prays that people of all races and nationalities will answer God's call to salvation and join the family of the universal Church: "Almighty God, ever-loving Father, your care extends beyond the boundaries of race and nations to the hearts of all who live. May the walls, which prejudice raises between us, crumble beneath the shadow of your outstretched arm. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen."
Catechism References (* indicates Scripture quoted or
paraphrased in the citation):
Isaiah 56:1, 6-7 (CCC 851)
Romans 11:13-26 (CCC 674, 755*); 11:15 (CCC 674); 11:29 (CCC 839); 11:31 (CCC 674*); 11:32 (CCC 1870)
Matthew 15:22 (CCC 439*, 448*); 15:28 (CCC 2610)
God's Kingdom first to Israel, but now for all who believe (CCC 543*, 544*)
Christ's coming, the hope of Israel; their final acceptance of the Messiah (CCC 674*)
Power of invocation with sincere faith (CCC 2610*)
The Catholicity of the Church (CCC 831*, 849*)
Michal E Hunt, Copyright © 2014; revised 2023 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.