20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Cycle A
August 20, 2023
Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton – 5pm
“Somos personas”
There is a magazine called Spirituality and Health.
In its current issue, the July/August issue, a writer named Paul Sutherland tells an inspiring story. He says that he and his family were on vacation and heading to a beach in Nicaragua.
They were driving in their van and came to a narrow street in the Nicaraguan village of Santa Teresa. And suddenly, THUD!
One of the front tires went down into an uncovered drainage hole. Some men from the village saw what happened and came over to help Paul push the van.
But it wouldn’t budge. Sutherland was trying to figure out what to do when a farmer drove up on a tractor.
The farmer pulled ahead of the van and stopped in the middle of the narrow street. Then he looked under the van and, without saying a word, walked to a nearby shop and came back with some rope.
The farmer tied one end of the rope around the van’s chassis and then attached the other end to a chain that he had with the tractor. Within a minute, he pulled the van out of the drainage hole.
Paul Sutherland and his wife and children were overcome with gratitude. He said, “Gracias! Thank you! Gracias!”
Sutherland tried to hand the farmer some money. But the farmer refused and said, “Somos personas!”
Sutherland said, “This is for you and your family.” But again, the farmer refused to take the money and just said, “Somos personas!”
When Paul and his family got back in the van, his daughter asked, “Dad, do you know what he was saying?” Paul responded, “No!”
“Dad, he was saying, ‘We are people.’ He was saying we are the same, we are all people, persons.
“We are here to help one another. We are people, persons. ‘Somos personas.’”
Are We All People?
In today’s gospel, we see this same vision eventually emerge.
A Canaanite woman comes up to Jesus and begs him to heal her daughter. There are big differences between this woman and Jesus and his disciples.
First, there is gender. In that time and place, women were treated as second-class at best, and they were not even to be talked to unless they were accompanied by their husband.
Then, there is religion. This woman is not a Jew, and that’s why she is called a “dog” – the very demeaning expression of that day for all non-Jews.
Next, there is culture. This woman is of a different culture and probably dresses differently and has different social customs.
And finally, there is nationality. This woman is a Canaanite, and they are viewed as enemies.
Jesus’ Ultimate Response: Yes
So, Jesus’ first two responses to the woman are very off-putting, to say the least.
He begins by saying that his mission is only to the house of Israel – to the Jews. And then he says that it is not right to give the food of the children – meaning the Jews – to the dogs – there’s that awful expression again.
There could be two reasons for these responses from Jesus. One, even though he is God or the Son of God on this earth, he is human.
And, as human, maybe even Jesus had to work through the prejudices and human barriers that existed. The other possibility is that Jesus was just setting up the disciples for what he was going to do.
He was voicing the prejudices and barriers that he knew they had. He was setting them up as a contrast with how he would end up respecting and caring for this woman and her daughter.
“Somos Personas”
So, in Spanish, “Somos personas.”
“We are people. We are persons.”
Jesus, today, something like that Central American farmer, opens our minds and hearts to see one another as God sees us – regardless of differences. Being a follower of Jesus demands that we look beyond labels and stereotypes and prejudices and barriers.
It demands that we see everyone as a child of God, as brother and sister. “Somos personas.”
