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| The Canaanite Woman and Jesus |
Four years ago, I had the privilege of visiting the Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. It is called the "Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels". Almost brand new, it was opened in 2002 after the previous Cathedral of St. Vibiana was badly damaged in the 1994 Northridge Earthquake.
The Archbishop of Los Angeles at the time was Cardinal Roger Mahoney. The fundraising for the Cathedral, which cost something in the region of $250m, was a huge project in itself. The archdiocese managed to secure a large amount of finance from the Walt Disney company, and from other such notaries as Arnold Schwarzenegger. I mention these two because neither one is rooted in Roman Catholicism. And yet, both contributed sizeable sums of money, in the millions, to the project.
The Cathedral is dedicated to Our Lady of the Angels, citing a piece of Scripture that we have just heard proclaimed today – the last line of the first reading from the prophet Isaiah: "My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples."
Nowadays, when we consider the mission of the Church to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth, we become afraid that we are, somehow, not being respectful to Christians of other denominations, churches or ecclesial communities; to people of other faiths; or to people of no faith.
We wonder if it is politically correct to tell other people about our faith. The place of faith in the workplace, in school and in third-level is hugely challenged. The implications of our shared faith, for political, cultural, social and moral life, rarely gets a mention these days. We have witnessed the privatisation of faith. Far from bringing the gospel to the public market place, we are tempted to carefully secure it's powerful message within the walls of the Church buildings our communities have inherited.
"My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples."
It is interesting to reflect briefly on the terms: 'My house', as understood by the prophetic writer called Isaiah. For him, the house is three things: it is God's house, the Temple; it is the Royal House of Israel and Judah; and it is the Chosen people.
For us Christians, "God's House" is the building that we call the Church, for us it is here, the Church of the Sacred Heart, Roscommon. But that is not all God's House is.
It is also the Royal House, the Family & Lineage that each of us participate in through baptism in Christ Jesus. The House of God is the People of God.
The Church is the people, not the building. Even more, the Church is the People of God, gathered to pray, to worship and to be nourished by the Word we share and the Bread we break.
Isaiah adds another definition – God's House will be a house of prayer. God's house, people first and building second, are the core ways to enter into relationship with God in the conversation we call prayer. And then one more addition – God's House will be for all peoples. This completely redefines the role of the Chosen People in God's plan of salvation. They will, eventually, reach out to welcome all peoples into the Royal House of God, by means of the salvation offered in Christ.
It is interesting that the Canaanite woman, an outsider in Jesus' Hebrew worldview, approaches seeking his healing help. As a Canaanite woman she is entirely opposite to Jesus – she is a woman, not a man; a Canaanite, not a Jew. In terms of gender, religion and politics, she is beyond the pale. So, Jesus does not answer her.
As Jesus walks northwest from the sea of galilee, out towards the edge of Israel as we know it, almost crossing over into modern-day Lebanon, this outsider comes seeking him. He does not go seeking to connect with other people; he does not go seeking to convert. But, she recognises him for who he is – and in her vulnerable moment of need, when her daughter needs God's touch, she appeals beyond her own gender, her own religion and her own politics to the One Master, the One Lord of all.
"My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples."
We may be worried about proclaiming the Good News of Jesus to people who may not share our world view. We need not worry. Our task is to simply share, gently, the joy, the hope, the love, the reconciliation, and the fullness of life that we have in Christ. We don't need to worry about the Church, or about the future. All we can offer, is real, genuine and honest witness, to the good things we share in because of our relationship in prayer with Christ. The rest we can leave to God.
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