For My House Shall Be Called a House of Prayer For All People

08-20-2023Weekly ReflectionFr. Manasseh Iorchir, VC

The Mother Church of the Via Christi Society in Makurdi, Nigeria, is dedicated to, and called, the Church of God the Father of All Mankind. This name is both unique and true; it is the only church I know which bears that name, and the name aptly describes God. In Holy Scripture, there exist numerous prophetic declarations that clearly suggest God’s intention to effect a change in the covenant economy that would create room for the Gentiles, non-jews who were originally not part of the First Covenant, to become beneficiaries of a second and universal Covenant. The First Reading is one of such scripture texts.

Taken from the Prophet Isaiah, the coming of a new dispensation where “foreigners” who join themselves to the Lord, loving Him and becoming His servants, will be brought to His holy mountain to participate in the liturgies of the New Covenant. The Psalmist responds by declaring, “Let the nations praise you O God.”

In the Second Reading, St. Paul explains the seeming reluctance of Israel to fully embrace Christ as the promised Messiah. For Him, Israel was experiencing a “hardening of heart” so that God’s promise of the Covenant would be accessible to the Gentiles, and the joy of salvation exhibited by the Gentiles would arouse Israel’s righteous jealousy. Paul hoped that by realizing how the Gentiles, who were once “outside” the Covenant, had now become the beneficiaries of the same Covenant before them, Israel would return to God through Christ showing the wisdom of God’s Plan for the salvation of all nations, Jews and Gentiles alike. The Gentiles would be saved as a consequence of Israel’s rejection of Christ, and Israel will be restored to salvation as a consequence of the Gentiles appropriation of salvation.

St. Matthew uses the story of the encounter between the Canaanite woman and Jesus in the district of Tyre and Sidon to practically illustrate the veracity of the new salvation economy. In a region populated by foreigners, a Canaanite woman approached Jesus and informed Him that her daughter was possessed by a demon. The term she employed in addressing Jesus is quite instructive. She referred to Him as “Lord, Son of David” which was one of the titles the prophets had foretold the Messiah would be addressed with. It is good to note that while fellow Jews failed to recognize the Messiahship of Jesus, a Canaanite woman acknowledged Him as the Messiah. Also note that she did not immediately ask Him to heal her daughter, she presented the situation and left the decision on what to do to His will. Jesus saw her faith, He put her faith to test to elicit more faith, and finally granted what she needed. The moral of this encounter is that the Gentiles, represented by a Canaanite woman (Deuteronomy 20:16-18) can obtain salvation through Jesus Christ. Thus, salvation is not an exclusive reserve of a selected few, it is open to all who seek God with a sincere heart. The story also shows that untested faith is not faith at all. This woman’s faith was tested by Jesus’ initial silence and consequent apparently harsh way of responding to her need. She demonstrated beyond doubt her unflinching faith in Christ and unshakable resolve to obtain salvation through Him.

We should know that while salvation has been made available to all through Christ, only those who humble themselves, acknowledge their need for salvation and resolutely look to Christ in unshakable faith will be saved.

Let us pray during this Mass for the fortitude to let go of presumed privileges and resolutely hold onto Christ in faith so as to become beneficiaries of His salvific work.

Please be kind and may God bless you.

Fr. Manasseh