HOMILY FORT McMURRAY WORKSHOP ON RECONCILIATION AFTER THE TRC

In a Spirit of Reconciliation

December 15, 2017

(Is 48:17-19; Ps 1; Mt 15:21-28)

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You will notice that the gospel is different than the one provided for today, chosen because it fits our theme of moving forward in a renewed spirit of reconciliation with the Indigenous peoples. It involves cross-cultural encounter, and can serve as a model for inter-religious dialogue.

Jesus and His disciples were under considerable pressure from the hostility of the religious leaders after he had criticized their hypocrisy, so he withdrew to the pagan region of Tyre and Sidon. What transpires there is an experience of cross-cultural “contact” similar to our history of contact with the Indigenous peoples of our country. Even the acceptance of Jesus as “Lord” and “Son of David” by the Canaanite woman is reminiscent of the acceptance of the Christian message by the Indigenous faithful in our history.

The key to the gospel is the humble faith of the woman who persists despite three rebuffs by Jesus to deepen her faith in him: first ignoring her, then stating that Israel must come first, and finally Jesus’ seemingly harsh remark about tossing food to the dogs.

The persevering and very perceptive woman picked up on the word “first.” While she acknowledged the Jews’ priority in the plan of God, she detected the inference that the Gentiles would ultimately be recipients of the Savior’s benevolence, and she wondered — “Why not now?!” So, with a stroke of brilliant argument, she countered: “Yes, Lord, for even the little dogs get the children’s crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” The term “dog” is a diminutive, like the Cree “acimosis” from the word for dog, “atim”, which actually means “a little puppy” and is not demeaning.

Notice that she drops the title “Son of David” that is a link with Israel, and uses “Lord” which is Jesus’ universal title. She is wisely appealing to his deepest reality as savior of the world, and that touches his heart. He addresses her then just like his mother at Cana: “Woman,” and heals her daughter at a distance.

The woman’s prayer is similar to that of Peter sinking on the water: “Lord, help me!” She appealed to Jesus’ compassion by emphasizing the need and the occasion – the daughter’s illness and a mother’s anguish – sentiments not confined to Jews but that transcend the confines of ethnicity.

This is a remarkable example of mutuality in dialogue. The woman ends up convincing Jesus, and he allows himself to be convinced by her, a pagan woman. This extraordinary event is an invitation to us to cross borders as Jesus did of gender, ethnicity, social class, culture, religion and others whose way of life is completely different, to create new spaces of inclusion.

Jesus recognizes her spirituality and culture: “Woman, great is your faith.” Would that we could have done the same at the time of contact: “Great is the spirituality of the Indigenous peoples.” Jesus’ final response is a healing one, not an institutional one like the Pharisees, as encouragement for us to move in that same direction of recognizing Indigenous spirituality as a gift to the Church. Our workshop today on reconciliation is a sign of that.

So – our celebration, and the gospel, invite us to cross borders, and to move forward into new avenues of healing and reconciling the relationship between Canadian society, the Churches, and the First Nations, Inuit and Métis people of this country we call Canada, derived I believe from an Indigenous word meaning “pure and clean.” May our efforts today be a small step in helping our country live up to its name. Amen.