Mercy for all

Gospel

Mt 15:21-28

At that time, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 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.” But Jesus did not say a word in answer to her. Jesus’ disciples came and asked him,“Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.”He said in reply,“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”But the woman came and did Jesus homage, saying, “Lord, help me.”He said in reply,“It is not right to take the food of the childrenand throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scrapsthat fall from the table of their masters.” 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.



Sermon at St Saviour, Scarborough



All three scriptures today underline that God is for all not just for some, that his love and mercy is for everyone not just a priveleged few. Today's gospel is significant not only because the Canaanite woman, praised by Jesus, wasn't a Jew but also because she wasn't a man. The Lord was well ahead of his time in his high regard for women. This is also true of the Church although the Church is often accused of treating women as second class citizens, which isn't true. The Catholic Catechism is very clear "man and woman have been created in perfect equality as human persons...they are complimentary as masculine and feminine (369/372).



During the past week alone three women have been honoured in the church's liturgy:

1. A week ago yesterday we honoured Mary Sumner in the Anglican calendar.

Mary fell in love with George, youngest son of the Bishop of Winchester, and married him in 1848, soon after his ordination, when she was 20 years old. They created a family of two girls and a boy at their home in the Old Alresford Rectory and it was there that she started meetings for the village mothers who grew into the Mothers Union. Though she was well educated and musically gifted she was so nervous about the first meeting that her husband had to stand in for her and invite the ladies to come back the following week. Mary and George are buried together in the gardens at the rear of Winchester Cathedral and each year on the anniversary of Mary's death flowers are placed on the grave on behalf of the Mothers Union three million members worldwide.



2. Last Monday was the feast day of Clare of Assisi.

Clare was brought up near the cathedral where she heard Francis preach when she was 18. He was her senior by some 12 years. She immediately wished to follow his example and give herself to the Lord in a life of poverty. Her rich family were horrified and did everything in their power to dissade her but a few years on she slipped out of the house under cover of darkness through "the door of the dead" which was only used for funerals. Francis cut off her hair and placed her in anearby convent. She was later joined by two sisters and then by her widowed mother. When she was 21 she became the first superior of the Poor Clares and lived in property just outside the walls of Assisi. They gave themselves to prayer, to nursing the sick, and to works of mercy for the poor and neglected. They adopted a rule of extreme austerity. They had no beds but slept on twigs with patched hemp for blankets. They ate little and only what they could beg - never meat. Clare lived out her days in this place and manner acting always in prayer unity with Francis out on the roads preaching the gospel. The Poor Clares continue around the world to this day and there are Anglican as well as Roman Clares.

3. On Friday we celebrated the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
During a pilgrimage to the Holy Land some years ago we were warned to avoid the centre of Nazareth because of Arab-Israeli tensions on the day of our visit. We were taken instead to the oldest part of the town and to a small Orthodox Church which claimed to be built on the site of Mary's home at the time of the Annunciation. It incorporated a water source which supplied the village well where Mary went each day, as a teenager, to collect water for the family and where the Annunciation is reputed to have occurred. Such humble beginnings but by the grace of God they would lead Mary to become both Mother of God and Queen of Heaven - "all honour to you, Mary. You have been raised above choirs of angels to lasting glory with Christ."

Mary Sumner, Clare of Assisi, and the Blessed Virgin - "women of faith" like, and beyond, the Canaanite woman whom Jesus praised. God, in his generous and universal mercy, desires to grant each of us similar graces. He only waits our 'yes' to his invitation.