XX Sunday of the Year

MOVE THE FENCE

Isaiah 56:1, 6-7; Romans 11:13-15, 29-32; Matthew 15:21-28

XX Sunday of the Year

During the WWII, a small group of soldiers lost a buddy and wanted to bury him in a proper grave. They searched the area till they found a church with a cemetery (which had a picket fence). They found the parish priest and asked to bury their friend in the cemetery. The deceased was not a Catholic. The priest expressed his sympathy but said the cemetery was reserved for Catholics. He asked the soldiers to bury their friend just outside the fence and assured them that he would care for the grave.

One year after the War, they met and decided to visit their buddy’s  grave. They found the cemetery but couldn’t find the grave. The priest saw these men looking around and went to meet them. He told them that it didn’t seem right that the soldier was buried outside the cemetery. “So, you moved the grave?” asked the friends. “No,” said the priest, “I moved the fence.” 

Today’s liturgy challenges us to “move the fence” so that we can move beyond barriers and boundaries.

The Canaanite woman overcame three religious-cultural barriers to approach Jesus: she was a woman (in Semitic culture, women did not approach men); she was a widow; she was a foreigner/ gentile. She overcame three barriers from Jesus: his indifferent silence; his statement about his mission “only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”; his rebuke about not throwing children’s food to the dogs. 

Nothing could deter the woman. Her persistence persuaded Jesus to “move the fence”, to go beyond boundaries—gender, ethnic, religious, and geographical—to cure her daughter.

The woman is a Canaanite but addressed Jesus as “Lord” and “Son of David”. Matthew thus presents her as a disciple and emphasises that discipleship is not restricted to Jews; it is open to anyone who believes in Jesus. Matthew affirms that God’s grace is not exclusive/ restricted; one needs only an open heart to receive it.

Isaiah (first reading) announces God’s intention to extend Israel’s privileges to all foreigners who love the Lord and join themselves to him. His house is a house of prayer “for all peoples”. 

Paul (second reading) emphasises that God’s mercy is for all, whether Jew or gentile.

In an age of growing communalism and nationalism, we need this reminder of God’s universal love and imitate him.

Do I reach out to all people beyond gender, class, race, or religion? How will I imitate God in going beyond barriers and boundaries? Will I move the fence?