As I was meditating on the gospel for today, the word dog, as it often does, struck me as harsh. The term used there is “κυναρίοις(kunariois),” which has more of the meaning of puppy. It still has that harsh sting since the Jewish people saw dogs and pigs as scavengers, disgusting and unclean animals that “ate the dead.” Jesus isn’t calling her a dog to condemn or rebuke her but to call her to a more profound profession of faith. He’s saying to her, “show me, and all those around us, how much you believe.” He knows how deep her faith is and wants to draw her out. He is leading her into a deeper relationship with Him.
Then she begs for the scraps from the table. Think of that for a moment. This woman isn’t asking for the best God has to offer. She doesn’t consider curing the child of a demon to be the main course, but only a minor thing—the leftovers of grace. What does Jesus do? He heals the child and sends her home. This was a Greek. An outsider. The other. That person received a miracle, and we would shout to the world in praise to share with anyone who would listen. If those are just scraps, imagine what the full banquet is!
In the Eucharist, you and I receive the body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ. Through Baptism, we have been made a part of the body of Christ. Once outsiders, we are now children of God! That is what we are! In that sacred Host is all the power of the universe. We serve the God of miracles. The God who walked this earth as a man. Made the blind to see, the lame to walk, and the dead to rise! Are we stuck praying for the scraps? Do we not realize the greatest prayer we can ever say is “Thy Will Be Done”? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has more to offer us than we can ever imagine. We, Christians, need to start praying for meat instead of milk. We aren’t puppies anymore.
I’ll leave you with this quote, the one I’ll be meditating on today when it comes to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving in preparation for the season of Lent (which begins on February 17th, 2023):
When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things. (1 Corinthians 13: 11)
A homily for Thursday of the 5th Week in Ordinary Time: February 9th, 2023