Presumption

My favorite rendition of the Crucifix is the one whose arms are perfectly horizontal, as to embrace the whole world.

The readings for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time illustrate the fact that God wishes to include every single person in his saving plan, and that he wants to treat everyone as his favorite child. God alone can accomplish this double feat! If we are not impressed by this good news, let me tell you why we should. Every time a family expands through a new birth or through adoption, the children must adjust. They face the prospect of having to share the “pie” with more people; thus, their slice will be smaller. The amount of attention, of caring, of assistance is a bit less. This is how they think. However, while this way of reasoning is valid with material things, it is not valid when it comes to genuine love.

For genuine love can be as intensely directed toward one person as ten, twenty people. But here we are talking about God’s plan to expand his Family. He wants to bring to his holy mountain the foreigners who minister to the Lord and love his name. Since God is the Almighty and the Creator, those who are already children within his Family should rejoice at the prospect of family expansion. However, that was not the case back then.  

If we look at the gospel passage of the Canaanite woman (Mt 15:21-28), we can see how Jesus goes along with his fellow Jews in considering pagans as dogs, unworthy of sharing the same table with the chosen children of God. Not only Jesus is silent; ignores her plea; insults her as if she were a dog, but the verbs describing her actions give the same impression. She yelps like a dog; she sprawls out before Jesus like a dog. Jesus is intentionally rude, offensive, insulting, prejudiced in order to elicit a beautiful response of faith from her and prove to his disciples, “the chosen ones,” how those whom they despise can be worthier of the Father’s generosity.

This lesson should not be lost on us either.  

Presumption is an awful attitude that should not be present in God’s Family, especially around his Table. Presumption can surface in our heart if we become indifferent to the Crucifix; if we get too familiar with the Gospel, the Sacraments, and other God’s favors. Presumption grows quickly if we reduce God to a “vending machine” with a limited supply of goods to dole out. Presumption festers if we expect preferential treatment and try to exclude others from God’s generous distribution of gifts. In other words, presumption aims at reducing the angle of Jesus’ outstretched arms to embrace only us and our little group.

Thus, we must examine our inner disposition towards God’s gifts and see whether we live in his Family with the attitude of perennial wonder and surprise for all his unmerited gifts, and in the abiding spirit of sharing them joyfully with as many as possible. We should live with full certainty that our Heavenly Father’s supply of goods is infinite; and most importantly, curtailing our presumption with a humble attitude of unworthiness.

Since God’s best gift is himself in Holy Communion, we should reevaluate our approach to this most wonderful and unmerited Sacrament. Enlightened from above, the Canaanite woman mentions her right to eat the scraps of the Lord’s Table. Two Sundays ago, we contemplated the feeding of the 5000 with 5 loaves and two fish. Last Sunday, we contemplated how we can do the humanly impossible, like walking on water, after we have been fed by Christ and trust in his presence. Today, we learn that the best way of receiving the Lord in our hearts is by shedding all presumptions, persevering undaunted in our quest, and assuming the humble disposition of the Canaanite woman.