20th Sunday, 2017

Psalm 67
MT 15:21-28

Generally, psalm-singers mention to the Lord a current problem, petition for help, and then reminds Him of His help in the past. After this, he refers back to the troubling situation, thanking the Lord for resolving the issue as if He’s already done so. It’s typically clear, however, the help he requested would not yet have occurred in chronological time.

Biblical scholar, Robert Alter suggests the psalm-singer has received assurance of future fulfillment of the petition from a priest who speaks with the Lord ‘off-page.’ Because of this assurance, the psalmist sings as if it has already been answered (5). This idea implies a fluidity of tenses unfamiliar to us, but one natural to those present. When the saving deeds of Lord God are mentioned in the psalms, there’s often a shifting between an individual and the collective. In one psalm, for example, on one line it may seem one specific person is saved, while in the next line it may appear Lord God has rescued an entire people (5). This Sunday’s psalm also reminds its listeners of their belief; Lord God plans to use them, His Chosen People, to be the vehicle through which people from every nation come to know and worship Him alone (1, 3).

In the gospel reading a Canaanite woman asks for healing for her daughter who is possessed by a demon. After ignoring her, Jesus then replies, “My mission is only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” She responds with a confession of faith in Him and He grants her request. Similar to the Divine action in the psalm, Jesus turns his head towards her. In the movement, He literally, “Shines His face upon her.”

We may imagine this psalm to be Jesus’ conversation with the Father during or after the event. We may wonder, “Jesus knew He came to save all people; maybe He’s thanking Father for its fulfillment? Maybe Jesus is celebrating with His Father and with love, this Caanite woman and her role in the inevitable moment? Does Jesus believe my faith can have the same long-term, wide-spread effect that this woman’s does?”

Journal Questions:

Do the ideas related above about the fluidity of time and individual vs. collective in scripture resonate with me? It is foreign to our general understanding; how might I explore these ideas?
Have I experienced a moment in which I feel the Lord turned His head towards me; when His face shone upon me?
Have I experienced a time when it seemed as if something already occurred, although it had not in time, but because of my trust in the Lord?

Resources: see post entitled “Resource List”

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