20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mt 15:21-28
August 20, 2023

Recently, the Secretary-General of the United Nations issued a statement addressing a growing concern: “We must confront bigotry by working to tackle the hate that spreads like wildfire across the internet.” He was talking about “hate speech.”

International human rights law, so far, has failed to define “hate speech.” The United Nations has.

Hate speech is “…any kind of communication in speech, writing, or behavior that attacks or uses pejorative or discriminatory language with reference to a person or a group on the basis of who they are, in other words, based on their religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, color, descent, gender, or other identity factor.”

Actually, with or without a formal definition, it is easy for most people to recognize “hate speech” when they hear or see it. But the opportunities to observe the tragic effects it has on its targets are not all that frequent…especially today, when the internet is the preferred vehicle for this sinful vocabulary.

That might well be the reason why Jesus spoke to the Canaanite woman in the way He did. Maybe He wanted His disciples to hear how vile “hate speech” sounds and to see with their own eyes the impact it has on its target.

The fact is, when the Canaanite woman approached Him, The Lord reacted in a way that observant Jews of the time would have expected any man to respond to a gentile…especially a gentile woman. He ignored her. That is about as demeaning as one human being can be to another…to simply pretend they don’t exist!

But she was persistent, and with an intensity that any mother would rally in defense of her child.

Again, The Lord’s reaction was in keeping with the social and religious expectations of His time. The Chosen people, who enjoyed a special relationship with God, regarded “others” as unworthy…inferior…impure. In the minds of the witnesses to this dramatic exchange, including His own disciples, Jesus’s harsh words were totally appropriate to the situation.

But then, her extraordinary expression of faith caused Him to break with social convention and even with religious law. The compassion and love we associate with Jesus surfaced, and after recognizing, accepting, and complimenting her expression of faith, He gave her the relief she sought. Therein is the focal point of countless Christian sermons over the centuries…be persistent and you will get what you are asking for.

But I believe that there is so much more to be learned from this passage.

Is it possible that Jesus simply used this encounter with a pagan woman to do some “sensitivity training” with His disciples?

Did He want them to hear how vulgar “hate speech” sounds?

Did He want them to see with their own eyes the look on the face of its victim? Was His objective to make His followers…and us…aware of how certain attitudes, behavior, and speech can hurt others?

Was His purpose to demonstrate that socially acceptable behavior… even when it seems to be supported by religious beliefs, can obstruct compassion…when compassion is the way in which God responds to those in need?

By comparing the effect of “hate speech” on the internet to a wildfire, we are offered a very timely image of how dangerous sinful words…and the dark feelings or opinions that motivate these sinful words…can be. Possibly the most devastating impact of this dark vocabulary is its impact on our ability to be compassionate.

Could that be the most powerful lesson in this passage? Was Jesus demonstrating to His disciples, as well as to us, that, to live the Gospel, we must be compassionate without concern for “religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, color, descent, gender, or other identity factor.”