“Thus says the LORD:  Observe what is right, do what is just; for my salvation is about to come, my justice, about to be revealed.”  These opening words from the 56th chapter of the Book of Isaiah accomplish two things for us.  First of all, they illustrate the ultimate simplicity of what God requires of us: Observe what is right.  Do what is just.   Secondly, we are told that salvation and true justice come from the Lord and that they are about to be revealed to humankind.  As Christians, we recognize that this revelation has taken place in the person of our savior, Jesus Christ.  And so we rejoice, knowing that in him we are saved unto eternal life according to a higher standard of divine justice that does not err in determining our eternal reward – or in passing our sentence.

This higher standard of divine justice works in our favor when we do as the Lord has instructed us: when we observe what is right and do what is just.  And while the simplicity of what God wants from us is stark, so is the reality of how badly humanity has failed over the past several thousand years to accomplish this righteousness and justice.  And so, from ancient times until the present day, we witness the world that Jesus describes for us in Matthew 24: a world in which nation rises against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And, thanks again to Isaiah, we know that it is this same Jesus who will one day end this, for we read in chapter 2, verse 4, “He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples.  They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.  Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.”  And so we pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

The task that we have been given by our Lord to observe what is right and do what is just is, therefore, not assigned to us as a nation, but is addressed to each one of us individually.  Regardless of the ways of the world, in opposition to the godlessness that goes on all around us, God calls each of us to that higher standard of divine justice that is his alone.  And we gain access to this higher standard of divine justice only when we are able to fulfill his first command to us, which is to observe what is right. 

This is readily obvious to those within these circumstances of incarceration, for it is the failure to observe what is right that results in subjection to the injustice of the human system, and we are all too well aware of just how imperfect this system is.  So the challenge in here becomes to observe what is right and do what is just within this environment, and trust in God that in doing so his true justice will be revealed to us, and his salvation will come.  And so we gather today to worship this God, who in the person of Jesus Christ has freed us from the bondage of sin and death.  Who, in turn, invites us to accept his salvation and taste his true justice:  A justice that results in that ultimate freedom that reaches not only beyond these bars, but beyond even the grave itself:  A justice that results in life in heaven forever.

The lesson taught in Matthew 15 is meant for us.  Today, each of us should come to Jesus, as did the Canaanite woman, humble and afraid, tormented by our own demons.  And so should we cry out to the Master, “Have pity on me, Lord!”  And so should we cry out to him and beg to be counted as his lost sheep and pay him homage as the Son of God.  And so should we plead with him, “Lord help me!” and beg him for one scrap of spiritual nourishment from his heavenly table, that we might gain that sweet taste of God’s divine justice.  And oh, that we should be lifted up and rejoice to hear our Master’s voice say, “Great is your faith.  Let it be done for you as you wish.”   And oh, that we might be healed from that very hour.

In this very hour, we should know that this healing is, indeed, ours for the taking.  As Paul tells us, “…God delivered all to disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all.”  And what Jesus demonstrates for us by ending the torment of the daughter of the Canaanite woman is that the mercy of God is extended to all who would reach out to him in faith.  In Old Testament times, the Canaanite people represented all that was evil, and stood out as the example of an entire culture in rebellion against the God of Israel.  They present the perfect example of an entire people, all delivered to disobedience.  Yet in this New Testament passage, through a sincere heart turned to Jesus Christ in faith, God’s mercy is extended, his true justice prevails, and the result is a divine healing that transcends national and cultural boundaries.  It is the same higher standard of justice and the same divine healing that is offered to us today through this same Jesus Christ. 

Accept his invitation.  Offer your faith to him.  Know his mercy.  Take the healing that is yours and know also that to do so is to observe what is right and to do what is just.  For the heart that is turned to Jesus Christ knows that the salvation of the Lord has come, and that his true justice has been revealed.  And this true justice does not err in determining our eternal reward – or in passing our sentence.

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Responsorial Psalm Reading 2 Gospel