I wish you could call this simple goofiness but it is not. It is dangerous. To suggest that Jesus was guided by cultural bias and not by knowledge and consent to the Father's saving will and purpose is heresy. To suggest that this pericope was simply a lesson in learning to overcome biases is to miss the whole point of it all. Perhaps it would have helped if the texter has simply looked back to one of the fathers of the church, if the author of the text was unsure as to its meaning.
St. John Chrysostom, a 4th century Doctor of the Church, said of the passage:
“This was the cause why Christ was so backward, that He knew what she would say, and would not have her so great excellence hid; whence it follows, “Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith, be it unto thee according to thy will.”Jesus did not have any prejudices to overcome, not against the Canaanite woman nor against anyone else. Jesus did not need to learn anything of his messianic mission from the Canaanite woman or from anyone. According to his divine nature, Jesus was omniscient; according to his human nature, his knowledge was not unlimited, and but Jesus was fully aware of His messianic mission. Think of his time in the temple at age 12. He knew hat the salvation he offered was for everyone in the whole world -- think of how Christ himself teaches in the Gospels that he came for the salvation of the whole world (e.g. John 3.16ff, among other passages).
The images on this Romish Meanderings blog originate from a 19 Aug 2017 Twitter post and a 20 Aug 2017 Twitter post from the Official Twitter Account of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, a foreign mission society of the Roman Church.
ReplyDeleteMy expression for stuff like this is, “Cucamonga” which roughly translated means, “Kooks among us.”
ReplyDeleteAnon's translation of "Cucamonga" as “Kooks among us” is pretty much spot on, given Cucamonga is located in California, according to California Place Names: The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names (Erwin G. Gudde, Univ of California Press, Feb 10, 2010, p. 98).
ReplyDeleteOne of the running gags on the radio and TV show "The Jack Benny Program" involved Mel Blanc announcing over a train station loudspeaker, "Train now leaving on track five for Anaheim, Azusa, and Cuc................ amonga."
The inside joke for the 1950s Los Angeles audience was that no such train route existed.
This is what the Roman Church has come to under the "leadership" of Frank, the communist. It is a short trip from here to oblivion.
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