Readings: Isaiah 56:1, 6-7; Psalm 67; Romans 11:13-15, 29-32; Matthew 15:21-28
Grace and peace to you, my dear brethren in Christ.
In the First Reading of today, the Lord announces His intention to manifest His love even to foreigners, and the Psalmist confirms this by praying that all nations may come to know God’s saving help.
In the Second Reading, St Paul speaks of his mission as an apostle to the Gentiles, bringing to them the message of God’s love and mercy. Then, in today’s Gospel, Jesus enters pagan territory and encounters a Canaanite woman who cries out to Him for mercy.
So, the immediate message running through the readings today is the universality of God’s love. God’s love reaches out to everyone.
This invites us also to become channels through which God’s love can reach others. We must guard against the tendency to exclude people or make them feel rejected or unwanted.
No one should feel unloved or unwelcome because of our attitude, words or actions. Even people who are different from us in their ideological, political or religious persuasion are loved by God, and we too must learn to reach out to them in love.
Focusing particularly on the Gospel, I want to bring out just three messages.
I. WHEN GOD SEEMS TO BE SILENT
This woman was crying out and following Jesus, but the Bible tells us something surprising: “He answered her not a word.”
Sometimes, this is exactly how we feel.
We pray and pray, but God seems silent.
We call upon Him, but nothing appears to change.
We begin to wonder: Is God listening? Has He forgotten me? Does He really care?
To anyone who has been calling upon God and feels that heaven has remained silent, today’s Gospel offers encouragement.
God’s silence does not mean God’s absence.
Jesus heard every word this woman was saying. Even when He appeared silent, He knew her pain, He knew her faith and He knew what He was going to do.
God also hears our cries. His heart is too merciful to ignore the sincere cry of His children.
When the time is right, He will speak, and our stories will change. As Scripture says: “I am the Lord; in its time I will accomplish it quickly” – Isaiah 60:22.
So, when God seems silent, keep praying, keep trusting, keep believing.
II. TO THOSE WHO ARE UPSET WITH GOD
This woman had every reason, humanly speaking, to become upset.
First, Jesus seemed to ignore her.
Then the disciples wanted her sent away.
And finally came a response from Jesus which, on the surface, was certainly not flattering.
But guess what?
She refused to be beaten down, she refused to allow pride to rule her, she refused to take offence at Jesus.
Instead, she remained there.
Her desperation became perseverance, and her perseverance revealed an extraordinary faith.
Perhaps someone listening today is upset with God.
Perhaps you are wondering why God allowed someone dear to you to die.
Perhaps you prayed fervently for something and did not receive what you asked for.
Perhaps life has become more difficult than you expected.
Perhaps you have even asked: “God, why are You allowing this to happen to me?”
Dear friends, whatever happens, do not throw away your faith.
Do not walk away from God because you do not understand what He is doing.
God still cares for you.
His ways may not always be our ways, and His timing may not always be our timing, but He remains faithful.
Our trials will one day come to an end. Let us make sure that when the trial ends, our faith is still alive.
Eventually Jesus looked at this woman and said:
“Woman, you have great faith. Let your wish be granted.”
May God also find such faith in us.
Let me end with this final point.
III. A CALL TO SHOW MERCY
This story does not only teach us that mercy can obtain what merit cannot. It is also an invitation for us to show mercy to anyone who, at this moment, may be crying out to us for mercy, just as this Canaanite woman cried out to Jesus.
Perhaps someone is asking for our forgiveness after realising how deeply they have hurt us.
Perhaps someone is crying to us for help, and we have the means to help but not the willingness.
Perhaps someone deserves correction or punishment but is pleading for clemency.
Perhaps the souls of our departed brothers and sisters are crying out for the mercy of our prayers.
Or perhaps there is someone we have completely blocked out of our lives because they made a serious mistake.
Today’s Gospel asks us a simple question:
If God has been merciful to me, can I not show mercy to someone else?
The Canaanite woman came to Jesus with only one plea:
“Lord, help me.”
And mercy eventually prevailed.
Dear friends, there are people around us making that same cry, sometimes without words: “Help me, forgive me, give me another chance, show me some mercy.”
Let us imitate Jesus today.
Where possible, let mercy prevail where merit fails.
Sermon preached by Fr Emmanuel Baraka-Gukena Okami on Sunday, August 16, 2026