Isaiah 56:1(2-5)6-7
Psalm 67
Romans 11:13-15,29-32
Matthew 15:21-28

The Collect

Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us a sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us grace to receive thankfully the fruits of his redeeming work, and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Old Testament

Isaiah 56:1(2-5)6-7
Thus says the LORD:
Maintain justice, and do what is right,
for soon my salvation will come,
and my deliverance be revealed.
[Happy is the mortal who does this,
the one who holds it fast,
who keeps the sabbath, not profaning it,
and refrains from doing any evil.
Do not let the foreigner joined to the LORD say,
“The LORD will surely separate me from his people”;
and do not let the eunuch say,
“I am just a dry tree.”
For thus says the LORD:
To the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths,
who choose the things that please me
and hold fast my covenant,
I will give, in my house and within my walls,
a monument and a name
better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
that shall not be cut off.]
And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,
to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD,
and to be his servants,
all who keep the sabbath, and do not profane it,
and hold fast my covenant–
these I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.

The Psalm

Psalm 67 Page 675, BCP
Deus misereatur

1
May God be merciful to us and bless us, *
show us the light of his countenance and come to us.

2
Let your ways be known upon earth, *
your saving health among all nations.

3
Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.

4
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, *
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide all the nations upon earth.

5
Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.

6
The earth has brought forth her increase; *
may God, our own God, give us his blessing.

7
May God give us his blessing, *
and may all the ends of the earth stand in awe of him.

The Epistle

Romans 11:13-15,29-32
Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I glorify my ministry in order to make my own people jealous, and thus save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead!

For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, so they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.

The Gospel

Matthew 15:21-28
Jesus left Gennesaret and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

Today’s readings seem to call us to reach out to people “not like us.” In the Old Testament lesson, God tells His people that even eunuchs and foreigners who kept His Sabbath and covenants will be in the house of the Lord, which will be a house of prayer for all peoples. Thus people who the ancient Hebrews would have scorned or avoided were welcomed by God in His House, so long as they were faithful.

In the Gospel lesson, even Jesus seems to want to turn away from the Canaanite woman, but is recalled by her strong faith. She believed that He would help her daughter, and so it was.

In our modern lives, we encounter many people who are not like us – they look different, they sound different, they lead different lifestyles, they might not have a home. When they encounter us, do they recognize Jesus in us in spite of ourselves, and recall us to service, or do they merely see… someone not like them, who might turn away from them?

Will you reach out, or turn away?