How Not to Read the Story of the Syrophoenician Woman

About this sermon

Friends, for this Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, we hear the story of the Syrophoenician woman. Jesus famously puts off this woman—first by ignoring her, then by dismissing her, and finally by insulting her—and she offers one of the most famous comebacks in literary history. A common reading of this story is that Jesus is cranky from a tough day of ministry, and a plucky woman from Syrophoenicia straightens him out. But this turns Jesus into a sinner—and the whole structure of Christianity falls apart. The Church Fathers had a much better, more convincing, and spiritually more helpful interpretation. Mass Readings: Reading 1 — Isaiah 56:1, 6-7 Psalm — Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8 Reading 2 — Romans 11:13-15, 29-32 Gospel — Matthew 15:21-28 ——VIDEO LINKS——— The Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist: https://youtu.be/UzCPu_lEhe8 The Glorious Mysteries: https://youtu.be/WoJ1hQTVdSo A Declaration of Dependence on God | Rededicate 250 Reflection: https://youtu.be/y0R3rM2j92U ———WATCH——— Subscribe to this Channel: https://bit.ly/31LV1sn Word on Fire Institute Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@word-on-fire Word on Fire en Español Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@WOF-ES ———WORD ON FIRE——— Word on Fire: https://www.wordonfire.org/ Word on Fire Español: https://www.wordonfire.org/es/ FREE Daily Gospel Reflections (English or Español): https://dailycatholicgospel.com/ ———WORD ON FIRE INSTITUTE——— Join Bishop Barron and over 20,000 evangelists inside the Word on Fire Institute at https://wordonfire.institute ———SOCIAL MEDIA——— Bishop Barron Instagram: https://bit.ly/2Sn2XgD Bishop Barron Facebook: https://bit.ly/2Sltef5 Bishop Barron Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Hkz6yQ Word on Fire Instagram: https://bit.ly/39sGNyZ Word on Fire Facebook: https://bit.ly/2HmpPpW Word on Fire Twitter: https://bit.ly/2UKO49h Word on Fire en Español Instagram: https://bit.ly/38mqofD Word on Fire en Español Facebook: https://bit.ly/2SlthaL Word on Fire en Español Twitter: https://bit.ly/38n3VPt ———SUPPORT WORD ON FIRE——— Help Bishop Barron continue to produce videos like this: https://bit.ly/3QSvGpo Word on Fire Store: https://bookstore.wordonfire.org/