Big Love

Loving everyone without exception

Matthew 15:21-28

At that time, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” But Jesus did not say a word in answer to her. Jesus’ disciples came and asked him, “Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.” He said in reply, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But the woman came and did Jesus homage, saying, “Lord, help me.” He said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And the woman’s daughter was healed from that hour.

            How many people do you have to love in order to get into heaven?  Is it all your family and friends?  Well, of course you have to love them.  How about people we don’t particularly like, such as LSU and Alabama football fans?  I’m afraid we have to love them too.  Now, we don’t have to like them, but we do have to love them.  I’m sorry.  You have to love strangers you’ve never met.  That is, you must overcome xenophobia, or fear of strangers.  Palestinians have to love Israelis and vice versa.  Good luck with that.  In short, your heart has to be big enough for the whole world to fit inside.  That’s the only way you will fit inside heaven.  You see, you must love each and every person on earth, because someday you’ll have to love each and every person who’s in heaven.

             Even if there were only one other person in the whole world, you’d have to love him or her. That reminds me of this joke I heard last week.  A young seminarian graduate arrived at the small country church to preach his first sermon, but he noticed it had snowed about three feet just hours before church was scheduled to begin.  The only person to show up was an elderly farmer with a white beard.  The young minister asked the farmer, “What do you think we should do?”  The man stroked his beard and said, “Well, I don’t know much about preaching, but I do know something about farming.  If I went to the pasture with a load of hay to feed my cows and only one showed up, I’d feed that cow.”  The seminarian graduate said, “That’s great!  You sit there and I’ll preach you a sermon.”  After 90 minutes of hellfire and brimstone, the young man felt pretty good about his accomplishment and asked the older fellow, “Well, how was it?”  The farmer scratched his beard thoughtfully and answered, “Like I said, I don’t know much about preaching.  But if I took a whole load of hay and only one cow showed up, I’d feed the cow, but I wouldn’t feed him the whole load!”  If that story bears a striking resemblance to Fr. Andrew, that’s purely coincidental. We have to love everyone in the world, regardless of whether there are one billion people in the world or if there is only one person in the world.  The whole world must fit inside your heart.

            In the gospel today, Jesus looks like he’s having some trouble loving someone, namely a Canaanite woman.  The woman asks him several times to heal her daughter beset by a demon, and Jesus ignores her and even treats her rather rudely.  He says, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.”  What’s going on here?  Well, I don’t think Jesus is really denying the request of this poor woman; rather, he’s drawing out her faith little by little.  After their brief dialogue, Jesus praises her for her faith.  But Jesus also uses this moment to teach his followers an example: they must love everyone, even the despised Canaanites.  You see, the Jews believed they were “the chosen people,” which meant that the Canaanites were the “not chosen people.”  God didn't love them, so why should they?  Jesus tells then, however, you must love everyone.  Your heart must be big enough to hold the whole world, including the Canaanites.

             Do you know what the word, “catholic” means?  It comes from Greek and means “universal, everywhere present.”  And that’s true, the Catholic Church is present in every corner of creation.  But it also means “all inclusive,” because everyone is welcome in the Church.  G. K. Chesterton sarcastically described the Church by saying, “The Catholic Church: here comes everyone!”  Now, I’m going to go out on a limb here and do something I’ve never done before in a homily, and that’s quote former President Bill Clinton.  Last week he made a great point.  He said, “Where there is inclusivity, and people working together, great things happen.  But where there is no inclusivity and you have people fighting against each other, nothing great ever happens.”  If the former president knew a little more Greek, he could have said, “Where there are Catholics great things happen.”  You could say that’s almost the very definition of the Catholic Church: “the Catholic Church is where everyone is included and great things happen.”  Every Catholic’s heart must be big enough to fit the whole world inside, otherwise you’re not a very good “Catholic.”  You’re not living up to your name.

             Today we have to ask ourselves a very serious question: is there anyone who is not welcome in my heart?  Until there is room enough in your heart for everyone, there will not be enough room in heaven for you.  Is there room for Bill Clinton and for Bill O’Reilly, is there room for illegal immigrants or people with tattoos (you better love people with tattoos because they provide half the economy of Fort Smith!), how about room for terrorists, for Islamic extremists and people on death row?  You must love each and every person on earth, including everyone, without exception.  Now, let me give you my definition of love: to desire that another be in heaven.  Is there anyone you would not want to have in heaven because that’s when you fail to love your neighbor.  That doesn’t mean we shirk the demands of justice, or fail to prosecute criminals or stop cheering for the Hogs to crush the Tigers.  But if you exclude anyone – which means anyone – then you are not a good “Catholic,” you are not being inclusive but rather exclusive.  In other words, you’re not ready for heaven.  That’s why we can say that "only Catholics will make it to heaven;" only those whose hearts are big enough to include everyone.

             My friends, you don’t have to feed your whole load of hay to everyone you meet, but you do have to love them.  The price of admission to heaven is to have a very, very big love.  Can you pay that price?      

                

 Praised be Jesus Christ!