Daily Readings - Wed Aug 04 2021
Numbers
1The LORD said to Moses,2"Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders."25At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land.26They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land.27They gave Moses this account: "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit.28But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there.29The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan."30Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it."31But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are."32And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size.33We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."
1That night all the people of the community raised their voices and wept aloud.2All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert!26The LORD said to Moses and Aaron:27"How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites.28So tell them, 'As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you the very things I heard you say:29In this desert your bodies will fall-every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me.34For forty years-one year for each of the forty days you explored the land-you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.'35I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will surely do these things to this whole wicked community, which has banded together against me. They will meet their end in this desert; here they will die."
Matthew
21Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.22A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession."23Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us."24He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel."25The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she said.26He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs."27"Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."28Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
Sermon
The readings today present us with two powerful stories that invite us to reflect on faith, trust, and the human condition. In the first reading from Numbers, we hear the story of the Israelites as they stand at the threshold of the Promised Land. Despite the promise of a land "flowing with milk and honey," the people are paralyzed by fear and doubt. The spies they sent to scout the land return with a mixed report: while the land is indeed fertile and abundant, its inhabitants are strong and formidable. Faced with this uncertainty, the people murmur against Moses and God, refusing to trust in God's plan. Their lack of faith leads to a tragic consequence: they will wander in the wilderness for forty years, a generation lost to unbelief.
In the Gospel, we encounter a very different kind of faith. A Canaanite woman, desperate for her daughter’s healing, approaches Jesus with persistence and humility. Despite being a Gentile and facing initial rejection, she refuses to give up. Her bold declaration of faith—"Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table"—moves Jesus to commend her faith and grant her request. This woman’s story stands in stark contrast to the Israelites in the wilderness. While the Israelites allowed fear to dominate their hearts, this woman allowed faith to guide her actions, even in the face of uncertainty.
These readings remind us that faith is not about having all the answers or being free from fear. It is about trusting in God’s providence, even when the path ahead seems uncertain. Like the Canaanite woman, we are called to approach God with persistence and humility, trusting that He hears us and desires our good. At the same time, the story of the Israelites warns us about the dangers of letting fear and doubt take root in our hearts. May we learn to trust in God’s plan, even when the challenges seem insurmountable. Let us ask for the grace to have the kind of faith that perseveres and seeks God’s will, no matter the obstacles we face.