Homily for 9 Feb 2017

9 Feb 2017

Whenever I’m eating at the rectory, my little dog is always right there.  He just sits there and waits for me to share some of my food.  He’s very patient.  Sometimes he whines a little bit.  But, for the most part, he’s just very patient and very attentive to what I’m doing.  And this is the image we have to keep in mind when we see what Jesus is doing in the gospel.

When he’s talking about “dogs,” what he’s actually talking about are “puppies.”  He’s talking about puppies that people had around the house—like we have today: puppies and kittens and other little animals that are like companions to us.  And that’s how Jesus saw the woman who had come to him; she was like a little puppy, sitting by the table, waiting for Jesus to share with her.

Of course, we know what happened—Jesus shared with her.  And, you know, every time my little dog is waiting for me to share with him, I give him something.

When Jesus looks out at the whole world, he really notices people who are like little puppies; people who are very attentive to him, who are patient, and who really want to have a little bit of what he has.  Jesus loves little puppies.  And he loves everybody who just wants to sit by him and be loved.