The last two Sundays we have seen the great miracles of Jesus: First the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes, where he feeds over five thousand people with only a few pieces of bread and a couple of fish; Second, The Walking on the Water and the Calming of the Wind and the Sea. These two spectacular miracles help us to understand that Jesus is Lord and Messiah; that He provides both nourishment and safety for those who place their faith in Him. Ironically, the Apostles were not too open to what Jesus did. They didn’t believe that Jesus could feed five thousand people AND they didn’t first believe that Jesus could walk on water. Even Jesus rebukes Peter by saying: “Oh, you of little faith.”  Today, we witness something entirely different. St. Matthew wants us to learn something very important about the Kingdom of God. Once again, Jesus encounters a woman. To a Jew, it was forbidden for a man to talk to a woman other than his wife, especially in public.  At the same time, this woman is a non-Jew, which makes it even worse. Jesus, at first rejects the woman’s request – not because Jesus is being harsh, but because He wants to teach those watching Him about the Kingdom of God and He wants to test the woman’s faith. What happens is remarkable. The woman does not back down. She persists in her request even when Jesus uses what we might think as insulting language. The woman turns the insult into an advantage: “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” It is then that Jesus blesses the woman and heals her daughter. In this short passage, St. Matthew teaches us many things about the Kingdom of God.  First, non-believers proclaim Jesus as LORD and SON OF DAVID. These are titles not even the Apostles have used to address Jesus. This is how the woman speaks to Jesus.  Second, Jesus announces that He was sent to bring the Good News only to lost sheep of the House of Israel. However, since Israel has rejected Jesus, He now invites outsiders to share in the life of the Kingdom of God.  Third, a reminder of the twelve baskets of scraps left over from the Multiplication of the Loaves is brought up when the woman reminds Jesus that even outsiders (dogs) eat the scraps from the masters’ tables.  Fourth, when Peter is lacking in faith as he walked on the water toward the Lord, Jesus calls him “Oh, you of little faith.” Today, we hear Jesus call this woman, a foreigner, a “nonbeliever” as “O woman, great is your faith.” We have much to learn about how God sees us and how He calls us to His Kingdom.  His Kingdom is not open only to a select few, but to those whose faith is strong enough to see beyond the boundaries we human beings construct. Jesus calls all of us to put away fear, to trust in His love, and to find safety in His loving arms.