Rev. Fr. Isaac Asoluka Izunwanne, Associate Pastor of Holy Trinity Catholic Parish, Ogbe, Ahiara, and Vice Principal of St. Patrick’s Secondary School, Ogbe-Ahiara, has called on Christians to embrace a bold and persevering faith—one that remains steadfast in the face of rejection, delay and difficulty.
Preaching on the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A, with the theme “A Faith That Refuses to Take No for an Answer,” Fr. Izunwanne reflected on the encounter between Jesus and the Canaanite woman in Matthew’s Gospel. He described her as a woman whose desperate need for her sick daughter gave her the courage to persist, even when her request appeared to be met with resistance.
The priest noted that the woman risked ridicule and rejection, yet remained undeterred. Her famous appeal for even the “scraps” from the master’s table revealed not only boldness but a profound confidence in Jesus’ power to help her.
Her persistence ultimately drew from Jesus the remarkable affirmation: “Woman, you have great faith! Your wish will come to pass.” At that moment, her daughter was healed.
According to Fr. Izunwanne, the significance of the encounter goes beyond the healing itself. It reveals that faith, rather than ethnicity, background or social standing, is what truly matters before God. The Canaanite woman, a foreigner and an outsider in the eyes of the Jews of her time, nevertheless demonstrated a faith that placed her completely in the hands of God.
He linked this message to the first reading from Isaiah, in which God promises to welcome foreigners who join themselves to Him and love His name. The reading, he observed, points to the universality of God’s saving purpose—a promise fulfilled in Christ, whose self-offering is for the life of the whole world.
The priest therefore challenged Christians to imitate the Canaanite woman’s tenacity in prayer.
“We should imitate this kind of boldness when it comes to petitioning the Lord,” he said, stressing that genuine faith does not mean the absence of difficulty, but the refusal to abandon confidence in God amid difficulty.
Reflecting on the Eucharist, Fr. Izunwanne reminded the faithful that Christ gives Himself without reserve for people of every nation and circumstance. In the Eucharist, he said, believers are invited to “taste and see the goodness of the Lord” and to trust in the abundance of His grace.
He also drew encouragement from St. Paul’s words in the Letter to the Romans that “the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.” God, he explained, does not withdraw the gifts and calling He gives. Rather, it is human beings who can turn away from them.
The homily ultimately offered a simple but demanding lesson: when faith is rooted in trust in God, rejection need not be the end of the story. Like the Canaanite woman, Christians are called to keep believing, keep praying and keep approaching God with confidence—even when the answer seems delayed.
For Fr. Izunwanne, the faith worth imitating is one that knows its need, recognizes where help lies, and refuses to walk away from God.
