20A23.      Isaiah 56:1, 6-7.     When God created humanity, he created all peoples to be his people.  In making Hebrews his Chosen People from among all peoples, the Lord was making Hebrews to be a light to shine in the darkness to draw all peoples to himself.  My understanding of what the Lord says here is that all peoples are called to “join themselves to the Lord” by holding to his covenant, which is to say to be converted to becoming religiously practicing Jews.

Matthew 15:21-28.  Jesus was Jewish and was raised in his humanity to be thoroughly Jewish.  Jews traditionally saw themselves as God’s only People.  As such Jews viewed other peoples as worthless because they were seen to worship false gods.  At first Jesus was not receptive to accepting the plea of the non-Jewish or goy Canaanite woman because he saw her as not being worthy to receive the good things of the Lord that Jewish tradition said were only meant for God’s (Jewish)  People.  Jesus “said in reply, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’” My understanding is that the Holy Spirit moves the Canaanite woman to express great faith, which in turn requires of Jesus to grant to her her request.  My understanding is that the Holy Spirit was teaching Jesus in his humanity that all peoples are God’s People, not just Jewish people.

Romans 11:13-15, 29-32.     Paul reflects on the fact, though many gentiles were accepting Jesus as their Savior, the majority of Jews had not.  In their rejection of Jesus, all the greater was God’s loving mercy poured out upon them, as God had been generous with his mercy toward the Gentiles.  To be God’s People means to belong to God and nothing else.