Isaiah 56:1, 6-8 "Be just and fair to all," says the Lord. "Do what is right and good, for I am coming soon to rescue you. "I will also bless the Gentiles who commit themselves to the Lord and serve him and love his name, who worship him and do not desecrate the Sabbath day of rest, and who have accepted his covenant. 7I will bring them also to my holy mountain of Jerusalem and will fill them with joy in my house of prayer. I will accept their burnt offerings and sacrifices, because my Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations. 8For the Sovereign Lord, who brings back the outcasts of Israel, says: I will bring others, too, besides my people Israel." (NLT) Psalm 67 L. May God be merciful and bless us. May his face shine with favor upon us. C. May your ways be known throughout the earth, your saving power among people everywhere. L. May the nations praise you, O God. Yes, may all the nations praise you. C. How glad the nations will be, singing for joy, because you govern them with justice L. and direct the actions of the whole world. C. May the nations praise you, O God. Yes, may all the nations praise you. L. Then the earth will yield its harvests, and God, our God, will richly bless us. C. Yes, God will bless us, and people all over the world will fear him. (NLT) The second lesson Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32 I ask, then, has God rejected his people, the Jews? Of course not! Remember that I myself am a Jew, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2No, God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose from the very beginning. 29 For God's gifts and his call can never be withdrawn. 30Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the Jews refused his mercy, God was merciful to you instead. 31And now, in the same way, the Jews are the rebels, and God's mercy has come to you. But someday they, too, will share in God's mercy. 32For God has imprisoned all people in their own disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone. (NLT) The Gospel Lesson Matthew 15: (10-20) 21-28 (10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand. 11 What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.'" 12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?" 13 He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14 Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit." 15 Peter said, "Explain the parable to us." 16 "Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them. 17 "Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean.'") 21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A 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." 23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us." 24 He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." 25 The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she said. 26 He 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." 28 Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour. (NIV)