Taken literally, Jesus’ comment about ‘house dogs’ in today’s Gospel may sound quite shocking. But when we read on, we can see He was just being sarcastic – and possibly with a smile on His face – to show-up certain xenophobic attitudes among some of His followers towards gentiles. The Canaanite woman played along with His wit in such a way that Jesus was able to give credit to her great faith and show that faith and love are far more important to God’s plan of salvation than culture or race.