WOMAN, GREAT IS YOUR FAITH

Mt 15:21-28

These verses of the Gospel focus on the great faith and humility of a Canaanite woman, who acknowledges her inferiority as opposed to the Israelites. She is convinced that Jesus is the Messiah, a Jewish King, Son of David, capable of healing her daughter from demon possession. That is why she calls “Have pity on me Lord, son of David”.

It looks funny to see Jesus denying help to someone calling out to Him. He says: It is not right to take the food of the children and to throw it to the dogs. Even the apostles wanted her to be sent away because she was causing too much trouble. They wanted the noisy woman out. This Canaanite woman must have been hurt so much by the seemingly indifferent attitude of Jesus and the very harsh words of the disciples.  If Jesus did not right away extend his healing hand to her, he must have seen something else in her that first needed attention.

The important point here is to see the woman insisting in her plea despite the rejection. She says: “Help me, Lord”. Jesus must have a reason in treating her that way. It is not Jesus' intention to belittle her by reminding her of the distinction between Jews and Canaanites. Rather, he tests her perseverance, to see how far she would go. Perhaps, he wanted to bring out the best in her. And sure enough, the woman transcended the common human reaction and discouragement because of faith. The humility, the sincerity, the faith and perseverance of this Canaanite woman convince Jesus and her request is granted.

More than faith, the woman loved her daughter so much that she was willing to do anything even to the extent of facing humiliation. She humbly took the role of the "dog," willing to pick up the crumbs dropped by the "children" and begged for mercy. Jesus recognizes her great faith and performs a miracle for her.

Few good lessons for us this morning; from the attitude of Jesus, we learn that if something unexpected is going on in your life right now, or if you are experiencing some bumps in the road or even a complete roadblock, try to look a little more closely. It is quite possible you will find Jesus there calling out for deeper faith and love. Sometimes it feels as if God is not answering our prayer. Sometimes it feels as if he is not even interested in us. Know that at that moment he is more determined to deepen our faith. From the attitude of the woman, we are called to be willing to risk everything mindless of what other people would say in order to express our faith to God and our love for others. We are called to swallow our pride so that others may receive a favor or may live. Today, let us ask the Lord for three graces – the grace to be persistent in prayer, the grace to be trusting in God in our helplessness and the grace to break the boundaries of our love.

“May the Lord, make us true instruments of his love!”