Matthew 15:21-28
We cannot begin to appreciate the scandal generated by the encounter of the Canaanite woman with Jesus and the disciples. We are many years removed by customs, language and values. Women did not talk to men, even from a distance.
The Canaanite woman yelled because she was far away. She yelled for help. The cry for help is all around us. But we pretend not to hear. The disciples pretended not to hear. But the woman would not go away. Not only did woman not address men, they would never dare to touch a man, much less a woman who was not a Jew. The disciples asked Jesus to get rid of the woman because they feared that she would defile them. The Lord took the opportunity to express His priorities—He came for the lost sheep of Israel. A father does not take the food of his children who are hungry and feed the dogs first. No father in his right mind puts his dogs before his children. Which is perfectly logical. The woman understood. The disciples understood. Everyone understood. But the Canaanite woman would not go away. She basically said, ‘Give me whatever is left over—give me the scraps.” Are we willing to settle for scraps? Will we take whatever God sends us? Not if we are honest. We fine tune our request. That’s called control. Since we are so control oriented, we want to control God. The Canaanite woman was desperate! She did not care about herself or how ridiculous folks thought that she was. She just wanted her daughter to get well.
Her faith left no room for pride. Jesus recognized that the Canaanite woman was willing to humble herself in order to save her daughter. “O woman, great is your faith.” He didn’t say how much she had. Jesus acknowledged that her faith was great. We like to compare. “Look at him. Look at her. They pray so fervently.” How can we measure faith? Who has more, who has less? Usually not going to be evident by how often we rattle our rosaries, or genuflect, or bless ourselves. The evidence of faith shows in our attitude. The Canaanite woman had reason to get angry for being compared to a dog. But the comment was like water off a duck’s back. Jesus could have called her any name He wanted. At least he paid attention to her. A typical man would not have spoken with her. She knew in her heart that something good was going to happen. Trust is closely related to faith. She trusted in her own self-worth.
People were watching. People were talking. The crowd might have been laughing at her. She didn’t run away. She ran towards the Person whom she knew had the solution. We can picture the Canaanite woman kneeling, crying, begging at the feet of Jesus. The dialogue was filled with tension. However, in the end came the words with a smile, “…. great is your faith!” Could not have been a better compliment. Her faith was the turning point in the story. We are not told how the woman was made aware that her daughter recovered. But she did get well, at the moment that her faith was recognized by Jesus. Something wonderful happened from an apparent tragedy. There is always something positive that can result from something negative—if we are willing to allow God to control. Means that we have to trust; put our pride aside; have faith. All of the miracles in the Gospel required faith. Where faith was absent, nothing happened. We do not have to make a spectacle of ourselves to get God’s attention. He always listens to our prayers. Even if we are doing all the talking and perpetually asking for stuff. The Lord knows our limitations. Our prayers do not have to be perfect.
No prayer fully expresses our faith. Although our prayer is imperfect, God accepts our petitions because He sees our hearts.
We cannot begin to appreciate the scandal generated by the encounter of the Canaanite woman with Jesus and the disciples. We are many years removed by customs, language and values. Women did not talk to men, even from a distance.
The Canaanite woman yelled because she was far away. She yelled for help. The cry for help is all around us. But we pretend not to hear. The disciples pretended not to hear. But the woman would not go away. Not only did woman not address men, they would never dare to touch a man, much less a woman who was not a Jew. The disciples asked Jesus to get rid of the woman because they feared that she would defile them. The Lord took the opportunity to express His priorities—He came for the lost sheep of Israel. A father does not take the food of his children who are hungry and feed the dogs first. No father in his right mind puts his dogs before his children. Which is perfectly logical. The woman understood. The disciples understood. Everyone understood. But the Canaanite woman would not go away. She basically said, ‘Give me whatever is left over—give me the scraps.” Are we willing to settle for scraps? Will we take whatever God sends us? Not if we are honest. We fine tune our request. That’s called control. Since we are so control oriented, we want to control God. The Canaanite woman was desperate! She did not care about herself or how ridiculous folks thought that she was. She just wanted her daughter to get well.
Her faith left no room for pride. Jesus recognized that the Canaanite woman was willing to humble herself in order to save her daughter. “O woman, great is your faith.” He didn’t say how much she had. Jesus acknowledged that her faith was great. We like to compare. “Look at him. Look at her. They pray so fervently.” How can we measure faith? Who has more, who has less? Usually not going to be evident by how often we rattle our rosaries, or genuflect, or bless ourselves. The evidence of faith shows in our attitude. The Canaanite woman had reason to get angry for being compared to a dog. But the comment was like water off a duck’s back. Jesus could have called her any name He wanted. At least he paid attention to her. A typical man would not have spoken with her. She knew in her heart that something good was going to happen. Trust is closely related to faith. She trusted in her own self-worth.
People were watching. People were talking. The crowd might have been laughing at her. She didn’t run away. She ran towards the Person whom she knew had the solution. We can picture the Canaanite woman kneeling, crying, begging at the feet of Jesus. The dialogue was filled with tension. However, in the end came the words with a smile, “…. great is your faith!” Could not have been a better compliment. Her faith was the turning point in the story. We are not told how the woman was made aware that her daughter recovered. But she did get well, at the moment that her faith was recognized by Jesus. Something wonderful happened from an apparent tragedy. There is always something positive that can result from something negative—if we are willing to allow God to control. Means that we have to trust; put our pride aside; have faith. All of the miracles in the Gospel required faith. Where faith was absent, nothing happened. We do not have to make a spectacle of ourselves to get God’s attention. He always listens to our prayers. Even if we are doing all the talking and perpetually asking for stuff. The Lord knows our limitations. Our prayers do not have to be perfect.
No prayer fully expresses our faith. Although our prayer is imperfect, God accepts our petitions because He sees our hearts.
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