O woman, great is your faith!

Matthew 15:21–28 At that time, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” But Jesus did not say a word in answer to her. Jesus’ disciples came and asked him, “Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.” He said in reply, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But the woman came and did Jesus homage, saying, “Lord, help me.” He said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And the woman’s daughter was healed from that hour.

The gospel passage for the 20th century in ordinary time takes a different turn than last Sunday in which Jesus says to Peter, “where is your faith, why do you doubt?” to “O woman, great is your faith!” Jesus clearly asserts the message that his mission is to fulfill the covenant where Jesus has come for the Israelite nation. The Canaanite woman as a gentile & non Jewish person whimsically tests Jesus with the “even the dogs eat the scraps.” Jesus is moved at this woman and her sense of his mission where Jesus came for the salvation of all mankind, even for those who associate themselves to be no better than a dog seeking table scraps.

The lesson we can take away from this gospel is that our priorities are not always God’s priorities. This woman had to ask Jesus a couple of times because her sense of God’s timing and wanting her needs met instantly was not part of God’s plan. For our own life, do we place our priorities according to His time or our time? Do we seek to accept others who are different from us and considered “gentiles” that are only worthy to eat the scraps of the dogs?

When we approach the Lord in prayer do we do so in a faithful manner? Many times I fall into the trap of praying and asking God to give me certain things and become impatient when it seems like God didn’t even listen. Oftentimes we are left with “our will be done” instead of “His will be done.” The Canaanite woman’s faith is an inspiration to all in that her persistence and desire for Jesus to come to her aid after doing him homage show that a faithful Christian has a chance. We shall no longer look at God as the Baskin Robbins one stop shop where we can get any flavor and favor granted. We oftentimes take Jesus’s message of salvation for granted, becoming hollow vessels that are merely seeking a false gratification versus a close and personal relationship with our Lord. Many times our prayers and petitions are asked for, but not in the correct way where we fail to acknowledge God’s glory before our own. This woman must have been desperate to have her daughter healed. She is a woman who had heard about this Jewish miracle worker, a person and religion outside of her usual sphere of influence as a Canaanite. She is hopeful for a miracle despite these differences. Her devotion and faithful pleas for help end up teaching us something. We should remember that when it seems God is not listening to us is no reason to stop praying and doing God homage. It may take another attempt or two before God responds to our prayer. We must recall that it is according to God’s own time and place that our prayers are answered. An answer of no or a period of silence doesn’t mean we should lose faith and stop our prayer life. We should ask for the faith of the Canaanite woman. Will you be the one that Jesus says, “great is your faith!”