This may seem like a non-traditional view of Christ’s
life and ministry, but I truly believe that the Gospel reading we hear today
shows us that Jesus changed and grew into his ministry and into his
understanding of his mission as the Son of God. In his interaction with the Canaanite woman
from the region of Tyre & Sidon in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus at first
does not treat her with very much respect.
He initially tries to ignore and avoid her requests to heal her
daughter. Then very bluntly, Jesus tells
her that he came only to preach to the people of Ancient Israel, that helping
her, a Gentile, instead of helping a Jew, would be like taking food away from a
child and giving it to a dog. Yet, the
Canaanite woman never gives up on Jesus.
Jesus recognizes her great faith and agrees to heal her daughter. Perhaps, in this interaction, Jesus is
brought to a greater understanding as to his mission and ministry here on
earth. Perhaps Jesus realizes that he is meant to be open to more than just the Jewish community. Like the Canaanite woman, we also are to be persistent, persevering, and
tenacious in the way we live out our faith, in the way we search for the
presence of God in our lives, in the way we seek out God's will for us. May we always live out our faith with courage
and conviction like this Canaanite woman in our Gospel today.
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