If you’re like me, you might find today’s Gospel not only intriguing, but shocking as well. A poor woman comes to Jesus to get help for her daughter who is possessed by a demon. Initially, Jesus is not receptive to her pleas. First, Jesus won’t even answer her or acknowledge her presence; then, the disciples just want to get rid of her. Is this the same Jesus who hears the cry of the poor, who cures the sick, who gives sight to the blind, who brings us God’s love and mercy?
If we look at the details of Jesus’ interaction with the Canaanite woman, we can understand why he reacts the way he does. We could every say that Jesus grows through this interaction with the Canaanite woman. Seeking out a place of rest, Jesus goes to the boundary region of Galilee and Tyre-Sidon, where the Jewish territory borders the Gentile lands. This was a place of tension and prejudice; the Jewish historian Josephus called the people of this region Israel’s “bitterest enemies.” There were ethnic tensions, religious misunderstandings, conflicting economic interests, and fights over land between the Jews and Gentiles here.
The Jews saw the Canaanites as outcasts and outsiders; yet, the Canaanite woman boldly asks Jesus for help for her daughter. She address Jesus as “Lord”, a term that only his disciples and followers use. She cries out to him - “Have pity on me, have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David.” But Jesus announces to her that he was only sent for the lost sheep of Israel. We need to remember that Matthew was writing from a Jewish perspective to a primarily Jewish audience. In the first century, many of the Jews who followed the Way of Jesus believed that salvation was not offered to the Gentiles. Yet, out of her faith, the Canaanite woman courageously kneels before Jesus in an act of submission, defiantly asking for his mercy even in the midst of the poor treatment she gives her. Shockingly, Jesus describes any help he would give her as the equivalent of taking food out of the mouths of children and giving it to dogs. Through this Gospel passage, Jesus struggles with the cultural and historical context of his Jewish faith that discriminated against the Canaanite people. We could also see Jesus struggling to understand whether his proclamation of God’s kingdom and salvation violates the priority given to the people of Israel if he extends this invitation to the Gentiles. Jesus’ followers also struggled with this issue of including the Gentiles into God’s kingdom at the time the Gospel was written.
We struggle with similar issues today ourselves, don’t we? Look at how divided our world and our society are today, at the acts of terrorism and violence that happen so frequently. We can look down at others who have views different from our own.
Perhaps the remarkable ending of today’s Gospel is calling us to view things differently. In last week’s Gospel reading, Jesus challenged Peter for his little faith when they were walking on the water. Yet, today, Jesus admires the great faith of the Canaanite woman. Her great faith is demonstrated in her persistence, in crossing barriers that label her an outsider and outcast, in her recognition of Jesus’ power and divine authority. In his healing of her daughter, Jesus, in his humanity, overcomes barriers as well, growing in his view of his ministry, growing in his understanding of who is included in God’s plan of salvation. In all honesty, I don’t think that Jesus was born as an infant with full knowledge and full understanding of his vocation. As fully human, Jesus grew in his understanding of what his mission was all about, especially in the way it defied many of the fixed notions prevalent in ancient Israel.
Perhaps we can take away a two-fold message from today’s Gospel. Jesus’ interaction with the Canaanite woman and the way he changed through this encounter is a good example for all of us. I remember that at the end of my seminary training, one of the secretaries there gave me this advice: “Listen. Listen to your parishioners. Listen with your heart. Listen before you speak.” It is so easy for us to judge people, so easy to see things solely from our own perspective, to not consider what another person is going through. Perhaps we are called to listen more and talk less, not only with our brothers and sisters here on earth, but with God. Jesus listened and interacted to the Canaanite woman; he then responded appropriately to her needs. From some of the hate-filled words we see on social media each day, from all the anger and the rage we see in both words and in actions, we can certainly learn something from Jesus’ interaction with the Canaanite woman.
Secondly, we are also called to be persistent in our search for God, just as the Canaanite woman was tenacious and persistent. Do we struggle with those issues of faith that we don’t quite understand? Do we look at those issues of faith that we are uncomfortable with, or do we just stay with those issues of faith that make us feel good and that are easy to understand? Do we look at the signs of the times, do we try to dialogue with the modern world and infuse our world with the values of our faith, as the words of the Second Vatican Council call us to do? We are called to be challenged by our faith, to be pushed and prodded in order to grow. Our journey as Christians in our modern world is certainly not an easy road for us. May we be persistent and determined on our journey, in the way we live out our faith.
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