Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time-A
This weekend, the task is to reflect on the conversation between Jesus and a Canaanite woman pleading for him to exorcize a demon from her daughter. The encounter occurred when Jesus retreated to the region of Tire and Sidon, presumably to rest and pray.
The Canaanite woman called out to Jesus with a raised voice and said, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!” Annoyed that the pagan woman was bothering their master, the apostles told Jesus to send her away. More pastorally than his disciples, Jesus responded by stating his mission was to minister to the lost sheep of Israel.
Undeterred, the mother continued to plead for her daughter. A second time, Jesus did not acquiesce to her cry, telling her, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” Jesus’ response is hardly sugar-coated. Clearly, he is referring to a group of people who did not believe in the one true God but those who worshipped many gods. The message of the Son of God was first given to the chosen people, who had a relationship with Him for generations, and it followed from his first statement that he was sent to them first.
There is no doubt the Canaanite woman understood she was not part of the Jewish people, and why Jesus rebuffed her a second time. Still, she was a mother who loved her daughter deeply and would not take no for an answer without another try. Pleading again, she said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” After this comment, Jesus acknowledged the woman’s faith in him through her persistence and granted her request by healing her daughter.
In our time, when entitlement is becoming an expectation for a whole host of people, it is easy to assume the mother of the demon-ridden daughter should expect a cure. Accordingly, it should make no difference whether she followed Jewish teachings. What matters in this rationalization is that she was a human being who deserved to have her request answered.
But that is not what the passage says. Before curing the young woman, he tells her mother he is doing it because of the great faith she exhibited during the exchange. We all have a lot to learn from this story about faith. The Canaanite woman outside the religious community of Israel had no reason to believe Jesus would answer her plea. Her persistence in believing the man in front of her had the power beyond human capabilities to save her child from the grips of the devil. Inherent was a rudimentary faith, and with each successive request she made, her faith was strengthened.
The point of self-reflection is whether our faith is strengthened or harmed when our initial prayer for deliverance appears unanswered. Everyone has prayed for a request, be it health, financial, or for someone else, and it seems those prayers are not heard. Sometimes, what we pray for doesn’t materialize, and the opposite happens. One might pray for a loved one who has a terrible disease, hoping God will heal them. And then, nothing happens.
In a scenario like this, a person can react in three ways. It can strengthen one’s faith, leave it the same, or worsen it. The Canaanite mother teaches how she reacted. She understood the man Jesus was different from the rest. Perhaps she heard of his power to heal. With her first request being denied, she could have thought he wasn’t the person she thought he was. The only reason she asked again for a cure was that she still thought Jesus was who all the people were talking about. In essence, her faith was strengthened. The third rebuke did not change her mind either.
Other people have the same challenge as she did. After praying for something and it seems God’s prayers fell on deaf ears, some react differently. For them, it is proof God is not what he claims, and the faith disappears. Some may try praying a second time, and when it doesn’t seem to work, they lose hope, and their faith is challenged. Only those with deep faith will keep petitioning God for their needs.
When we ask God for something, and it doesn’t happen, God may want to test and strengthen our faith through perseverance. A strong faith means that not everything we ask will be given to us, but rather a certainty that God hears our prayers and in His infinite wisdom will give us what is best for us.
Through persistent prayer, our faith is refined in the furnace. God does so much more for us than giving us scraps from the table; He offers eternity, but first we must be persistent in our belief.