"Great is your faith! Let it be done to you as you wish"
Gospel of Matthew
I've always found the story about Jesus' encounter with the Canaanite woman a very unusual one. Jesus and his disciples are in the region of Tyre and Sidon, towns outside of Jewish territory. They are in a place located in current day Lebanon, north of Israel. What were they doing there, we do not know; but while there, they are noticed by this woman who they refer to as a foreigner, a Canaanite who lived in that area.
This woman was in a somewhat desperate situation; her daughter was seriously ill, and she was looking for help from whatever source she could find it. She addressed Jesus as "Son of David", so she must have known about Jesus, even to the point of recognizing Him as He and his apostles wandered by. Anyway, it was her persistence in following Jesus, and her persistence in begging for help that began to annoy the apostles to the point they asked Jesus to give her what she wanted to get rid of her.
The woman's persistence is a reminder to us of what Jesus had previously said about prayer in the Gospel. You will recall that Jesus said that if your neighbor would not loan you a loaf of bread in the middle of the night because of being a good friend, then by being persistent with your request, the friend will likely comply just to be able to get some sleep. It is with this same type of persistence that this Canaanite woman pursued Jesus and His apostles. And Jesus' compassion comes out in His response to her, although the dialog that went on between them is unusual to us.
Some would say that Jesus responded to her in this fashion to test her faith. And even though the words to us seem insulting, her response revealed not only the desperateness of her situation, but the greatness of her humility. Her thoughts and concerns were not on herself, but with her daughter; and she recognized in Jesus someone who could help her daughter; so personal pride was set aside and did not become an obstacle to grace. I've recently read that humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less. I believe it is here that we have the most to benefit from this Gospel reading.
Despite our unworthiness, despite the fact we often miss the mark when it comes to our outward performance, when we approach God with humility, we discover His compassion and love for us. We discover the compassion of Christ reaching out to us, meeting us in our need. Jesus' response to us is the same as His response to the Canaanite woman: "Great is your faith. Let it be done for you as your wish." It is in our humility that the barriers between ourselves and God are broken down, and we come in touch with the compassion of Christ which heals our brokenness, creates a new being, and sends us on our way.
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