"Jesus withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman came out and cried, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is ill. Jesus answered her. "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But she came and knelt before Him. "Lord help me." Jesus responded, "Is it fair to take the children's bread and thrown it to the dogs?" She answered, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table. Jesus answered: "Woman, great is your faith. Be it done for you as you desire." And the daughter was healed."
Matthew 15
When I was very young, say ten or eleven, my perception of God was completely different than now. At that time, I remember having a strong sense that if I did something wrong, then God would punish me in some way. As well, if I did something good, God would reward me. God was like the policeman in the sky who watched over and monitored all the activities going on below.
As one grows up, our perception of God changes. As you experience more of life and gain a greater understanding of yourself and others, as you enter and interact with people in personal relationships, our perceptions of God evolve. Marriage and family are certainly major influences in our evolving understanding and perception of God. Through marriage and family relationships, we grow to understand that someone very close to you will not always think the same way that you do, or do things the same way as yourself. Often mistakes and hurts are caused on both sides of the relationship that need to be forgiven, We learn that we often have to let go of certain things that are an impediment to the relationship.
It is through these life experiences, particularly with close relationships, that we learn that our understanding and perceptions of God and others are never complete. We are a people under construction.
In the book of Jeremiah, we discover God presented from a different perspective. No longer do we see a judging God, a distant God, punishing the Israelite people for their disobedience. We see a God who draws close to a suffering people, a God who wants to be involved directly in a relationship with those who Jeremiah calls "His chosen Ones". We see God filled with compassion and concern for a people who have lost their way, but a God who wants them to come back.
This is the same God that Jesus presents to us when He says: "For you, my beloved, my body will be broken. For you, my chosen ones, my blood will be poured out."
Who are these chosen ones? Who are the beloved? The Gospel story about the Canaanite woman, a foreigner, makes this quite clear.
The chosen ones, the beloved of God, are those who suffer in some way, who have unfulfilled needs that hold them back from living fully. The chosen ones, the beloved of God, are the ones who admit their own failures, who acknowledge their own helplessness, and who reach out in love to the One Who is recognized as stronger and wiser than themselves. The chosen ones, the beloved of God, are the ones who set their pride aside, who let go of their need for control, who recognize their need to repent and change, who begin to see God, not as the policeman in the sky, but as the One who is close, compassionate, forgiving, healing.
This is the God that the Canaanite woman found in Jesus. And if we search our hearts, this is the God we can find there too.
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