Mt. 15:21-28
Today’s gospel passage presents to us the heroic faith of the Canaanite woman. She was not a Jew, a gentile woman. However, she knew Jesus’ identity as the Messiah. She approaches Jesus, calling him the son of David, and pleads for his mercy on her daughter, who was tormented by the demon. This woman remains a paragon role model for our discipleship journey. The first quality that we need to reflect on from her example is her faith. We can be sure that her faith was incomparable. Even though her daughter was not with her, she begged for healing for her. It depicts the greatness of her faith. She had perfect confidence in Jesus. She knew that Jesus could heal her daughter instantly with his words. Her faith prompts her to fully surrender herself at the feet of Jesus. In fact, it is her passionate faith that makes the impossible possible.
The second quality that we can imbibe from her legacy is her perseverance. We see Jesus appear to be a bit cold to her, but in reality, Jesus acts in such a way that everyone recognises the depth of her faith, so Jesus creates an ambiance to bring out her fervent faith. First, Jesus told her that he had sent for the lost sheep of Israel; then he said that it was not fair to distribute the bread of the children to dogs. If any of us hear such a comment, we feel humiliated and immediately give up our pleading. Anyhow, this lady remained there with great perseverance. She knew that only Jesus could heal her daughter, and finally we see her flaming faith demanding miracles from Jesus.
The third virtue we notice is her deep humility. Jesus, in his conversation, uses an analogy that apparently equates gentiles to dogs. She accepts it with a humble heart and stays with Jesus. She reminds Jesus that dogs also eat the broken pieces of bread falling from the master’s table. This attitude of humility should be present in our prayer lives too. It was her humility that manifested her staunch faith before others.
As we reflect on this gospel passage, let us imbibe the qualities of ardent faith, strong perseverance, and deep humility that we observe in the Canaanite woman. It is our faith that makes the impossible possible. It is our perseverance that helps us endure difficulties. It is our humility that pleases God and breaks open heaven before our prayers. It can happen to all of us when we remain impatient and demand immediate results from our prayers. We are often not ready to be patient and surrender ourselves completely to God’s will. Let us analyse and see if we have these attitudes of passionate faith, unwavering perseverance, and unassuming humility. Let us allow the Lord to make the best choice for us and also wait for his timing. Like this Canaanite woman, we grow in our faith day by day.