Mt. 15: 21 - 28
The setting and main character make this Gospel extraordinary.
Setting:
“Jesus withdrew to the districts of Tyre and Sidon.”
Tyre and Sidon were part of the Phoenicians’ territory, which means that is was Gentile territory. This is the only occasion that Jesus was ever outside Jewish territory, which may be a foreshadowing of the Gospel going
out to the entire world. Jesus has withdrawn to prepare Himself and the disciples for the day that He would give up His life on the Cross. It is significant that no Scribe, Pharisee, or any other Jew would follow Jesus into this non-Jewish territory.
Canaanite Woman:
“… a Canaanite woman of that district . . .”
This woman was not only a Gentile, but a Canaanite, the ancestral enemies of the Jews. Josephus, a Jewish historian of the early 1st century A.D., wrote, “Of the Phoenicians, the Tyrians [the people of Tyre] have the most ill-feeling towards us [the Jews].” When the Canaanite woman asks for Jesus’ help in healing her possessed daughter, Jesus replies using the image of a dog: “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” Dogs were animals of contempt to the Jews, because they were often diseased, unclean scavengers of the street. But from this highly inauspicious setting and character, we can learn a great lesson of the kind of Faith that wins the Lord’s Blessing.
The Canaanite woman has great love and concern for her daughter, which motivate her plea. She also
has a faith that grows in the presence of Jesus. She begins by addressing Him as Son of David, a popular
political title of earthly power, but ends by calling Him Lord, seemingly offering a prayer to the Living God.
The woman begins by following Jesus and asking a request, but she ends by giving Him homage by kneeling before Him. She is on her knees in prayer with the spirit and actions of reverence. Furthermore, she has indomitable persistence, not being discouraged by the disciples trying to get rid of her and not taking No for an answer from Jesus. This woman even has the gift of cheerfulness, with wit. Even in her anguish over her daughter, she replies in a cheerful, witty way. We can almost see her smiling at Jesus’ calling her a dog and her clever retort. Perhaps Jesus begins to joke with her, as He uses the diminutive word kunaria (kunaria), not a stray street dog, but a little household pet.
This example of the Canaanite Woman can teach us important aspects of the type of faith that wins the Lord’s blessing:
- Love and concern for others;
- Reverence, which means a recognition of the constant presence of God;
- Persistence in prayer that is never discouraged;
- Cheerfulness that cannot be dismayed by the vicissitudes, sinfulness, and faithlessness of this world.
So, from this Gospel we learn that if we want the Blessing of the Lord, we must strive for greater love, concern, reverence, persistence, and even cheerfulness.
-Fr. Don Saunders, S.J.
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