Stories

By Fr. Anh Nhue

This Sunday’s Gospel offers us a moving episode that takes place during Jesus’ mission journey with the apostles “to the region of Tyre and Sidon,” that is, outside the land of Israel. In that “foreign” region an apparently unplanned encounter took place with a Canaanite woman, that is, “non-Jewish,” “pagan.” She, despite being tried by her daughter’s critical situation and unusually cold treatment by Jesus, demonstrated such maturity of faith as to merit Jesus’ beautiful praise before his disciples, “O woman, great is your faith!” Let us look more closely at some details-paradoxes in the story to understand more of what God’s Word wants to teach us today.

1. The Moving Cry of a Canaanite Mother vs. Jesus’ Unusual Behavior: Towards an Important Lesson of Faith to the Disciples

It should be analyzed, first of all, the moving request of the woman who came to Jesus and cried out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” The action of calling out gives us a glimpse of the woman’s despair and makes us despair with her, but the content of her cry moves us even more to the heart of a mother. His daughter is sick, but she was not begging Jesus, “Have pity on my daughter,” but rather, “Have pity on me!” She begs like this, because in fact the daughter’s sorrows are her sorrows, and what torments the daughter causes the same torment to the mother as well. (Ask any given mother and she will understand what I am talking about! – Just to paraphrase St. Augustin’s rhetoric) In the cry of this Canaanite woman there is her whole heart crushed by a desperate situation that prompts her to cling now to her last hope, to Jesus, in whom she confesses to believe, calling him by the very titles that the Israelites reserve for the Messiah, the Christ of God: “Lord, Son of David!” And she repeated her humble request-profession of faith one more time with the act of prostration and supplication, “Lord, help me.”

In this touching scene, the unusual coldness of Jesus, who is always merciful and compassionate in the face of human misery, is astonishing. At first, “Jesus did not say a word in answer to her”, and then, when He began to speak (forced moreover by the disciples’ insistence), He uttered the unwelcoming and even offensive phrases to the woman with His use of the image of “dogs” for non-Israelite people like her! Why did it happen here what had never occurred before with Jesus anywhere else?

All will be made clear with Jesus’ final praise for the woman’s great faith before His disciples whom Jesus often rebuked as “men of little faith” (as we heard for Peter in last Sunday’s Gospel). Jesus most likely inwardly “saw” the woman’s faith-filled heart from the very beginning, even though He literally “ignored” her. He probably wanted to further test the woman (with his apparent coldness and unkindness) so that her faith would have emerged in all its fullness as a lesson for the disciples. We should note that, despite all, Jesus always stayed with the woman and did not run away from her or send her away. Moreover, here spiritually one could see applying the divine rule that St. Paul taught the Corinthians, “No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it” (1Cor 10:13). It will therefore be Jesus himself who, in testing the woman’s faith, will mysteriously give her strength and a lucid mind to pass the test with answers seasoned with superhuman wisdom and patience.

2. The Curious Dialogue Between Jesus and the Woman and a Necessary Clarification of Jesus’ Mission

With this in mind, the dialogue between Jesus and the woman appears highly enlightening on a spiritual level, even if Jesus’ statements arouse some perplexity in not a few listeners and thus require special explanation and attention. 

First, it is interesting to note that when Jesus stated the principle of his divine mission, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” He was in fact already going further, in fact, to Tyre and Sidon! His mission is already extended “abroad,” and with the healing granted to the woman’s daughter at the end, the beneficiaries of the mission are no longer limited among the “lost sheep of the house of Israel.” This mission of evangelization for all peoples will later be made explicit and recommended by the risen Christ before ascending to Heaven (cf. Mt 28:16-20).

On the other hand, as we have explained in some previous commentaries, the perennial validity of Israel’s precedence in Jesus’ mission must be confirmed. This is in accordance with God’s promise and His plan of salvation for His People and for the whole world. And Jesus, God’s Messiah, came precisely to faithfully fulfill that divine plan for Israel and humanity. The primary focus of his mission was and will always remain the People whom God has chosen in love and for whom God has reserved so many benefits despite all their infidelities in history. Therefore, it is understandable the principle that Jesus reiterated to the woman through a phrase that, even if it were a proverb, might shock the sensibilities of some, especially the suffering woman who was waiting for help: “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs”.

Astonishing, then, was the wise and patient response of the woman who, as we pointed out earlier, spoke with superhuman strength and lucidity, received only from God in a mysterious way. She confirmed the divine predilection for “the children,” but recalled the mercy for all “dogs”! And her sharpness aroused amazement in the One who tested her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.”

3. The “Great Faith” of the Foreign Woman versus That of the Apostles

The desperate mother here was really supported by God to remain so patient but persistent during her encounter with Jesus. In this way, she gave everyone a lesson about faith which really performs miracles in life with the Lord. But what I would like to emphasize here is not only to have the perseverance and constancy in pleading with the Lord in difficult situations. From our account we can also understand another important aspect in life with God. Sometimes some of us may find ourselves in a situation similar to that of the Canaanite woman. It may happen that when you need help from above, you cry out to the Lord and there is no answer. Additionally, when you keep begging Him more, something even worse happens, so that your faith is exposed to the extreme. Remember then that, as in the case of the Canaanite woman, the Lord remains with you and mysteriously sustains your faith with His grace, even if He acts strangely cold and indifferent in the face of your concrete need. He is probably allowing your faith in trial to be kindled more and more for those around you, especially for His chosen “apostles” who are in crisis of faith, whether bishops, priests, friars or nuns. He will show them your great faith in the midst of difficulties to teach them how to truly believe and live with God. And thus, you become, by your own life, effectively the disciple-transmitter of faith, like the Canaanite woman in today’s Gospel.