Sunday of the Canaanite Woman

​The Sunday of the Canaanite Woman is once again joins us and therefore the Gospel reading is from the Gospel of St. Matthew once again. In St. Matthew’s gospel, the 15th chapter, verses 21-28 we encounter a woman imploring, the Lord to save her daughter from a demon. Jesus initially does not respond. Here once again we are seeing the teaching that the Church has reminded us over and over again, that Jesus asks us to show our faith, he wants to see how true our hearts our and how much we really desire him. The disciples being human and carrying human biases ask Jesus to send this non Jewish woman away because she was not worthy of being answered. It is at this moment that Jesus teaches us the most important part of this gospel lesson. Jesus tells the woman that he was not sent to anyone outside the lost sheep of Israel and that it wasn’t fair to take the children’s bread and give it to the dogs. In Jewish society, as has been expressed by many people throughout history, non Jewish people were considered wild spiritually and were looked down upon as filth. They were the scum of the earth. Jesus here is not insulting or trying to poke fun at this woman, rather he is teaching us and his disciples a lesson in how to treat others.  Jesus then receives the reply that “Yes Lord yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the masters table.” It is then that Jesus shows to us and his disciples that this woman has a faith greater than many of those in Israel because while she was looked down up and basically thrown away she still believed that Jesus could heal her daughter. 

I’d like to ask you today, the one reading this first whether or not you’re willing to go the extra mile with Christ. As we can see here, Jesus didn’t answer her prayer right away, she had to continually persevere before he acknowledged her and her prayer, simply because Jesus wants us to desire him fully and strive for a deeper relationship with him. So my question is how far are you willing to go for Christ? My second question is do you treat others like the disciples and the Jewish people treated non Jews? Do you look down upon someone because of their skin color, or because of their actions? Do you think you’re better than them because of how you live your life? If so I pray that you examine your heart. I certainly know from my own experience that I don’t treat others nearly as well as they deserve. This gospel lesson teaches us that once again, any of us could be a Judas and betray the Lord in both spirit and actions. Let us pray that God has mercy on us and continues his work of Theosis in our lives. 

Amen.