Be as the Canaanite woman

All scripture is designed to be a tool for reproof and edification. Some scriptures are so effective at this that they jump off the text and into your soul changing your life forever. This how I fell about the story of the tenacious Canaanite woman in the Mathew 15:21-28. This woman dared offending sensibilities of her people and those of the Jews just to get what she wanted.

Although these two nations lived together, their relationship was strained because of religious differences. The Canaanites worshipped a god named Baal while the Israelites worshipped the God of their ancestors Yahweh.

This woman overlooked this entrenched schism and begged Jesus to heal her demon possessed child, after all she had heard that the messiah was a compassionate and powerful healer. The popular rabbi promised to give rest to the weary and downtrodden. 

As a result his followers were the undesirable of society; the prostitutes, tax collectors and other scum of the earth who now found solace in him. Jesus understood their isolation for he was a man of sorrow and a wanderer who had no place to lay his head. 

The desperate mother, reassured by Jesus’ compassionate reputation was shocked when the messiah continually ignored her pleas for help. When she realises that she has hit a stonewall, the woman’s polite requests devolve into heckling. But even then Jesus ignores her. However, the shouting finally gets to his disciples who ask Jesus to send her away. 

Persistent
He then utters his first words which should have ordinarily angered the woman enough to leave. He answers, “I was only sent to the lost sheep of Israel.”

But instead of leaving, the woman seems to be encouraged by finally getting a verbal response from Jesus. 

“25 The woman came and knelt before Him. “Lord, help me!” she said. 26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” 

Imagine how offended you would have felt. The statement reeks of all the isms that every Christian would be shocked to be associated with. But she is not fased by it and refuses to be offended; instead she counters it saying:

27 “Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

I am not sure whether Jesus expected such a response but he praises her for it and finally says: 27 Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.”

No pettiness
So many times, life will throw such curve balls to Christians. You will dig a well hoping to find life giving water only to hit a solid rock. These are the times we turn away from God in anger, regret and self-pity. 

But the story of the Canaanite woman teaches us that giving in to our emotions and pettiness will not get us what we need. We need unwavering faith and a sober approach to our challenges in order to achieve our goals.

And if we keep our minds open, sometime those challenges hold the solutions themselves just as Jesus’ offensive observation that one should not give the children’s food to dogs gave this smart woman an opportunity to demonstrate her faith in him. 

We have unique lives
This story also reminds us that we all have unique lives. Before this encounter, Jesus healed people at a drop of hat. Yet, she had to spur with him to get him to even listen to her. No wonder her faith earned her space in the Holy Scripture. 

Many of us have experienced Jesus’ silence and the mother’s suffering through the seeming deafness of God to our prayers. If you were beginning to lose hope this story is a powerful reminder that ultimately God will graciously respond to us. 

It might not be right now, it might not be how we want it and we might have to experience terrible things on this journey, but our confidence should come from knowing that God will ultimately will without a doubt respond to us.

Quick notes
Many of us have experienced Jesus’ silence and the mother’s suffering through the seeming deafness of God to our prayers.

If you were beginning to lose hope this story is a powerful reminder that ultimately God will graciously respond to us.