As tradition warrants, crowds at professional baseball games stand up in the middle of the seventh inning to sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”. One line from that song stands out to me as I think about the Canaanite woman in today’s Gospel reading: “One, two, three strikes you're out at the old ball game."
The woman already had three strikes against her before she even approached Jesus. Strike one: she was a Canaanite whose people were hostile to the Israelites. Strike two: she was a woman in a male-dominated society. Strike three: she was a Gentile. As far as the disciples were concerned, the Canaanite woman had struck out even before coming to bat.
Jesus’ initial response to the woman seems to say that He agrees with His disciples, who were prejudiced against the Canaanites, that the woman is not worthy of His attention. For us, who understand the nature of Jesus, it is difficult to understand His refusal to deal with the woman; if we acted like that, we would probably be called “unchristian.”
The disciples ask Jesus to send her away, but she is persistent. When Jesus says, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" and "It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs,” we could get the impression that He could also be tainted with such prejudices, but we have to look deeper.
We know that Jesus is truly human and truly God, full of love, mercy, gentleness, and compassion. Jesus has to be faithful to what He is and to what He taught, so there must be more to this Gospel passage than what appears on the surface.
We must presume that, as always, Jesus has a reason for what He is doing. We see in today’s Gospel passage that Jesus deliberately withdrew to Tyre and Sidon, the turf of Gentiles, outcasts and foreigners, hostile to the Jews; a place that would ensure that Jesus’ followers would show their prejudices and expect nothing redeeming from the people in their midst.
Yet, the Canaanite woman acknowledged Jesus as the LORD and Son of David, as one who can heal her daughter. She pays homage to Jesus as LORD, even when the word "dog" is used in a derogatory way to refer to her and her people. She is humble but perseveres in her request even when the disciples want to send her away. She is asking for healing for her daughter more than for herself. She humbles herself more and would eat the scraps that fall from the table of her master. She perseveres in her prayer in spite of the distractions of the disciples. She must be a woman who prays always and well, which generates such great faith. She passes a most rigorous test of faith posed by Jesus who finally says, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish."
Jesus heals the Canaanite woman's daughter, a Gentile, a foreigner, and an outcast, showing that healing, reconciliation, grace, and salvation are not exclusively for the Israelites. Everyone is called to salvation into the one family of God including those of other religions, cultures, races, and nations.
The first to learn this were the disciples and so must we, and we must learn to pray like the Canaanite woman. She acknowledged Jesus as LORD full of love, divine mercy, forgiveness, and grace. She was humble and persevered in prayer. She was focused in her prayer and did not allow herself to be distracted while praying.
We should pray always and be blessed with great faith like that of the Canaanite woman. We could begin with a prayer in the morning, at meals, and before going to bed and so sanctify the day. We should return to family prayer. With much prayer and great faith like that of the Canaanite woman, Jesus could say to us, "Great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." Then Jesus will lift everyone off the floor to the table of His altar — to share in the feast of heaven as the one family of God.+
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