“O woman, great is your faith!” (Matthew 15:28).
I was going through something for a while back there. It was nothing serious, but I was dealing with was difficult and troubling and I was just plain worried about things. And while I was dealing with that, the people around me could not really understand what was going on. And they – with all the best intentions in the world – simply made everything worse.
Perhaps it was because when a person is struggling with something, they become hyper-sensitive to those things. Perhaps it is because when things are difficult it can feel as though everything points to that difficult thing.
And I spent some time thinking about how unfair it was that the people around me were unable to understand or to help.
And then – the other day – I read the story of the Canaanite woman… “A Canaanite woman came out and cried, ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon.’ But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she is crying after us.’ He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ But she came and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, help me.’ And he answered, ‘It is not fair to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.’ She said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.’ Then Jesus answered her, ‘O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.’ And her daughter was healed instantly.” (Matthew 15:21-28).
And I heard the words of the apostles – the Saints… “And his disciples came and begged him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she is crying after us.’” You see, even the disciples – those who literally lived with God – misunderstood that woman, and instead of showing her any compassion, they wanted her to be sent away because of her screaming. They wanted her to go away because of the inconvenience. They had enough of listening to her because she was annoying. They failed to see her pain. They could not see what was troubling her. Instead, they saw her as an annoying problem to be solved…
And when that happened, Christ did not correct them. He did not say, “Hold on. That is not kind. Have you even thought about how distressed she might actually be?” No. Instead, Christ allowed that feeling to grow. He ignored that woman and kept walking. And even though the Saints misunderstood her and God Himself chose to ignore her, still the woman cried out. Still she argued with God – she made her case. She did not give up, because God was her only hope and she did not lose sight of that hope. The weaker the hope became the more strenuously she held onto it.
And finally, her hope – her faith – was rewarded… “O woman, great is your faith!” Words that are Christ’s highest praise in the Gospels…
And today, as I reflect on the faith of the Canaanite woman it occurs to me that I really have no faith, and I pray for the Grace to remedy that…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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