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A reflection on the Gospel story of the Canaanite woman, MT 15:21-28
Transcript
00:00 This weekend we're going to hear the beautiful story of the Canaanite woman who's a mom with
00:07 a daughter who's tormented by a demon who's at the end of her rope and so she leaves her
00:12 daughter's bedside, which is a big risk, and goes to this perfect stranger, Jesus, to ask
00:18 him for help.
00:20 And the way the Lord responds to her is mystifying, because it seems almost rude the way our Lord
00:26 is to this woman.
00:29 When she speaks to him, the Lord doesn't respond.
00:33 He's silent.
00:34 And then when she presses, he kind of rejects her by saying, "I've come for the lost sheep
00:39 of Israel and you're not one of those."
00:42 And then when she presses even further, the Lord treats her almost with disdain, saying,
00:47 "It's not right to take the food of the children and give it to the dogs under the table."
00:51 He in fact calls her a dog.
00:54 But the woman does not give up, and we know that by the end of the story, the Lord is
01:00 just full of elation over her conviction towards him, because he says to her, "Oh woman, great
01:06 is your faith."
01:07 And what is faith?
01:09 Faith is acknowledging a presence that changes you and to which you want to stay, because
01:15 you know it means that you're going to find in this presence everything that you're looking
01:20 for in your life.
01:21 And that's why she's okay with the fact that Jesus doesn't respond when she speaks to him.
01:28 C.S. Lewis commenting on this passage says, "I know, Lord, now why you utter no answer.
01:34 You yourself are the answer.
01:37 Before your face, questions die away.
01:41 What other answer would suffice?
01:43 The woman is so caught up with the presence of Jesus, she doesn't need him to speak to
01:47 him, to her."
01:49 And then in this rejection, the Lord is basically saying, "Here's the position of justice."
01:56 But what the woman is saying is, "That's fine, but I'm not coming to you for justice.
02:00 You're the Lord of the universe.
02:02 I'm coming to you for mercy, because you're mercy incarnate, and I know that you want
02:07 to give that to me."
02:09 And then this disdain where he treats her like a dog.
02:13 Well, the fact is, this woman has called Jesus Lord how many times?
02:18 Not once, not twice, but three times.
02:21 And it's as if she's saying, "I may be a dog, but Lord, I'm your dog.
02:26 I'm the dog under your table, and I know that you love me."
02:30 And just as those sheep are going to rejoice when you rescue them who are lost, you're
02:36 going to put them on your shoulders and carry them back to safety, "I know you want to do
02:40 the same thing for me.
02:42 I know you do."
02:43 And this is what causes the Lord's sacred heart to rejoice and to leap with joy.
02:49 And that's what he's looking for from us.
02:51 And so great is his joy.
02:52 Look what our Lord says to this woman.
02:55 He says, "Let it be done as you wish.
02:59 Let it be done as you wish."
03:01 Which what does that remind you of?
03:03 Our lady at the Annunciation speaking to the angel, but now it's the Creator speaking to
03:09 a creature, because he doesn't simply want to give her healing for her daughter.
03:14 He wants to give her a whole new way of living.
03:19 He wants to give her a life that can be found only in the Incarnation.
03:24 And Jesus wants to do that for you as well.
03:27 Amen.
03:27 [BLANK_AUDIO]