Today we are with Jesus when he meets a distraught woman with a special needs child. Maybe you have seen her, too, at the local Publix or Walmart or you might remember the parent of a child in your school, or the child of a relative in your family or someone you’ve seen shopping at Daystar. This is a mixed-race woman, a foreigner. Her family has disowned her. And when she told her boyfriend she was pregnant he fled.
But she is a determined, courageous woman who has survived as a single mother. When her daughter began having seizures, gossipy opinions surfaced: “She deserves what she gets. See what happens when you make the kind of decisions she’s made.” On top of that she is a woman in a society in which women have no real value or standing.
Now, she is out of options. She’s heard that a Jewish miracle-worker is passing through the area. Maybe, just maybe, this Jesus is the answer to her prayers. At first Jesus appears to be ignoring her. The disciples ask Jesus to send her away, and Jesus seems to agree, remarking that he was sent to minister to Jews alone.
She’s already endured a series of obstacles that would threaten the best of us. She can’t believe what she’s hearing. Is Jesus being rude to her? Did he really refer to her using a Jewish word of derision for Gentiles, “dog”? Listen as the woman cleverly turns Jesus’ own words against him. “Even the dogs eat the scraps.” Only then does Jesus grant her request and heal her daughter.
Let’s consider why Jesus would lead this mother through a humbling process in order to grant her request. Could it be that Jesus used this encounter to help her develop a deep courageous faith that would sustain her for the rest of her life? Don’t miss the lesson that she praised Jesus in the midst of her pain. Notice that she referred to Jesus as Lord, acknowledging that He is worthy of praise. She is obviously a very humble woman. But never confuse humility with weakness. Pride would have been offended by the “dog” comment. And pride would have gone away empty; without a miracle; without a healthy, whole child.
It’s a nice story but what does it teach us? Here we have lessons in skilled, reverent, peaceful confrontation; tenacity, humility and focus on the important matter for winning a hearing. Heeding the example of the Canaanite woman we must come to stand before God, united in our plea for an end to racism and violence; for peace in our world, for calmness to conquer brashness, humility to counter pride and persistence to win out over discouragement.
There is a tale told about former President Andrew Jackson. His former childhood friends were reminiscing about their childhood with Andy and expressing surprise at how successful he’d become considering all his flaws. They recalled that whenever they wrestled, the class bully would throw Andy three times out of four. A listener asked: “What happened on the fourth time?” Andy’s friend spoke up: “I guess that was Andy’s secret. He just wouldn’t stay “throwed.”
As Andy and the Canaanite woman teach us: if life circumstances throw you down, don’t stay “throwed.” You’ve heard it said that Benedictine community life is a series of beginnings. Like those bottom-weighted good-luck dolls, we just keep bouncing upright. As one author puts it: we fall down and we get up. Or as the saying goes: seven times down; eight times up. So let us stand firm in praying for peace that we may hear the same response Jesus gave to the Canaanite woman: “Great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.”
~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB
