DOCTRINE AND FAITH(Isaiah 56,1.6-7; Romans 11,13-15.29-32; Matt 15, 21-28, 20th Sunday of Year A)

The readings of today’s Sunday have a theme that runs through them: God’s will for the salvation of all, Jews and Gentiles alike. However, we would prefer to concentrate our meditation on the gospel reading that deals on Jesus’ encounter with the Canaanite woman. In today’s gospel, Jesus stepped outside the territory of Israel into the commercial and pagan city of Tyre and Sidon. Here, he came across a Canaanite woman who implored him in a loud voice: Sir, Son of David, take pity on me. My daughter is tormented by a demon. She was asking for a miraculous cure for her daughter. But, unfortunately Jesus did not utter any word to her. He ignored her completely. Even the apostles joined in requesting this favour for her as they said: Give her what she wants, because she is shouting after us. But Jesus response was still negative as he said: I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. By this statement he meant that his mission of salvation was first to the people of Israel and only after that can it go beyond the territory of Israel and spread to other parts of the world. The woman came near to Jesus, insisting on her supplication and prostrated herself to the ground saying: Sir, help me! Jesus again gave her a negative response when he said: it is not fair to take the children's food (that is food meant for the people of Israel) and throw it to the house-dogs (the pagans). However, the woman did not give up but pointed out that the house-dogs can eat from the scraps that fall from the master’s table.  At this point, Jesus could not continue to turn a deaf ear to the demand of the woman and said to her: Woman, you have a great faith. Let your wish be granted. The gospel of today concludes that from that moment her sick daughter was healed. 

Having gone through the narrative we wonder why Jesus delayed in fulfilling the wish of the poor woman. Was Jesus deaf or indifferent to her request? Could it be that Jesus wanted to make it categorically clear that he was following the path traced by his Father by which his primary mission of evangelisation was among the people of Israel and later to other nations/pagans? Was St. Augustine correct by holding that Jesus delayed granting the request of the woman in order to fan up her desire and make her faith and hope more alive and profound?  St. John Chrysostom thought that Jesus so delayed granting the woman’s request in order to exalt her faith and use it as a model to all and to reward her beyond expectation. This is also a plausible hypothesis.

Certainly, the Canaanite woman’s attitude is presented to us as a marvellous example of faith in Christ; her trust in him never waned, she never lost hope of being heard. She is also presented as stupendous model of perseverance in prayer; she knocked, insisted, supplicated, implored without getting tired or discouraged by Jesus seemingly refusal to grant her request. She is shown to have exhibited exemplary humility; she did not revolt when it seemed that she was not taken serious and harshly treated. She accepted being called a house-dog and was even satisfied with the scraps of bread. We, Christians of Nigeria, indeed, have to admire and imitate her faith and immense trust in Jesus as well as her insistent, persevering and humble prayer. Often times, we experience what is sometimes called the silence of God in our lives (we pray and sometimes it seems no answer is forthcoming). We also experience what would seem persistence on God’s part not to concede us the graces we consider necessary for our good. Even, we sometimes receive the opposite of what we expect and request in prayer. Our error is that we get discouraged, we desist instead of insisting on prayer. Sometimes, we even revolt against God. The silence of God or the delay in answering our requests or the lack of response to our prayers does not mean that God does not hear or appreciate our pleas. Perhaps, God wishes to first put us to test, or he wishes to prepare for us some greater blessings. Certainly, he would reward us more if we persevere in prayer and continue to have confidence in Him, even if it seems that He does not grant us what we desire or what we consider useful and necessary. Let us learn to say:Lord I ask for this grace, but let your will be done, help me to do your will. I trust you as you know what is really good for me better.(May we therefore, always conclude our prayer of request with a prayer like what we have above whenever we make any request to God).  Happy Sunday!

 +John I. Okoye