The Canaanite Woman

Homily for Wednesday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

The two readings that we proclaim today seem to be antithetic, that is they seem to proclaim two different points of view. The oracle of the prophet Jeremiah speaks of the children of Israel returning to their homeland. As they walk through the desert from Babylon to Jerusalem, they are met by the Lord. This oracle is full of rejoicing as God pronounces love for the children of Israel. Jeremiah tells them that they should proclaim to the nations that God has saved the remnant of Israel. Some may find it difficult to understand the notion of God choosing a specific nation to be God’s own people. However, in God’s attempt at self-revelation, it stands to reason that God had to start somewhere. To be sure, God could have chosen any nation and proclaimed it peculiarly his own. The Hebrew Scriptures maintain that God’s love for the children of Israel will never come to an end.

The Gospel reading for today picks up this theme of God’s chosen people in the episode with the Canaanite woman who pleads with Jesus to expel the demons that has possessed her daughter. Now, we know that the Gospels do not record every single event that happened in the life of Jesus. The Gospel of St. John explicitly tells us that Jesus performed other signs that are not recorded in the Gospel. Yet this episode of a Gentile woman importuning Jesus appears in both the Gospel of St. Matthew and of the Gospel of St. Mark. Interestingly enough, the one Gospel that was written by a Gentile – the Gospel of Saint Luke – does not include this event. It does, however, make the cut when considering which events to highlight in the Gospels. Though he seems to ignore the woman at first, Jesus eventually speaks of the cultural and religious differences that exist between this woman and him. Undeterred, the woman acknowledges her unworthiness, but her humility and her faith and trust in Jesus win her the fulfillment of her request. Like the Roman centurion who asked Jesus to cure his servant, she is praised for her faith.

The woman is usually held up as an example of persistence or perseverance in prayer. Yet, her request is granted not simply because of her persistence, but also because of her humility and her faith. Rather than look upon the remarks that Jesus made to her about the differences that exist between them as insulting, she accepts his words and exhibits humility and faith. Indeed, this woman has much to teach us about how to pray, for none of us is really worthy of such love from God. If we persist in our prayer, we are likely to gain the proper disposition to accept God’s answer. However, this will not happen unless we are also humble and filled with faith whenever we ask God to hear us in our need.