Persistence pays off

PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF

MT. 15: 21-28

Jesus was not given to flattery, but He was certainly most generous in His words of praise.  The evangelists record a host of compliments He paid to all sorts of people.  One of these is to be found in today's Gospel reading.  To a Canaanite woman He said, "You have great faith.  Let your wish be granted."  That praise was preceded by one of the strangest episodes in the life of Jesus.  He behaved in the most unusual manner.

Jesus and His apostles had retreated to a region on the Mediterranean coast, north of Galilee.  It was Gentile territory and a Gentile woman hearing of His presence and His healing powers needed Him desperately to cure her sick daughter.  But help from Jesus did not come easily.  Her first appeal, made directly to Jesus, was met with nothing but silence.  That was most unlike Jesus.  Think what pain His attitude caused her.

She turned from Jesus to His Apostles and again her appeal was rebuffed.  Their attitude was, "Woman, we can't help you.  Would you please go away and leave us alone."  But this woman would not take 'no' for an answer.  She kept on pleading.  In the end, the Apostles said to Jesus, "Lord, please rid us of this woman.  She's being a nuisance."  They were not words of compassion.

Finally, Our Lord spoke to her.  "My mission is only to the lost sheep of Israel."  In other words, Jesus was saying to her, "You are ineligible for my services because you are not a Jew."  Jesus was testing her faith.  He was playing with her.  He knew she had it in her to be persistent and no amount of delay in granting her needs was going to dissuade her.  For most people Jesus' remark would have ended the conversation and they would have gone off in a huff, extremely disappointed especially after hearing so much about Him.  But not this woman.  Her only response was to repeat that same earnest appeal, "Lord, help me."

Then Jesus went on to make another unexpected statement, testing her faith even more.  He said, "It is not right to take the food from the children's table and throw it to dogs."  We just can't believe that these words came from a loving and compassionate Jesus.  To call a person a dog was surely an insult!  Would Jesus want to hurt this desperate woman, surely not?  We would have to be there to see the twinkle in His eye and the tone of His voice to realise He was teasing and testing with her.  Scripture scholars tell us that Jesus was referring to pet dogs and not streets dogs and scavengers.  But still that is little comfort to a woman who wants her daughter healed. 

Jesus' remarks and manner were not going to put the woman off.  She was a Greek and with a Greek's ready wit, she was quick to see that Jesus was drawing from her a deeper faith.  Beautifully and promptly she took up Our Lord's analogy and said, "True Lord, but even the dogs get their share of the crumbs that fall from their master's table."  In other words, "Can't you spare a crumb, a miracle for me."  Jesus eyes' must have lit up to see such indomitable faith.  We can almost hear Him gasp as He says, "Woman, great is your faith.  Let your wish be granted."

This story teaches us much about persistent faith.  This Canaanite woman had every reason to abandon her cause.  She was ignored, rebuffed, insulted and rejected.  Who would have blamed her if she had given up and gone home?  But she refused to do that.  When one appeal had failed, she tried another.  When one door was shut in her face, she knocked on another.  Finally, her prayer was answered.  Her persistence paid off.

Jesus understood that kind of faith, because it was His kind of faith.  He had committed Himself to the kingdom of God.  His constant prayer was, "Father, Thy kingdom come.  Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  He wanted that more than He wanted anything else.  That is what kept Him going in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.  He was prepared to make any personal sacrifice, including death on a cross, if it would help to bring His Father's kingdom on earth.

Lord Jesus, this Gentile woman teaches us that in our faith there are two important elements.  We must not only believe in our cause, but we must also believe in the possibility that it can come about.  Our wish may not be granted quickly, but ultimately it will come to pass.  We have to thank this Canaanite woman for teaching us this important lesson in prayer.

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