The Canaanite Woman is my Hero
She’s a woman. She’s a foreigner. And she isn’t taking “no” for an answer.
Her story is found in Matthew 15:21–28. She is one of the only people in the Bible to argue with God.
The scene is set with an obnoxious, foreign woman following Jesus around. She’s desperate because her daughter is sick. The disciples want her to go away. Jesus says, “I’m not here to save your kind,” and he essentially calls her a dog. She boldly responds even the dogs get help sometimes. Her tenacity is rewarded and Jesus heals her daughter. Her story lives on because it illustrates the stubbornness of faith and Jesus’ love for even those on the outside, even for those who according to the standards of the day he shouldn’t associate with. Jesus listened to her and healed her daughter when his disciples would sooner send her away.
I love her. As a woman in the Catholic Church, reading Scripture and theological works, I can see myself wrestling with people and ideas. Especially right now as we as a people are more torn than ever before. Catholics, who were once part of a larger exclusive group, are now separated in their little tribes of different kinds of Catholics. And do they fight?!?! As I retweeted yesterday:
i do not want to be a tradcath nor a leftcath, i simply just want to be a happycath
Our faith should lead us all one place, to the feet of Jesus. Jesus who will heal our sons and daughters, who will heal our own brokenness and bring us all back to wholeness. Jesus who hears all of our cries and, regardless of any social norms, will reach across any divide to care for His people. The Canaanite woman and her story remind us of that. I hope wherever you worship that you have a blessed Sunday.
