The Woman with Great Faith
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The Faith of a Canaanite Woman
21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”
23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
25 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.”
And her daughter was healed at that moment. -
A song of ascents.
1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
Introduction
If you ever felt overwhelmed by the road ahead, pray Ps 121. This was one of the most frequently requested Psalms when I was visiting patients in hospital when I was a chaplain. Thousands of years ago, ancient travellers recited or sang Psalm 121, a ‘Song of Ascents’ as they walked the long, dangerous, uphill roads to Jerusalem for festivals. They faced scorching heat, rocky mountain paths with danger lurking, wild animals, robbers.
The Psalm begins; "I lift up my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from?"
Looking to the hills doesn’t mean he is admiring the scenery. He is looking at the path ahead, the incline and the dangers. In moments of crisis, we do try and find a way out, a rescue. We look to our finances, our relationships, or ourselves. The psalmist answers in verse 2: "My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." The solution isn't found in creation, it is in the author of creation, the Lord, "He will not let your foot slip, he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep."
Let us stop here and think about this Canaanite woman in Matthew 15. She is a gentile, like us. The Psalmist says the Lord watches over Israel. What about me, says the woman?
Three things in this woman’s approach are a lesson for each of us.
She Worshipped
She Persisted
She Empathised
She Worshipped
Matthew 15:21-28 is quite shocking. Jesus is rude (v23), ignores her, refers to her people - Gentiles as ‘dogs’ (v27). These are surprising words. What is going on here. I think Jesus could be using the derogatory word of the day for Gentiles. He knows there is a racist element in Judaism. Perhaps JC is saying ‘you are what they call “dogs” (Gentiles)?
The woman gets it (‘even dogs eat crumbs from the master's table’). The Woman understood the gospel message: we are all equal and all equally in need of God’s mercy & salvation. In the presence of the Lord, she worshipped, saying, Son of David, have mercy on me.’
In this encounter, Jesus was proclaiming a radically new gospel of grace: i.e. to receive God’s mercy & salvation, a person did not have to journey to Jerusalem, reciting Psalms ascending and then offer sacrifices and undergo purification rituals.
She WORSHIPPED – (v25) ‘She bowed down at his feet’ begged him to help. Her relationship with Jesus balanced her adoration with her needs. Pete Greg, Wildfires illustration.
Lesson: God is not a crisis-line response. Yes, God always responds to our prayers and longs to meet our needs but that should spark off our praises (as we kneel before him v25).
She Persisted
This Canaanite woman couldn’t be put off. Sometimes we pray thinking it’s worth a try (if all else fails). For this woman Jesus was her confident hope, not the last throw of the dice.
Challenge: Do we persist in prayer, do make a note to remind ourselves to keep at it. Let us be practical about persisting [prayer note book etc…]
She Empathised
The woman showed Empathy. The misery she saw in the little girl’s life became her own misery; that’s empathy (not sympathy – not feeling sorry for her - empathy). True compassion acts. Remember the old English word for love, ‘Charity ’; it meant love in action.
This woman takes the cause on for herself and brought the need to Jesus.
Lesson: do we care enough to plead for the needs of our friends and family and neighbours?
Do we empathise with the misery of the things we pray for?
Conclusion
This story gives us confidence as we approach the Lord Jesus with our day-to-day prayers & needs. The woman worshipped; so too, we can worship day by day.
The Woman PERSISTED and was faithful in seeking the Lord and continued to pray.
The woman showed Empathy, charity, love in action. Let us remember these 3 things (& apply them) as we bring our worship and our needs to Jesus today.
Jesus said of her, ‘Great is your Faith,’ what will he say of us as we pray today?
