Matthew 15:21-28
21 Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
She jotted on her order pad deliberately and silently as the father and mother gave their luncheon selection and gratuitous instructions as to what was to be substituted for what, and which dressing changed to what sauce. When she finally turned to the boy, he began his order with a kind of fearful desperation. “I want a hot dog,” he started.
Both parents barked at once, “No hot dog!” The mother went on, “Bring him the boiled potatoes and the beef, both vegetables, and a hard roll and…”
The waitress wasn’t even listening. She said evenly to the youngster, “What do you want on your hot dog?”
He flashed an amazed smile, “Ketchup, lots of ketchup, and-and bring a glass of milk.”
“Coming up,” she said as she turned from the table, leaving behind her the stunned silence of utter parental dismay.
The boy watched her go before he turned to his father and mother with astonished elation to say, “YOU KNOW WHAT?! She thinks I’m real! She thinks I’m real!!”
That is the way God comes to us. God comes to us where we are, and accepts us, loves us for who we are, not what we “should be.”
Even when you feel like a loser, God sees you as a winner. At your baptism, he adopted you as his own dearly loved child and promised to help you and walk with you all your days on this earth. This is a richness and a worth that can be found nowhere else on this planet. You belong to God and you are one of his precious children – he even sent Jesus to die for you. He died for losers in order to give them a renewed look at life.Look how the Canaanite woman was blessed. This isn’t only a story about great faith; only a few can demonstrate such a remarkable faith. It is also a story about Jesus’ love – his grace toward someone whom everyone else regarded as a loser, even herself. In the Gospels, it is always those without hope who display the most hope, those without anything left to give who get the most. In the Bible, it is the losers who receive God’s special attention.
Before God, we are all Canaanites. We all need God’s grace, and it is because of that grace that we have forgiveness. We have no natural claim on God. He is only interested in us because of his grace and love. As it says in the Catechism:
“God does all this only because he is my kind and loving father;
I certainly do not deserve it.
All I can do is thank, praise, serve, and obey God.”
Let us pray:
We are all beggars, this is true. God, grant me a humble heart and empty hands to receive your great love. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.