Jesus and the Canaanite

In today’s gospel, we see Jesus engaged in another repartee. This time it is with a woman. As the dialogue begins, Jesus remains silent. But His silence does not deter the woman from her pursuit of Jesus. How she may have heard of Jesus and the rumors that He was the Jewish Messiah we don't know. But she began her appeal in faith with the words: "Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David." Her trust is not placed in some general idea of deity but in the God of Israel and his Messiah. The woman continued to trust in Jesus and His ability to help even when it looked as if her appeal were going to be turned down. Not only turned down, but being turned down quite rudely. His encounter with the Canaanite woman turned out to be an eye-opener for Jesus. This experience with the woman made Jesus aware of the scope of His mission – that it wasn't just limited to the Jewish people. In the Gospel of Mark, the woman in our story is called a "Syrophoenician." Matthew, however, calls her a "Canaanite." That's easier to say than "Syrophoenician". But there's something more important going on with that change. The Canaanites are not just Gentiles but enemies. They are the people who were driven out of the promised land by the Israelites and who fought against God's covenant people. There could be peace with other people of the Near East, but not with the nations of Canaan. In the Old Testament the people of Israel often got seduced into the worship of Ba'al and other gods of the Canaanites. Jesus is a Jew who knows about those old conflicts between His ancestors and the people of Canaan. Now He has left His home territory of Galilee and gone north toward Gentile country, the region of Tyre and Sidon, where this Canaanite woman lives. Somehow she has heard of His reputation as a healer and comes to Him to beg for help. She wants Jesus to heal her daughter. Some of His people – and that apparently includes some of His disciples would say that He shouldn't even speak to the woman! What will He do? Listen intently to this week’s Gospel for the answer.

Msgr. Mike