O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire

 Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon.  And behold, a woman of Canaan came from the region and cried out to Him, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David!  My daughter is severely demon-possessed."  But He answered her not a word.  And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, "Send her away, for he cries out after us."  But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."  Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, help me!"  But He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs."  And she said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table."  Then Jesus answered and said to her, "O woman, great is your faith!  Let it be to you as you desire."  And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

- Matthew 15:21-28

Yesterday we read that the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, "Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?  For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread."  He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?  For God commanded, saying, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.'  But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God" -- then he need not honor his father or mother.'  Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.  Hypocrites!  Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:  'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.  And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'"  When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear and understand:  Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man."  Then His disciples came and said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?"  But He answered and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.  Let them alone.  They are blind leaders of the blind.  And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch."  Then Peter answered and said to Him, "Explain this parable to us.  So Jesus said, "Are you also still without understanding?  Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated?  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.  These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."

 Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon.  Jesus' withdrawal far north, into Gentile territory, comes after His conflict with the scribes and Pharisees.  In Mark's Gospel, this story includes the detail that Jesus "wanted no one to know" that He was there.

 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from the region and cried out to Him, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David!  My daughter is severely demon-possessed."  But He answered her not a word.  And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, "Send her away, for he cries out after us."  But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."  One of the differences between Mark's report of this encounter (Mark 7:24-30) is Christ's response to the woman that He was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, giving us the Jewish orientation of Matthew's gospel.  We note also that here the woman calls Jesus by the title Son of David, which is a Jewish term for the Messiah (and Mark does not).  The additional thing noted here by my study bible that is of great importance is the concern and care of this mother for her daughter.  My study bible says that her cry, "Have mercy on me," is a reflection of her great love for her daughter:  she sees her daughter's well-being aS her own and her daughter's sufferings as her own.  The disciples' request to send her away is seen frequently in patristic commentary as an attempt to persuade Jesus to heal the daughter.  In other words, it's as if they are saying, "Give her what she wants so that she will leave."  Jesus' response indicates that this interpretation is correct, as He again refuses to heal the daughter, but begins to speak to the woman.

Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, help me!"  But He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs."  And she said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table."  Then Jesus answered and said to her, "O woman, great is your faith!  Let it be to you as you desire."  And her daughter was healed from that very hour.  After both her love and persistent faith is revealed, Jesus now reveals this Gentile woman's humility.  She accepts a place beneath the Jews, chosen people of God, but still wants a share in God's grace.  (Let us note that little dogs are puppies, house dogs.)  In some way, her repeated request expresses her faith in the compassion of Christ.  His hesitancy has allowed for a full expression of her faith and virtue -- both to the disciples and for her own sake, says my study bible.  It adds that her ultimate acceptance by Christ points to the gathering of the Gentiles into the Church after Pentecost -- no longer as "little dogs" or puppies, but as children who are invited to eat the bread of eternal life.

Christ's words seems harsh to us, but they reflect a reality of the time.  He is the Messiah who is "of the Jews," sent to God's chosen people, the house of Israel.  But, on the other hand, this dialogue opens up what is to come -- and through the faith of this woman, that is revealed to all of us (and, let us note, to the disciples).  While dogs are most definitely rendered in Scripture (and indeed, the common history of the Middle East) in a negative light, here the "little dogs" are house dogs, puppies, such as children feed, and are always begging under the table.  In our modern orientation toward how we treat people, this reference seems incredibly harsh, but in the understanding of the time of this woman, it is an expression of the ways in which religion played a part in the history of particular peoples.  What I think we modern people can learn from this woman is the gift of humility and also that the recognition of our best qualities is made possible through humility.  There is no need here for her to prove her equality with anyone in the eyes of custom or social life or religious structures.  What shows through for Christ is her persistent faith, her love for her daughter, and the confidence she places in Him by her very persistence.  Let us note also that He is in a sense praising her alacrity, her intelligence, her seizing of this moment for worship with the One whom she realizes is the Messiah of the Jews.  She puts on no airs, she is not defiant but persistent, and it is she who opens up faith in the Messiah to all the world.  She is a gift to all of us, through Christ who praises her.