Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table

Jesus and the Woman of Canaan.  Codex Egberti, Folio 35v (980-993).  City library of Trier, Germany

Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon.  And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that 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 she 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.  And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that 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 she cries out after us."  But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."   The region of Tyre and Sidon is a Gentile region north of Galilee.  Therefore, Jesus has withdrawn from Jewish territory in response to the open criticism of the Pharisees (in yesterday's reading, above).  This woman of Canaan is therefore a Gentile woman.  This woman, and Christ's interaction to her, my study bible says, illustrates the Jewish orientation of Matthew's gospel.  This story is also told in Mark 7:24-30, but with particular differences.   In Matthew's version, Jesus tells the woman, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel," which is not mentioned in Mark.  Moreover, Matthew tells us that she uses the title Son of David, which is a Jewish term for the Messiah, while Mark does not.  Mark does, however, tell us that Jesus "wanted no one to know" that He was there, suggesting yet again that He had withdrawn into Gentile territory to withdraw for a time from the reach of the Pharisees.   My study bible also points out the great love shown by this woman, in that she so identifies with the sufferings of her daughter that she cries, "Have mercy on me."  In other words, she sees her daughter's well-being as her own, and her daughter's sufferings as her own.  We note also that initially Jesus refuses to answer her.  My study bible suggests that this is not only because she is a Gentile and His ministry before His Passion is first to the Jews, but that His refusal will bring out and reveal her profound faith and love.  There is a patristic understanding that the disciples' request to send her away is an attempt to persuade Jesus to heal the daughter so that she will leave and stop pestering them.  Jesus' response, my study bible says, indicates that this interpretation is correct -- as he refuses once more to heal her daughter.

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.  Let us first note the faith and love of this woman: she came and worshiped Christ (meaning she bowed prostrate before Him) and she urgently demands, "Lord, help me!" for the illness of her daughter.   With His remark, He further reveals her humility.  Little dogs are puppies, house dogs, an image suggestive of playful annoyance.  But she responds with her persistence, as well as humility, both qualities Jesus repeatedly emphasizes as those belonging to good discipleship.  She accepts her place as secondary to the Jews to whom Christ was sent as the chosen people of God, but she still asks for a share in God's grace.  My study bible says that Jesus' hesitancy was not a lack of compassion, but rather a conscious means whereby this woman's virtues are revealed -- both to the disciples and also for her own sake.  Her ultimate acceptance by Jesus is also an indication of the gathering of the Gentiles into the Church which will come after Pentecost, no longer as dogs but rather as children invited to eat the bread of eternal life.  

Jesus praises this woman, after first putting her off several times, and also doing so with a rather insulting remark referring to the "little dogs."  For Him to say "great is your faith" is probably the highest compliment Jesus can give.  We recall the story of the woman with the blood flow, whom He publicly praised by calling her "daughter," and saying, "Your faith has made you well" (9:22).  That woman, also, was "unfit" in some way, unclean according to the law because of her blood flow.  In today's reading, the issue which keeps her from Christ is that she is a Gentile.  Comparing with the woman with the blood flow also brings up another interesting contrast:  in that previous healing, she came upon Christ surreptitiously, and, she thought, anonymously, by touching the hem of His garment in the midst of a jostling crowd.  Here the woman is persistent, and she will not leave Christ alone although He puts her off and repeatedly refuses her, to the point where even His disciples encourage Him to do what she asks just so He can send her away.  The image of the little puppies begging for crumbs is one that gives us a picture of repeated annoyance:  cute and even endearing at first, but eventually tiresome!   And yet in her humility she rises to that challenge as well.  It is her answer and acceptance that gains her Jesus' praise.   Perhaps like a "dog with a bone" she doesn't give up; she persists.  She meets every challenge Jesus gives her.  Even responding to a remark that places her beneath the Jews, she accepts but does not give up demanding what she feels her daughter needs.    But she is here in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, and she stands as an image given for us of one with great faith, praised by Jesus.   In a sense, this story illustrates a principle which is already present in the recent story of the second time the disciples find themselves in the middle of a storm at sea (see Saturday's reading).  Sometimes, contrary to our notions of how easy and simple life ought to be, it is Christ Himself who may offer obstacles and challenges to us, all to draw out strengths and other benefits of character development to those who love Him.  Discipleship has at its root the meaning of learning and discipline, a process of growth.  In Galatians 5:22, St. Paul says that "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."  And he adds that against such, there is no law.  Our discipleship is meant to bring out all the potentials of such qualities and their manifestation in us.  This Gentile woman of Canaan rises to the challenges that Jesus gives her.  She displays her faith, her love, her humility, and her tenacity.  She also clearly expresses the tremendous value she places upon what Christ offers to her.  So how about us?  Are we game for the challenges that life presents to us?  How is our faith in times of struggle?  Can we try again, and try again?  Can we pray again?  Can we seek His way?  Because, regardless of circumstances, we always hold fast to the faith that there has to be a way that God wants us to find through all things.  It is just a question of accepting the conditions we must accept, cultivating the gifts in us God wants us to embrace (including humility and tenacity), and being willing to be "bigger" than we already are.  Sometimes such circumstances will bring out strengths, resourcefulness, love, intelligence, and a "doggedness" we didn't know we had!  We should thank God for every gift -- even, and maybe especially, those born of struggle for our faith.