“Lord Jesus, take pity on me”

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Clearly the woman was a nuisance. This Canaanite woman, this woman who believed in the old pagan gods, was chasing after Jesus demanding he give attention to her needs.

Jesus has withdrawn from Gennesaret in Israelite territory and retreated into pagan territory. The previous chapter tells us that Jesus was being mobbed by people and their needs while he was in Gennesaret. This was no doubt because they had witnessed his miracle of feeding the five thousand. He was in demand. He needed to escape and have some down time.

He was hoping for some respite by withdrawing into pagan territory. But this woman suddenly appears wanting him to cure her daughter who was be tormented by a devil. The young girl was disturbed and the mother was at her wits end.

Jesus, we are told, ignored her. He wanted some peace from the constant demands of the people. We are told that in Gennesaret the people were bringing all their sick to him, begging him, we are told by St Matthew, “just to let them touch the fringe of his cloak”. (Mt 14:36) Clearly he was being besieged by the people.

The disciples, disturbed by the constant pressure of the woman enter into the situation and plead with Jesus to give her what she wants. When Jesus said that his mission was for the people of Israel, and not for the pagans, the woman was not put off. She is prepared, as she said, just to accept the scraps that fall from the table.

With this reply Jesus stops and is amazed by the faith that this pagan woman has. He grants her request. Her daughter is healed.

Jesus was struck by the faith of this pagan woman. He said to her: “You have great faith. Let your wish be granted.”

She was a pagan, and not an Israelite. No doubt she was driven by her motherly desperation for her daughter. She knew Jesus could heal her. And she would not desist until Jesus responded to her request.

“You have great faith.” What was this faith that the Canaanite woman had?

She did not accept the Jewish religion. She probably knew nothing about the promised Messiah. She may never had heard Jesus speak, but she did know of him somehow.

She believed Jesus could heal her daughter. That was all that mattered to her. And in the end it was all that mattered to Jesus. Even after healing the daughter Jesus made no demand of her. It was as though Jesus could not deny anyone who had faith like hers.

There is a message for us. All that Jesus wants is people to have faith and he will act in our lives. Sadly, faith is in short supply in our contemporary world. When Jesus criticises his own people as a “faithless generation” (Mk 9:19), how much more would he criticise our generation.

Jesus longs for people to believe, to have faith. How much faith do we have?

It may well be that it is a moment of crisis in our life that prompts us to turn to our faith and cry out for help. It may be that we have come to a point that we know we cannot go on without him and this stirs up our faith. It could be that we have come to see that we are living our faith superficially and have not really engaged God in our lives.

Whatever may be our situation the Canaanite woman teaches us that we should draw on what faith we have. Spurred on by our faith we pursue Jesus with determination seeking his the attention. Like the Canaanite woman we should not be put off. We should not relent in our prayers. We should not settle for no response to our prayers.

Right now, do you have a great need? Do you carry a heavy burden? Do you need Jesus to act in your life? Then do not give up.

Persist. Believe. Let Jesus show you his saving power. Let Jesus act in your life.

The key thing is that we need to come to Jesus, like the Canaanite woman. We need to seek him out. We need to turn to him. We need to be bold and not shy away feeling that he is not interested.

And our prayer cannot be half-hearted. It cannot allow doubts or uncertainties. The Canaanite woman knew that the Jesus could heal her daughter. She did not hesitate or back away. She knew Jesus was her only hope. Thus, she persisted. She was determined. And her needs were met.

This is how we must be. We must believe and pursue the Lord with our requests.

So, what do you want of the Lord, today? What is the deepest need in your life? What do you desperately seek?

Let the Canaanite woman, this pagan woman believing in the old Canaanite gods, inspire you to cry out to Jesus.

“Sir, Son of David, take pity on me,” she cried.

We could say, “Lord Jesus, take pity on me.” Cry out with faith from the depth of your need. And do not be put off.

Let us pause for a moment. What is your greatest need? Name it now in your heart. Be specific. What do you desperately want Jesus to do for you? Identify it. Say it.

Then muster up all the faith you have and with this need clearly in front of you say the words now: “Lord Jesus, take pity on me.”

Archbishop Julian Porteous

Sunday, August 16, 2020