{"id":17779,"date":"2023-08-20T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-20T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.splendoroftruth.com\/curtjester\/?p=17779"},"modified":"2023-08-19T20:37:27","modified_gmt":"2023-08-20T00:37:27","slug":"my-reflection-on-sundays-gospel-matthew-1521-28","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.splendoroftruth.com\/curtjester\/2023\/08\/my-reflection-on-sundays-gospel-matthew-1521-28\/","title":{"rendered":"My Reflection on Sunday’s Gospel Matthew 15:21\u201328"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Matthew 15:21\u201328<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, \u201cHave mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.\u201d 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, \u201cSend her away, for she is crying out after us.\u201d 24 He answered, \u201cI was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.\u201d 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, \u201cLord, help me.\u201d 26 And he answered, \u201cIt is not right to take the children\u2019s bread and throw it to the dogs.\u201d 27 She said, \u201cYes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters\u2019 table.\u201d 28 Then Jesus answered her, \u201cO woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.\u201d And her daughter was healed instantly.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

This event occurs after Jesus and the apostles, by boat, reached Gennesaret on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. They had a run-in with the Pharisees and scribes who had come from Jerusalem to question him. He exposes their hypocrisy. The first line in this passage states, \u201cAnd Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.\u201d This sets up an interesting contrast between the Pharisees and scribes compared to the faith of a Canaanite woman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Via Brant Pitre\u2019s commentary on Catholic Productions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\u2019s coming to Jesus and begging him for mercy, and using the title, the royal title, \u201cSon of David\u201d when she is addressing him. Honoring him, in a sense, as King, as Messiah, as the ruler of the people of Israel\u2014which is a lot more than Jesus got from some of his contemporaries living in the holy land. Many of them rejected him, but this Canaanite woman recognizes him. Also, I might just note here, that the expression \u201chave mercy on me, Lord\u201d \u2014 _ele\u0113son me, kyrie_ in the Greek\u2014is where we get _Kyrie Eleison_ from in the Mass.<\/a>[1]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I wonder about the stories this woman must have heard about Jesus that invoked such faith. She accepted more than that he was a miracle worker. When ignored and then challenged by Jesus, her faith increased and saw beyond the insult and entered into the playful way Jesus was speaking to her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peter Kreeft has some excellent nuggets of insight regarding her action and Jesus\u2019 response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was deliberately insulting her, implicitly calling her a dog, to test her faith. And she responded by refuting his argument from analogy. She used his own analogy against him. She said, in effect, \u201cI humbly accept your premise: we Gentiles are like dogs and you Jews are God\u2019s chosen children. But that premise proves my conclusion, not yours, for even dogs eat scraps from their master\u2019s table, if their master is a loving master, as you are. Therefore, please, for the love of my daughter, heal her.\u201d Sometimes a teacher deliberately says something refutable and answerable, something that opens a pathway for his student to answer him and refute him, hoping that the student will see it and take that path. And Jesus\u2019 hope is rewarded.<\/a>[2]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Her growing faith and especially her humility shine through in how she responds to being tested. I especially enjoy this insight from Dr. Peter Kreeft:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus thus, at one stroke, gave everyone involved what they most needed: the woman, her daughter, the demon, his disciples, and the world, which includes all of us who read this Scripture, down through the long corridors of time. The woman needed his miracle to satisfy her love for her daughter, and she also needed her faith to be tested and strengthened. Her daughter needed the exorcism. The demon needed to go home to hell where he belonged. The disciples needed a lesson in broadness and humility versus narrowness and pride. And the world needed to see Jesus\u2019 love and wisdom and power, the three attributes of God that most clearly manifest his divinity.<\/a>[3]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This dovetails nicely with St. John Chrysostom writes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was the cause why Christ was so backward, that He knew what she would say, and would not have her so great excellence hid; whence it follows, _Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith, be it unto thee according to thy will. Observe how the woman herself had contributed not a little to her daughter\u2019s healing and therefore Christ said not unto her, \u2018Let thy daughter be healed,\u2019 but, _Be it unto thee according to thy will;<\/em> that you may perceive that she had spoken in sincerity, and that her words were not words of flattery, but of abundant faith. And this word of Christ is like that word which said, _Let there be a firmament_ (Gen. 1:6.) and it was made; so here, _And her daughter was made whole from that hour_. Observe how she obtains what the Apostles could not obtain for her; so great a thing is the earnestness of prayer. He would rather that we should pray for our own offences ourselves, than that others should pray for us.<\/a>[4]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

From the Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much can be learned by reflecting on the words and actions of the Canaanite woman. Among other things, she is a model for effective prayer. First, notice that she comes to the Savior with _faith. She never questions whether Jesus is able to deliver her daughter from the demon. She simply trusts in the divine authority of Jesus, three times calling him \u201cLord.\u201d Second, she shows _perseverance_ in asking for Jesus\u2019 help. Neither his initial silence nor his attempt to decline the request lessened her tenacity in pursuing his assistance. She persisted until she attained what she sought. Third, the woman displays admirable _humility<\/em>. One might expect her to take offense at the comparison between non-Jews and house pets. But the reaction of the woman gives no indication that her pride has suffered any injury. Instead of being put off by the comment, she accepts that she has no claim on the God of Israel or his Messiah. The episode thus presents us with dispositions essential to petitionary prayer. If we approach the Lord Jesus as the Canaanite woman did, we too can hope for his favorable response: \u201cLet it be done for you as you wish.\u201d<\/a>[5]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

There is some question as to the level of insult dogs was meant to be. The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible notes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Literally, \u201clittle dogs\u201d or \u201cpuppies\u201d.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Strongs concordance\u2019s notes the same thing about the Greek involved<\/a>. _kyn\u00e1rion_ \u2013 properly, puppy, a diminutive of 2965<\/a> \/k\u00fd\u014dn<\/em>(\u201cdog\u201d). While Jesus would not have been using Greek here, the Greek might as a translation point to Jesus\u2019 playfulness here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An important point that John Bergsma makes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, in the case of this Sunday\u2019s Gospel, we need to understand Jesus\u2019s actions as tailored to the faith of this woman. He sees that she has faith\u2014he puts her faith to the test to elicit more faith. Untested faith is no faith at all.<\/a>[6]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This Gospel passage ends with Jesus replying, \u201cO woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.\u201d This is another example of how Jesus replies to faith. Specifically, marveling at the faith of a gentile such as with the Centurion at Capernaum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sources<\/h2>\n\n\n\n