Matthew 15:21-28, Jesus and the Canaanite Woman (20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 17, 2014)

Gospel:

At that time, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.”

But Jesus did not say a word in answer to her. His disciples came and asked him, “Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.” He said in reply, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But the woman came and did Jesus homage, saying, “Lord, help me!” He said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.”

Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And the woman’s daughter was healed from that hour.

Gospel Trivia:

If the two previous Sunday gospels narrated the doubt and lack of faith of the disciples, Matthew now illustrates what strong faith is and what it can do.

The woman is a Canaanite, someone from a pagan nation and against whom Jews have fought battles in the past.  The effectiveness of persistent faith is thus dramatized in two ways:

- true and strong faith is shown by a pagan woman and compared to the weak faith shown by Jesus' disciples

- the request of the woman is granted from a distance -- her daughter "was healed from that hour."  This, together with the healing of the centurion's son (also in Matthew) and the "official's son" in John, are the only three examples of cures from a distance.

One last note on the use of the word "dogs" by Jesus as it may seem too harsh to refer to the woman.  The Greek word used is "kunarion" which translates to a "house dog" or "puppy"; and not the word "kuon" which refers to a scavenging canine, sometimes used to refer to a spiritual predator who feeds off others.  This is a harmless metaphor used by Matthew to refer to the usual household scene where food from the table falls on the ground and eaten by the house dog.  Nothing sinister is associated with the word as used by the evangelist.

It should not detract us from the message of the gospel: God knows no boundaries of race, sex, or religion; but looks at the faith in our hearts.


Reference:

- Nil Guillemette, SJ, A Kingdom for All (Makati: St. Paul's Publications), pp. 209-210.

- http://biblehub.com/greek/2965.htm for definitions of "kunarion" and "kuon."