The Canaanite Woman Lives!

The 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s Readings: [Click here]

The apostle Paul writes: I glory in my ministry in order to make my race jealous and thus save some of them. Isn’t that an interesting comment? What he’s saying is this: I want my people to see how great it is to be a follower of Jesus Christ—to be a real Christian—and I want them to crave that kind of life, too… so they can experience the same joy now and achieve salvation in the glorious life to come.

Think about that. The world, especially non-Christians, should be jealous of us Christians. What would make that happen? Or perhaps the better question is, why isn’t that happening?

Christ’s paramount teaching and command is a one-word instruction: love. We are to love God and love one another. And frankly, there’s nothing that can provoke feelings of jealousy more than being in love or being loved. Everybody wants a piece of that. It makes us happy and secure. It makes us feel safe and important. Love is the best thing in the world.

The problem is, as the old song says, most of us are “looking for love in all the wrong places.” How do we make ourselves feel better? Well, we need to surround ourselves with more things: more money, more toys, a fancier car, a bigger house, a snazzier wardrobe, more gigabytes on our hard drive. Jesus keeps telling us, though, that those are silly things to chase after because we can’t take them with us into the next life… or they can be lost or stolen. Plus, I think we all know that when we get the possession we’ve been coveting, almost immediately it starts losing its luster—and before long, we’re off seeking the next thrill. So it’s not possessing things that makes people jealous of Christians.

Some people try to find security and fulfillment in non-physical things—like skill, knowledge, training, experience. But like possessions, these don’t provide everything we’re looking for either. I may be the best doctor in the world, but I still can’t take away every person’s pain or disease.

No, to be a true Christian—a Christian who can and should make others jealous—doesn’t take money, possessions, brains, talent, luck, good looks or any such thing. It merely takes love… and love properly exercised.

Love, you see, is always going to be based on a relationship. Love God, love neighbor. That is the object of our love. It’s the relationship that inspires the jealousy.

In our self-centered world, though, too many people aren’t willing to put in the work to make a relationship blossom and thrive. We look for ways to exclude people. We’re quick to allow ourselves to be hurt, insulted, offended… to hold a grudge… to walk away. It’s easy to write people off… to judge them… to put them in categories that don’t suit us. These are all anti-love tactics, because they build a protective wall around us that closes us off to the love of others. That doesn’t make anyone jealous.

Instead, we should look to Christ’s own example to learn the real ways of love—and today’s gospel gives us perhaps a surprising tutorial. The Canaanite people were non-Jews, so in the Hebrew culture of the day, Jews would have had nothing to do with them. So when the woman came to speak to Jesus, it wouldn’t be unusual that she’d be ignored. It also wasn’t uncommon that the disciples would ask him to make her go away. Now, here’s where it gets interesting.

When Jesus tells her that he was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, he was setting up his lesson for the disciples. His remarks sounded very legitimate, but he was being a bit sly and tongue-in-cheek.

Then, of course, the Lord makes that wonderful comment about not throwing the children’s food to the dogs. He probably had a wink in his eye, because the word he used would have referred to a cute little puppy—a family pet. This wasn’t an insult by any means, and surely the Canaanite woman didn’t take it that way either. And when the woman wouldn’t take no for an answer, and played along—even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from their master’s table—Christ praised her for her faith and gave in to her request.

So the moral is pretty clear: the love and blessing of God necessarily extend to everyone—not just the “in crowd” based on your favored race, gender, status, nationality, religious affiliation, or any other arbitrary characteristic.

We should also realize that today’s lesson is more than just about having an appropriately loving attitude. It’s also about being bold enough to take action. Each of us has to be the Canaanite woman and jump in and stand up for other people who are weak or vulnerable or otherwise unable to help themselves. We can express this in so many different ways: through politics, civil rights, social activism, charitable works… even through the arts. The trick is staying alert to the opportunities around us, and learning to match our own skills and talents to help in the ways we can.

Each of us also has to be the Canaanite woman in another way. Like her, we mustn’t be afraid to stand up for what we believe is right—even when facing a group of smug people who oppose us and think they have a monopoly on God’s grace. Like that brave woman, we’ve got to pray to be bold, forward and daring.

Yes, the Canaanite woman teaches us that Christian love can turn bad fortune around. Christian love makes all things possible and joyful. That’s exactly why Paul said that Christian love makes other people jealous.

So don’t forget. The Canaanite woman lives! It’s up to each of us to build on her legacy. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be shy. Don’t wait another day. God’s blessings are for all people—and you are his chosen instrument.