The Gospel reading appointed for today in the Daily Office is taken from chapter 15 of Matthew’s Gospel, and it reads:
Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters” table.” Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
The Canaanites were not Jewish, but they were Gentiles. What is amazing about this Canaanite woman is that she recognizes Jesus as the Messiah even though she is not Jewish. She personally accepts Jesus’ message, not because she has been born into a particular group, but because Jesus has touched her life in a personal way.
Jesus tests her faith in Him by telling her that the Messiah was to come to the people of Israel, and clearly she was not. She persists in her faith in Jesus as the Messiah, and her daughter is made whole.
How many of us who claim the title “Christian” are as willing to cry out “Lord, help me” as the Canaanite woman did and to accept the personal lordship of Jesus in our lives?
Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters” table.” Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
The Canaanites were not Jewish, but they were Gentiles. What is amazing about this Canaanite woman is that she recognizes Jesus as the Messiah even though she is not Jewish. She personally accepts Jesus’ message, not because she has been born into a particular group, but because Jesus has touched her life in a personal way.
Jesus tests her faith in Him by telling her that the Messiah was to come to the people of Israel, and clearly she was not. She persists in her faith in Jesus as the Messiah, and her daughter is made whole.
How many of us who claim the title “Christian” are as willing to cry out “Lord, help me” as the Canaanite woman did and to accept the personal lordship of Jesus in our lives?
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