The gospel today is another hard one for me. When I first read it and many times since, I have not understood why Jesus is seemingly refusing to help a woman with a sick child because she is not of the house of Israel.
I have such a hard time understanding and grasping that even Jesus had only been ministering to a select group of people. On the other hand, only two people in the Gospels were said to "have great faith" and both were Gentiles! The first was the Centurion with the sick servant, and now we see this woman with a sick child.
This woman exemplifies the qualities I wish to have! She is completely and totally humble before the Lord. She approaches him knowing that in that time, she had "no business or right" to even talk to Jesus. When she faces a small road block, she persists. She doesn't take no for an answer! She knows that Jesus can heal her daughter. She approached with humility, persistence and faith!
The exchange in Matthew 15:24-27 has always made me uncomfortable:
“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
But the woman came and did him 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.”
I just didn't like the references to dogs and table scraps. What I have learned, however, is that those words were the way the Jews spoke of Gentiles, they were "unclean dogs" because they didn't follow God's law.
Until this morning, I never related this story to my business, but it makes a lot of sense and fits. Follow me for just a moment...
When we have a strong and compelling "why" or reason to get something done, we won't let anything stop us! There are examples of people facing great fears and doing unthinkable things when they have a child in danger. Things they would never do otherwise. You would never think to run into a burning building unless there was a compelling reason, like a child or loved one in there!
This woman was probably terrified to approach Jesus, but I imagine that fear was magnified by her custom and culture. She didn't allow anything to stop her. Her daughter was a very strong and compelling reason to push past fear.
When Jesus tells her no, she will not take that no as a final answer!
So often in my line of work people tell me "no," people that I have built up the courage to approach and talk to. When they say "no," it would be so much easier to walk away. Hey, I tried, right? But I have a compelling reason not to give up. I want to help change lives, I want those I care about to live happy, healthy and fulfilling lives! I also want to be able to retire my husband! Those reasons make persisting a little bit easier!
I am also able to persist because I have such a strong belief and faith in what I am trying to share with others.
The woman wasn't going to stop until Jesus agreed to heal her daughter. She had such an incredible faith and belief that Jesus was the answer and that He could do anything! She also had a strong and compelling reason not to give up! When you have these things with a whole lot of humility sprinkled in, you can be unstoppable in anything!
I pray my faith will continue to grow and increase. I pray I will go boldly to God with my hurts and needs. I pray I go boldly to the throne with confidence and persistence. I want to be credited one day as having "great faith."
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