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. Jesus' 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.
Homily
It’s a fact of our Christian faith that the heart of God can be moved. That’s because we believe that God is a Person, not a force. And this truth shines brightly in today’s Gospel.
Jesus had a particular mission to accomplish during his time here on earth, namely, to establish the Kingdom of God. And the parameters of this mission did not include Canaanites, who were the ancestral enemies of Israel. Eventually, his mission would include them, and every other human being on the face of the earth, as we see in Matthew 28:19, when he tells his apostles, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” But for now, his mission is exclusively to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And yet, Jesus makes an exception to these parameters after his encounter with the Canaanite woman. Why? Because she touched his heart by giving him what he absolutely desires more than anything else: love, faith and humility.
The love of the Canaanite women is seen in her self-forgetfulness: She was so concerned for her daughter that she was willing to make a spectacle of herself by tagging along behind a rabbi in public while yelling at the top of her lungs to get his attention.
Her faith is seen in how she addresses Jesus: She calls him "Lord" and "Son of David." This shows that although she was a Canaanite, she knew about the Jewish religion and accepted God’s promise to send the Messiah.
Her humility is seen in the way she makes her request: She didn’t come to him with anger at God for allowing her innocent daughter to suffer from demons. She knew that miracles were gifts from God.
Love, faith and humility—these are the three ingredients for prayer that moves the heart of God—a heart that can be moved, because God is a person, not a force.
We see these same three ingredients at work in the life of St Thérèse of Lisieux. When she was just 14 years old, she and her sister Celine heard about a notorious criminal, a murderer, who was going to be executed. His case was all over the newspapers at the time, because he had led a lifetime of horrendous crime and was vocally defiant and unrepentant. As his execution date approached, Thérèse and Celine began to pray insistently for his repentance. They prayed rosaries; they made novenas; they had Masses offered for him. But up until the last day, he refused to see a priest. Still, the sisters kept praying. And not only did they keep praying for his repentance, they boldly asked God to give them a sign that he had repented. Finally the execution day arrived. Even as they marched him out of his prison cell to the guillotine, he refused to speak to the priest. They strapped him to the plank and prepared the blade. But suddenly, with his neck already inside the guillotine, a wild look came into his eyes and he blurted out, “A cross, a cross!” The priest reached over and held his crucifix up to the man’s face. He kissed the crucifix three times, to the utter amazement of the crowd, and then calmly laid his head down to die. The prayers of Thérèse and Celine had been answered.
Prayers offered with real love, faith and humility are always answered, and we need to remember that whenever we pray. God may not answer your prayers the way you would like, but he does answer them with his infinite wisdom and unlimited love. It’s truly amazing to know that the slightest movement of our hearts toward God, causes his heart to move toward us. Why? Because God is a Person, not a force. And his love for us is infinite and everlasting. Amen!