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Gospel: Matthew 15: 21-28
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 he 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 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.”
Then Jesus said to her in reply,
“O woman, great is your faith!
Let it be done for you as you wish.”
And her daughter was healed from that hour.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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When it comes to begging for food, dogs have no shame – they’ll weep and woof until they get their share from the dinner table.
Imagine those soft puppy eyes staring at you, timed with the perfectly pitched whimper.
It can provoke compassion out of almost anyone.
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In today’s Gospel, a mom humbles herself to the point of acting like a puppy, begging Jesus for a miracle; her daughter is possessed by a demon.
Their conversation seems strange – perhaps lost in translation – but the point of it all is this: if Jesus chooses to, then he can easily heal her daughter.
He’s done it many times before – and will do it again.
He appears hesitant only to provoke deeper faith out of her, which Jesus does.
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This healing becomes one of only two which Jesus performs at a distance, the other being the healing of the centurion’s servant.
Perhaps it’s an appropriate reminder for us today that it is not necessary to either see or touch the Lord in order to experience his healing power. What is necessary is faith.
Sometimes the Lord waits to answer our prayers in order to arouse deeper faith in us, as he did this desperate mother.
Like her, what’s something I either want or need from the Lord?
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May we never stop asking – not until our desperate displays of faith move the Lord to act.
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(1) NBC News (2) Christ and the Canaanite Woman, Jean-Germaine Drouais (3) Praying Dog, QuotesGram