The healing of the Canaanite woman’s daughter comes about through the mother’s faithful perseverance. Jesus is impressed with her unrelenting prayer. Her faith is a wonderful example. We may ask why Jesus responded to the woman in the way He did. After all, it does seem, to be honest, brusque, even a tad rude. The answer may come through understanding something of Jesus’ two natures. Despite being fully human and fully divine, Jesus in His humanity learnt to understand God’s will through the events of life. In his encounter with the Canaanite woman, He is helped to understand more about the nature and extent of His mission, Her persistence reaps benefits for all. It comes as no surprise that the meeting with the Canaanite woman has Jesus initially focused on the chosen people, and their role in salvation. Again, her persistence helped Him to help us.
The Canaanite woman’s faith and persistence can help us to reflect on how God’s love encompasses all peoples. Through the healing of the Canaanite woman’s daughter, we receive inspiration in our attempts to look on, and love, all peoples of different nationalities and creeds as equals. As for perseverance in prayer, and the Canaanite woman’s example, we know this is not always easy. It takes courage. It takes a leap of faith at times. Yet God always hears our prayers. If we think God is not hearing our prayers, perhaps we could ask the Holy Spirit for some enlightenment. At times our prayers are not always answered as we might expect. And so, with the Holy Spirit’s help, we may find our prayers are actually being answered, but in different ways. Amen.