Homily for the 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time
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.” Mt 15:21-28
There are a lot of similarities between the Canaanite woman and us today.
The Canaanite woman’s daughter was tormented by a demon. Don’t you feel like our world is also tormented by a demon? This particular demon has a name: Covid-19.
We don’t know if this demon is going to be around a couple of months or a couple of years. We do know that in the last five months, the demon has stolen from us many precious things. We grieve for all that we have lost a lot. We worry that there will be more to come.
Also like the Canaanite woman, we feel like we are wandering in a foreign land. In this foreign land, people avoid coming close to us. The people in power keep us in isolation. The people around us look strange wearing bizarre face coverings. We come to Jesus seeking a miraculous intervention.
With all these similarities, we can also learn some very important lessons on how to deal with this demon we call Covid 19. In the end, the Jesus healed the daughter of her affliction. Jesus can heal us too.
There are three key components that brought about this healing. I’ll call them the three P’s to pull you through this pandemic. They are: Patience, prayer and persistence. Let us look at each.
Patience
The first P is Patience. In the gospel, it is quite likely the Canaanite woman didn’t just appear accidently. She had probably heard about the miracles that Jesus had performed. Her first act of patience was to wait patiently for Jesus to come so she could make her appeal.
When he arrives, she cries out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!”
What was Jesus’ response to this impressive petition? Silence. The gospel says, “Jesus did not say a word in answer to her.”
How many times have you appealed to the Lord and the response was silence? You implore the Lord to remove my affliction, put my son on the right path, help me find a better job or exorcise the demons caused by this pandemic. After seeking the Lord, doing him homage, emptying your heart out to Jesus, you hear nothing.
It would have been easy for the Canaanite woman to give up. She might say to herself: “I approached Jesus. I called him Lord. I begged him to help me. And then I heard nothing. She could have easily returned to her land and her gods and give up on Jesus. Instead, she patiently waited for the Lord.
What do you do when God is silent? Do you throw your hands up and move on? Do you seek out other gods? Or do you wait patiently for the Lord to reveal His plan for you in His time?
The Canaanite woman did not give up. She put into practice the first P, patience, and her daughter was healed.
Prayer
The second P to a stronger faith is prayer.
When Jesus didn’t respond, the Canaanite woman offered a prayer. It is one of the shortest prayers in the gospel, and maybe one of the best. “Lord, help me.”
In almost every situation in life, a person can offer this simple little prayer in both the great and the small events in life. Instead of panicking when you receive terrible news, simply pray “Lord, help me.” Instead of honking your horn at the car in front of you when the light turns green, simply pray, “Lord, help me.” When you get a dirty look from someone you past too closely in the grocery story, pray, “Lord help me.”
In the morning when you arise you can say, “Lord, help me.” Help me through the day. Help me avoid missteps. Help me see your will in my life. In the evening when you go to bed you can also say, “Lord, help me.” Grant me a peaceful rest. Help me become a better person tomorrow than I was today.
Today, how many occasions will you have to recite this simple yet powerful prayer, “Lord, help me”?
Persistance
The third P to a stronger faith is persistence. The Canaanite woman exhibited heroic persistence. She was ignored, then met with silence, and then dismissed. The disciples said, “Send her away.” Lastly, it sounded like she was insulted. Jesus implies the Israelites are the ‘children’ and the Canaanites are the ‘dogs’. He says, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.”
Throughout all of this poignant exchange, the woman persisted. She even offers one of the wittiest retorts in the bible. “Please, Lord, for even the puppies eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.”
If you were similarly ignored, dismissed, marginalized, and insulted, how would you respond? You would likely throw your hands up in the air and walk away, fuming at the many slights you received.
If the Canaanite woman did this, her daughter would have remain tormented.
Instead, she persisted. She continued to return to the Lord and make her plea. After her persistence, her daughter was healed.
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As we put into practice these three “P’s” of our faith, we begin to realize God is here, now more than ever, powerfully acting in our lives and in our world, especially during this pandemic.
This week, let us practice the three P’s. Patience – accepting the silence. Prayer – uttering throughout the day “Lord help me”. Persistance – returning to the Lord regardless of what happens.
May God work miracles in our world and in your life.