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.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
How strong is your faith in Jesus? Can it endure severe testing?
The great faith of the Canaanite woman whose daughter was tormented by a
devil is very evident in the gospel. She was initially snubbed by Jesus but she
persisted. She heard the disciples told Jesus: “Send her away.” But she did not
budge a bit.
Then being a Canaanite woman, Jesus told her: “I was sent only to the
lost sheep of Israel.” The more that she persisted; she knelt before and said:
“Lord help me.”
After a few more dialogues Jesus saw how strong was her faith after which He
said: “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.
We too have our own special petitions for Jesus and we too must have been
snubbed or ignored a number of times. It may even seem that Jesus is turning a
deaf ear to our pleadings.
In spite of these all we must continue to have faith and be always
persistent in following Him. God’s silence and rejections to our petitions are
a test of faith for us. God wants to see until where are we willing to stretch
our patience. He wants to see if we are still willing to walk an extra mile in
our pursuit of Him.
How strong is your faith in Jesus? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
No comments:
Post a Comment