Relationship Between Love and Faith: A Look at the Canaanite Woman in Matthew 15
Happy Valentine’s Day and Happy Chinese New Year! Pastor Daniel spoke yesterday about the relationship between love and faith. In 1 Cor 13:7, it reads, “It (love) always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” Why does love always protect, trust, hope and persevere? To answer that, we looked at the faith of the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15.
This woman was in a dire situation. Her daughter was suffering from demon-possession. She cried out to Jesus for mercy and instead of offering immediate mercy, Jesus says 3 interesting things. First, Jesus did not answer a word. In other words, he ignored her. She was a Canaanite woman, a half breed despised by the Jews. Plus, she was a woman who was often ignored in that culture. And on top of everything else, her daughter was demon-possessed which people thought was a sign of being cursed by God.
How many of us would have walked away at that point?
The second thing Jesus said to her was “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” Another shocking statement! I guess that disqualified her since she was not a full Jew. This is how the disciples must have felt. They were the privileged ones who could follow this Rabbi named Jesus. The rest of the world, it seems according to this statement, would have to wait for their own Messiah.
How many of us would have walked away at that point?
The third thing Jesus said to her was “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” This is the most shocking statement of them all. During this time, Gentiles were considered to be like “dogs” and how much more this applied in the case of a person of mixed blood like this Canaanite woman. Jesus was basically calling her a dog.
How many of us would have walked away at that point? Certainly, not many of us would have stayed to continue our conversation with Jesus after a word like that?
But the amazing thing is that through it all, the woman persisted and she demonstrated exceptional faith. What drove her to have faith that always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres? It was driven by a deep love for her sick daughter. Often, it is our love which causes us to hold onto our faith.
Do we easily walk away when God is silent and seems inactive, even ignoring our prayers? Do we easily walk away when others seem favored and God is actively working in their lives (I only come for the lost sheep of Israel)? Would we walk away when God challenges us at our deepest level of our pride and ego, like he did when he called the woman a “dog?” Only love will give us the strength to hold onto our faith in the midst of these kinds of circumstances.