A Big Enough Love

" A Canaanite woman came to Jesus, crying out, 'Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly. . . .'  Jesus answered, ' I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.' The woman came and knelt before him, 'Lord, help me!', she said. He replied, 'It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.' 'Yes, Lord', she said, ' but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.' Then Jesus answered, 'Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.' And her daughter was healed from that very hour." [Matthew 15: 21- 28]

There are only a few stories in the Bible that I have felt must be a terrible mistake. This is one of them. HOW, I ask, can Jesus be so callous to a woman who is so obviously in distress over her daughter-- just because this woman is from the "wrong tribe"!  I thought Jesus was so holy! I thought He was purely divine! I thought He was perfect!

How could Jesus have compared this woman to a lowly creature like a dog? And how could this woman be forced to argue with Jesus, even stooping to accept the designation of "dog" so that she may beg for a few scraps from Jesus' table?

I have been re-reading this Scripture, so I can understand, and try to accept, a Jesus so dismissive, so biased, even so angry. As I was reading these verses, I began to feel a sens of outrage.

Then it hit me. Yes, Jesus is divine but he is also human. He errs initially with this woman. Then he comes to see that this woman has such faith in Him and in His healing love, that He can reach out to her and even heal her daughter.

In some ways, this story of Jesus saves me too. This human side of Jesus saves me from entirely hating myself for the times that I have judged others for superficial reasons.

Sadly, it is only too human for us to judge others harshly. The question is, will I allow this bias to become my attitude forever? Will I simply shrug at my humanness and hate myself for this? Or can I learn and grow in love, as Jesus did? Can I remain on watch against this tendency to judge? Can I change like Jesus did?

Recently, I was on holiday in a beach town of approximately 400 residents. There is one Catholic church there, and that is where I attend Mass when I am on vacation. The week of this Reading, there were people from all over the world celebrating Mass together-- families from Canada, the United States, Asia, the Middle East. The irony was not lost on me.

I looked around me, and I heard all of our voices blended together in reciting the Our Father and in singing the hymns. There were low voices, high voices, mens' and womens' voices, even off-key voices. But somehow, all of our voices became one and echoed beautifully against the wooden rafters of the tiny church. We became one in Christ.

And I thought, if Jesus' love was big enough to engage, to welcome and to heal the woman and her daughter from Canaan, why can't my love be big enough too?

God, help me to see all of your children, the world over, as Your children, and as my brothers and sisters.

Love to All!

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