A Woman of Faith

" At that time, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came out and called out, 'Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.'
But Jesus did not say a word in answer to her. Jesus' disciples came and asked Him, 'Send her away, for she keeps calling after us.'
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 as you wish.'
And the woman's daughter was healed from that hour.' " -- [Matthew 15: 21-28].

I was raised in the Episcopal Church. Then when I was 14, after I had been baptized, had received my First Holy Communion, and had become Confirmed, my parents stopped taking me to church. They said, "We don't believe in that stuff any longer. Only losers need God."

To all those who take their children to church, teach them all about God, then take church away -- I really don't believe that you can really ever take away what you have bestowed.

For decades, I became a "Nothing". I still believed, in my heart, but I never spoke of my Faith around my family. I feared that they would try to "talk me out of" my Faith. If they could take church away, could they rob me of my Faith as well?

Then, as if to prove that God has a sense of humor, I married a Catholic. My family was outraged. Still, I went to Mass with my husband, but I sat on the sidelines, not ready to talk about receiving the Eucharist again, certainly not ready to talk Conversion.

I believe that the Canaanite woman had Faith, even though she was the "wrong kind of tribe". When she encounters Jesus at the well, she calls out, "Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!"  She knows who He is.

She also knows that He has the power to heal. She pleads, "My daughter is tormented by a demon."

Jesus is now in foreign territory in Tyre and Sidon. The basis of Christ's kingdom until now has been that the Israelites were God's Chosen Ones. Jesus says, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." The Canaanites and the Jews hated each other. How dare this Canaanite woman ask for healing? How dare Jesus even respond?

Then, at a time in my life when I had lost my father in seconds to a massive heart attack; when my best friend was succumbing to cancer; when I took my mother back into my life despite a lifetime of cruelty, only to find out that she was terminally ill -- my world suddenly spun upside down and backwards.

One day, I was trying to explain to my husband how utterly lost I felt. He said, Do you want to talk to someone?"

I found myself saying that I wanted to talk to the priest of our parish. But, I said, "I am not even Catholic. WHY would he talk to ME? I am not even worthy to pour the juice to the students in the Religious Education classroom."

My husband looked at me, stunned: "I am sure if you went to him in good faith, he would never turn you away."

In fact, he did not turn me away. After we spoke for some time, he wrote out the Scripture reference to Paul's Conversion in Acts. I felt like he was a physician writing out a prescription. He told me to read it and meditate upon it. He also told me to imagine Jesus reaching His hand out to me.

Like the Canaanite woman, I was from the "wrong tribe".  But I still had Faith.

Before long, I was in preparation to join the church and to receive the Eucharist again -- after so many decades.

People in the church became, not just fellow-parishioners, but friends. Many said that I was transforming before their very eyes.

When I met with the priest before receiving the Eucharist, he told me, "You have a steely bond with God. You remind me of the woman of whom Jesus said, 'O woman, great is your Faith!' And the woman's daughter was healed.' "

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