Wednesday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

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.

Faith is not a matter of opinion; it is a bold assurance and a readiness to make things happen. The Canaanite woman in today’s story knew nothing of Jewish religion, history or tradition. She would not have looked to the Jewish God for a messiah. She had no thoughts, opinion, insights or beliefs on such irrelevant matters. But she knew she needed help and that Jesus could provide it. And she was not going to let prejudice or Jewish nationalism stand in her way, even if it came from the Man himself.

Jesus was understandably astonished by her raw courage and assured faith. In her urgency she knew better than he, his mission to the world. She broke through his Jewish shell and demanded that he come out, bringing his gifts to all peoples and nations.

Periodically I have to remind myself that I am a low-level bureaucrat in the administration of grace. I know the rules and work within them: I cannot witness the marriage of those whose marriage would not be recognized by the Church; I cannot share the Eucharist with people who don’t belong to this communion; I cannot anoint a patient without his consent; and so forth. Rules are a necessary part of every organization and we cannot live without organization. Grace flows through them with superabundant blessings like rushing water through a narrow channel.

But occasionally human urgency demands my attention; I cannot operate within the usual boundaries. Jesus found himself confronted by this Canaanite woman and he joyously leapt beyond his own proscriptions. Knowing nothing of his religion or beliefs she recognized his authority and his mission. Her desperation forced her to an inchoate faith in him, and she demanded that he heal her pagan daughter. 

Jesus admired her persistence and courage and assured her, “Let it be done for you as you wish.” Eventually his disciples would follow suit as they preached his gospel first to Jews; and then, as gentiles demanded it, to the whole world.