The Gospel reading today talks about the Canaanite woman's plea to Jesus to cast away the demon that was tormenting her daughter. What seems striking in this passage how Jesus seemed to deny her request, not once but twice. But on the third try, Jesus affirmed the unwavering faith of the woman and cured healed her daughter. He said to her "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish."
Perhaps, we ask ourselves the reason behind Jesus' seeming denial of the woman's cries for help. Why did it have to reach a third try for Jesus to finally act on her request? On a broader sense, we can relate with this experience: of pleading and asking for something, and yet most of the time not receiving what we ask for. Or perhaps, getting something else in return for that which we desire the most. Surely, there are times when we get our prayers answered, yet not everything falls in its proper place. Isn't it that it was Jesus himself who said, "ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and it shall be opened to you"? How then does God fulfill his promises to us?
In my H1 CLE classes in Xavier School, this was one of the topics we discussed, particularly in the story of Abraham. We tried to define four ways by which God grants the promises He gave us:
1. Direct – God can answer our prayers directly, exactly as we have asked him.
2. Denied – Sometimes, God never seems to answer our prayers and we recent him until we later find out later that we have asked for the wrong things that would have done us more harm than good.
3. Delayed – More often, it takes time before God grants our petition and we have to wait patiently and ask persistently.
4. Disguised – At times however, God’s answers come in a sort of “disguise.” We do not see them readily until we become sensitive enough to discern God’s movements.
In the story of the Canaanite woman, the fulfillment of the promise was not direct in the sense of being fulfilled immediately and as she himself expected. In fact, at some point, it would have seemed denied as Jesus himself did not mind her plea! Yet in the end, the answers came delayed and disguised.
Perhaps the delay and the disguise in Jesus' answer point to us an essential lesson. After several tries, Jesus fulfilled her cry for help. Not only that, Jesus affirmed the growth in the faith of the woman. Let us remember the woman's background: she was a Canaanite, she was not a believer of God. Yet such persistence marked a growth in her faith in Jesus, who was God himself. In her, Jesus saw a purpose and meaning for calling him. She kept following him and asking, even begging for her daughter's healing. In return, she grew in such trust in God. She then received a gift greater than the healing of her daughter: that of a deeper faith and trust in God. We never heard of the Canaanite woman again in the gospels. But maybe, just maybe, this experience made her believe and trust in God, who is constantly acting and helping in her life despite not her acknowledging it directly.
And so, we ask ourselves: how much faith and trust do we have in God's plans for us? Through the seeming denial or the lack of a direct answer from Him, do we keep seeking and asking? And despite the delays and disguises in His response, has such brought a deeper trust in Him?
Time and again, it has been said, we cannot get everything we want. But who knows, in the hands of God, we are getting what we need instead.
deo gratias.
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