A Word for the 17th Sunday After Pentecost

Today, beloved brothers and sisters, there was read the Gospel of Matthew on Jesus Christ’s healing of a demon-possessed girl, at the petition of her mother, a Canaanite woman—that is, an idolatress.

Let us repeat this Gospel in Russian. At one time «Jesus departed» — that is, from Jerusalem — «to the region of Tyre and Sidon», or to the pagans who lived within the borders of the cities of Tyre and Sidon.

«And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying: have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed. But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying: send her away, for she cries out after us. But He answered and said: I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then she came and worshiped Him, saying: Lord, help me! But He answered and said: it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs. And she said: yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said to her: O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire. And her daughter was healed from that very hour» (Mt 15:21-28). Here the Gospel ends.

Let us listen to Saint John Chrysostom, the ecumenical teacher and hierarch, as he converses with the people, in his own golden words, on the Gospel just read. Behold, a woman of Canaan, says Scripture, came out from that region; the Evangelist mentions the woman in order to point to the miracle and to glorify her. For on hearing the name Canaanite, picture to yourself that lawless people—that is, the people of Canaan, or of Ham, who overturned the very foundations of the laws of nature—and understand the power of Christ’s coming. These Canaanites, who had once been driven out of their own land so that they might not corrupt the Jews, now show more zeal than the Jews themselves. They go out beyond the borders of their own country and come themselves to Christ, while the Jews drive away from themselves the very Christ who came to them. So then, coming to Jesus, the woman says only one thing: have mercy on me, and by her cry draws the crowd to herself. It was truly a moving sight to see a woman crying out with such compassion, a mother pleading for her own daughter, for a daughter suffering so cruelly: she did not dare bring the demon-possessed girl to the Teacher, but, leaving her at home on her bed, pleads herself, and states only the sickness, adding nothing more. And she does not summon the Physician to her own house, but, having stated her calamity and the severity of the sickness, turns to the mercy of the Master and cries out with a loud voice. But He answered her not a word. What does this extraordinary conduct of Jesus mean? He does not even deign to give her an answer. Who would not be tempted to doubt Jesus, seeing conduct so at odds with the report of Him? It was said that He Himself went about the villages in order to heal the sick; but here He turns away even the one who came to Him. Whom would not such suffering and such submission move, with which the woman pleaded for her ill-fated daughter! But she was not tempted, and did not fall into despondency or despair. Even the disciples themselves were moved by the woman’s misfortune, were troubled and grieved; and, being troubled, they did not dare say to Him: show her mercy—but, coming up to Him, urged Him, saying: send her away, for she cries out after us; and He answers: I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. How, then, did the woman act? Did she fall silent, hearing this? Did she go away? Did she lose courage? No! She increased her pleading still further. We do not act this way. If we do not receive what we ask, we stop asking, when we ought instead to ask still more earnestly. Whom would the Savior’s words not have perplexed? Christ’s silence alone would have been enough to drive the Canaanite woman to despair; still more could His answer have done this—yet she did not lose hope, but, seeing the powerlessness of her intercessors, armed herself with a praiseworthy boldness. Before, she did not even dare to appear before the Lord’s face, but now she draws nearer still and worships Him, saying: Lord, help me! And what does Christ do? He increases her perplexity still further, saying: it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs. Having deigned to answer her, the Lord struck her still more by this very answer than by His silence; the more she increases her plea, the more decisively He refuses. He no longer calls the Jews sheep, but children, and her a dog. How, then, does the woman act? She finds, in His very words, her own defense. If I am a dog, she says, then I am not a stranger, since even dogs in their masters’ house are fed on the crumbs. This is why Christ delayed in giving her help—to show her faith and her wisdom. He did not wish to hide the woman’s great virtue, and what He said to her, He said not to reproach her, but to call her to Himself and to reveal the treasure of faith hidden in her soul. But you, with faith, should also recognize her humility. The Lord says to her: it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs; but she says: yes, Lord—that is, we pagans, who did not know the true God, are like unreasoning beasts, while the Jews, who believed in the one God, are children of God. The Lord calls the Jews children, and she calls them masters; He calls her a dog, and she ascribes to herself even the very behavior proper to a dog. What, then, does Christ do? «O woman!» He says, «great is your faith!» He had delayed thus far in giving help precisely so that He might speak these words and crown the woman. «Let it be to you as you desire. And her daughter was healed from that very hour». Her faith accomplished what the apostles could not do. Such is the power of unrelenting prayer. God wishes that, in our own needs, we ourselves would ask Him more than others would intercede for us. Though the Apostles had more boldness, it was the woman who showed great patience. So far Chrysostom. Let me add only this from myself: let us too entreat the Lord with the same faith, the same hope, as persistently as the Canaanite woman—and we too will receive what we ask for in our needs. Amen.