Called to Act in God's Name

The Canaanite woman is one gutsy gal. Unnamed, outcast, a foreigner, a woman, she stands for us as a model for faith and faith-filled prayer. Her prayer comes from a deep recognition of who she is and upon whom it is she is calling. Her prayer is "grounded" in humility (from humus, "of the earth/dust"). Her intercession is made not on her own behalf, but on behalf of her sick and tortured child. Her prayer is simple, to the point, and brooks no misinterpretation: "Lord, help me!" No matter that she is one of Israel's outcasts, she calls upon Jesus to "observe what is right, do what is just" (Isaiah 56:1).

The woman's faith is strong. That makes her prayer persistent. Neither she nor it will be rebuffed. She calls to mind the words of Saint Paul, "There does not exist among you Jew or Greek, slave or freeman, male or female. All are one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28). Here, in the middle of Matthew's Gospel, the Canaanite woman serves as our representative, one of the many ordinary, unnamed, and outcast people, on behalf of whom, at the end of the Gospel, Jesus commands, "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations" (Matthew 28:19).