“You
are a woman of great faith!
What
you want will be done for you.”
And
at that very moment her daughter was healed.
~
Matthew 15: 28
A Canaanite woman, a Gentile or outsider to the Jewish faith
(in our contemporary society might be seen as someone alien to our faith,
culture or even country), came to Jesus Christ crying out to him, “Son of
David, have mercy on me sir! My daughter has a demon and is in a terrible
condition.”
First it is necessary to appreciate the tremendous odds that
are against her as exemplified in the responses she got from the disciples and
apparently a skeptical Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, her humility and persistence
led to the Master declaring her a woman of great faith- imagine this unbeliever
given such high accolade?
Not even the leader of the apostles, Peter was acknowledge
in this way, and the other time in the scripture that such monumental faith was
on displace was during the counter with another foreigner and unbeliever in the
Centurion who replied Jesus Christ saying “I am not worthy that you should
enter under my roof, but only say the words and my servant will be heal.” Jesus
Christ made it clear to all that the Centurion was a man of great faith!
Faith or Fear
So this Canaanite woman has the audacity to approach Jesus
Christ, a Jew and first acknowledged him as Son of David and Lord, and then
slides her request through? This must be faith and not fear at all! However
most importantly too is the need to explore what informed her faith in Jesus
Christ leading her to turn to the Lord instead of other gods?
This woman of faith was in a very desperate situation, her
beloved daughter was possessed by the demon, in a terrible condition and most
probably she must have spent all her fortune seeking for help and nothing seems
to be working until she heard that Jesus Christ was near her cities of
resident, in this case Tyre and Sidon. Without hesitation and fear of
rejection, she approached the Lord Jesus Christ!
First the disciples were not even ready to help her get to
the Master, because in reality her situation is just like seeing a Buddhist,
Pagan or Muslim approach for instance Pope Francis, seeking healing for his child,
and confessing Jesus Christ as Son of God!
In our contemporary society where anything Muslim is smear,
denigrated and condemned, this woman of faith is giving us an example of the
necessity not to condemn others and rather to be open to the opportunity of
becoming the instrument to bring others to Jesus Christ.
On the surface, we might be tempted to misinterpret Jesus
Christ response of who deserve to be heal, to meaning unbelievers are not
welcome at the table. However the scripture did emphasis that in spite of the
reference, the Canaanite woman persisted in her request with a humble heart and
complete disregards to the odds she faced. She got even more than she asked
for, namely salvation in addition to the healing of her daughter.
What is the status of
your faith?
Do you have complete trust in Jesus Christ’s ability to
solve the problem you are going through today?
Do you have the complete trust in Jesus Christ so much that
you are willing to face humiliation, rejection and denigration in order to
receive salvation and also become an instrument of peace, faith and hope, love,
kindness and humility for someone desperately in need of these virtues today?
Do you have faith in Jesus Christ that will make the world
to see life from a different perspective, from the prism of God’s divine plans
for humanity?
Moving Mountains
There are many mountains in our lives that on our own we can
never get to the top of it, and even if by chance we claim credit to getting
over it, the real lesson of faith, hope and love, and ultimately the gift of eternal
life will be lost in the process and there is nothing that is most regrettable
as gaining the whole world and losing your soul.
The only way our faith can move the mountains of our lives
is by trusting in our Lord Jesus Christ so completely that the events that
challenge us are no longer seen as an obstacle, but the instruments that our
God has design to increase our faith in him and above all bring glory to his
holy name.
The immediate Mountain the Canaanite woman faced was her
daughter’s sickness, and rather than allowing it to destroy her, as a result of
her encounter with Jesus Christ in her distress, not only was her daughter
healed at that very moment, but she gain the faith that will lead her to life
everlasting.
Our Mountains may be due to lack of faith in God and love
for man as a result of certain experience in life that we may consider to be
humiliating, unjust and hate-driven, leading us to conclude if God was in it,
why must I have to suffer so much?
The Mountain we face may be chronic or even terminal
illnesses, restless and tough relationship, broken marriages, betrayal from
loved, colleague and friends. It may be inability to pass a professional
examination, graduate from school with good grade and unemployment after
graduation. The mountain may be having being unjustly terminated from your job
and you are in a dilemma as to how you will survive.
There is also the mountain of rejecting people that are not
of our kind; For instance I am a Catholic and a Christian, married with
children and of African origin specifically Nigeria living in the United States
of America. How do I deal with people of different race, culture and lifestyle?
Do I reject those who are not Christians? Do I reject those whose lifestyle is
different from mine? Or do I use my faith in God to draw them closer to Jesus
Christ?
Today, God want to use us to move our own Mountains, but
first and foremost, we must acknowledge him as the almighty God in whom nothing
is impossible, love him with the whole of our heart, might and strength and
soul and love our neighbors as ourselves irrespective of their religion,
culture and lifestyle orientation and location.
The Mountains of our life are problems that our God uses as
the recipe for our progress, if we allow him to work in us. Jesus Christ did
not promise us that everything shall be smooth, peace and jolly and cheerful in
this world. However he guaranteed that as long as we put our faith, hope and
trust in him, we shall overcome whatever our needs may be!
Let us walk on the surface of our world like this Canaanite
woman, considered as an outsider by many, but acknowledged by Jesus Christ as a
woman of great faith, as a result of her love for God, faith in Jesus Christ
and a very humble and persistence disposition in prayer. May the good Lord
bless his words in our heart today! Amen!
PRAYER
Dear Heavenly Father,
Here am I again, asking for a faith that can move mountain
Please forgive me my faults, especially when I allow hatred
to blind me from loving people that do not look like me, act like me and live
like me.
Fill my heart with your compassion and love, hope and faith,
so that I may see you in every circumstance that challenges me today.
O Lord, my God give me the gifts of humility, patience and
persistence in prayer and actions, so that I too may bring glory to your holy
name.
Bless all my loved ones and let your love, peace and comfort
never depart from them.
And all these I present to you from the humility of my
heart. Amen!
Ref: Matthew 15, Matthew 8
podeh2016
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