Matthew 15:21-28
21 Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that moment.
“Lord, help me.”
One of the blessings of otherwise difficult life changes is that the community of people who share your new struggles and joys finds you and walks with you. We jokingly refer to the “widows row” in congregations but, in truth, those ladies wrap around every new widow in ways that no one else ever could.
In our case, having a child with developmental disabilities brought us into the parents of children with special needs community. One of the first lessons they taught us was that you have to be relentlessly persistent. As it was with all of them, our first application for SSI and Medicaid Waiver benefits was denied. We persisted and were granted the benefits our son needs. Every year, we apply for renewal, are denied on some technicality, and persistently reapply until the benefits are granted again. It’s a difficult and often humiliating process that could easily drive us crazy without the love and support of others who share our commitment to do whatever is necessary for the health and safety of our children.
In today’s lesson, we met a woman who was also willing to do whatever was necessary for the health and safety of her daughter. She respectfully persisted in her requests for help through ghosting, rationalizing, and shaming, until Jesus finally agreed to heal her daughter.
I don’t know why Jesus and his disciples put her through all that. It’s not my place to try to understand the mind of Christ. What I do know is that this frantic mom stands as a beacon of hope for all who have need of persistence.
Prayer: Lord Jesus: Thank you for hearing and responding to our cries for help and for granting us the grace to be respectfully persistent when necessary. AMEN