A FAITH WHICH PUTS US TO SHAME

A Canaanite woman, a non-Jew, sought the help of Jesus in healing her child.Jesus put her to a test and said, “Ako ay sinugo lamang upang hanapin ang mga naliligaw sa sambahayan ng Israel. ”It was like Jesus telling her that in as much as she is a stranger and an outsider, she should not dream being treated like a Jew.” Dapat bang kainin ng tuta ang pagkaing para sa anak?” Jesus asked but the mother of all answer came when the Canaanite woman said, "Kahit po mga tuta ay maaari ring kumain ng mumong nalaglag sa hapag ng kanilang panginoon.” Jesus was impressed by her faith. This same faith saved her and healed her son.

One thing is clear: The love of God is for everybody. Hindi namimili ng kilay, lahi, kultura, nasyon, at maging relihiyon. This is a far cry from the exclusivistic attitude of the Jews who  believed that they had the monopoly of God’s love and salvation.

There are contemporary Jews in our midst: the Iglesia ni Kristo. They believe that they are the only ones who would be saved. And they are firm in their belief. Sila lamang ang maliligtas. Sila lamang ang makakapasok sa makipot na pintuan. No wonder that the structures of their churches provide two small doors leading to the men’s and women’s sections of the church (women are separated from men in their seating arrangement). One wonders how sad it magkikita–kita sa langit! Boring pala sa langit kapag nagkataon. (At bawal silang kumain ng dinuguan …pag walang puto! Maselan kasi.)

But the of God is universal and all-embracing. It was a belief which triggered St.Paulo to preach to the Gentiles who were perceived to be unclean and not deserving of God’s love. Furthermore  he regarded the rejection of the Jews as God’s way of reconciling himself to other nations, color and cultures.

Jesus saw the remarkable faith of the Canaanite woman. It was a faith of the stranger. It was faith of someone who could have not even understood why she was different. It was a faith which was greater than those of the Jews. It was a faith which humbled many Jewish spectators. It was simple faith She just believed that only Jesus could help her – a faith which can put us to shame.

Many times, we doubt God’s power in spite of our profession of faith. We waver in spite of our prayers. We easily fall even in the midst of the littlest troubles that we go through.

The Canaanite woman’s faith is a lesson for us to learn. That in the midst of the most hopeless and most impossible situation, when God seems to be unreachable and does not seem to listen, Jesus would make a way for us. Pinagpala ang nangungulit. Kadalasan, sa kanila bumibigay si Hesus.

Fr. Erick Y. Santos
Grace Park Cross August 18,2002