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17th in Matthew 2005 -- Canaanite Woman - OCALA 2/13/05
"O Woman, great is your faith; may it be done for you as you will." (Matthew 15:28) Just try to picture for a moment the indescribable joy of a mother, who witnesses the cure of her demon-possessed daughter. Her perseverance and faith, became an example not only for the Hebrews at that time, but for all people down through the ages. The mother was a Canaanite, that is, a non-believer in the eyes of the Hebrews. But, this woman's unshakable belief, to whose appeal the Lord responded, brings to light the great power of patience and perseverance; the virtues and qualities, that work for a resourceful and productive faith and life. Faith is a simple word. It is used so lightly very often. But faith in the Christian sense can be so powerful, that it can displace mountains of fear and anxiety, and other great problems, which plague society. In all His miracles, our Lord always expected the recipient of His Grace to declare his or her faith openly. He often questioned their faith, and at times would put their faith to the test, as we heard today from the Gospel lesson, which I would like to briefly repeat. One day as the Lord was passing through the district of Tyre and Sidon, a Canaanite woman came out and cried loudly: "Have mercy on me O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon!" The Lord went on His way, without answering, and presumably ignoring her. His Disciples, never realizing that the Lord was testing her faith, begged the Master to send her away, because she was becoming, as we would say, a nuisance. Again hearing the distraught mother's plea, but with much greater anguish, the Lord turns to her and replies: "I have been sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel!" This did not stop her. Her maternal instinct pushed her to do the utmost for her daughter. She kneels before the Lord, and beseeches Him fervently, persistently repeating: "Lord, please help me!" Thereupon, Jesus, putting her further to the test says: "It is not proper to take the children's bread (meaning the Hebrews), and throw it to the dogs (meaning the Canaanite woman, considered a non-believer by the Hebrews!)" Without a doubt, the Canaanite woman knew that she was not in the fold of the elect people, the Israelites, who had received their beliefs from the Prophets of old. However, she felt strongly, that even a few crumbs of God's Grace, would have totally satisfied the hunger of her heart. She amazes all when she answers the Lord and says: "Yes Lord, but even the dogs eat from the crumbs, which fall from their master's table!. Her persistence in her faith, that her wish would come to pass, was what the Lord had wanted everyone present to witness, and He says: "O woman, great is your faith; may it be done for you as you will!" And the miracle happens. The mountain of agony and suffering is removed by the power of her faith, and her daughter is instantly cured. The Canaanite woman was so fortunate to have received the greatest Gift from God. She was truly worthy to receive it, because she had girded her faith with patience and perseverance. She was tried most severely, suffering for many years, by seeing her daughter the victim of so many seizures. She was tested even more, when the Great Master and Healer, the source of love and beneficence, seemed to pay no attention to her pleas. But, her reward came richly! How many times, dear Friends, the parallel of the agony and the trial of the Canaanite woman could be drawn for many of us! To some degree, comparable trials do come to some of us; and it is precisely at those times, when we should always remember, that even though it may appear to us, that God is not responding to our prayers, we nonetheless should firmly trust in Him, and firmly believe, that His will is for our benefit, regardless of how bleak our hopes and outlook may be. I would venture to say, that for, many of us in our life, there must have been at least one great trying and agonizing time when we fervently prayed: "Lord have mercy on me; --- please save me from this agony!" And the natural question could have been: "was our faith and perseverance of the same quality, as that of the Canaanite woman?" A Priest, more than anyone else, is very often posed with a question, which only God can answer. Questions such as: "Father, why did not God hear my prayer? I didn't ask for that much. I didn't ask anything for myself, but for my child, my wife, my husband, my relative, my friend!" The only answer that could be given to such questions is that, which we so routinely and mechanically repeat in the model and prototype Prayer, --- the Lord's Prayer. How many hundreds, or even thousands of times we have repeated this prayer, as we do during every Liturgy? But the question is, do we really believe in all the phrases of the Lord's prayer? Do we believe it when we pray: "Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven?" And further, are we ready to submit to God's will, regardless of how great the trial? To be sure, it is the unquestioned faith in God's will, which distinguishes a true child of God's Kingdom! A Christian must believe, that there is an ultimate purpose for all things in this world; -- and yes, even for the ills and evils, which plague us. The faithful Christian truly believes, that everything happens for the benefit our soul, regardless of how we may at times feel so powerless and hopeless. In every Divine Liturgy we are asked to always pray the petitions along with the Priest. Do we not repeat the words in every Liturgy and other Services? "For the things that are good and profitable for our souls, let us ask of the Lord?" And when we hear these petitions so often, do we really try to give substance to them, when we pray during our all inclusive Divine Liturgy? If it seems then, that God does not respond to our prayers, let us firmly believe that God has His purpose. All our suffering --- all our grief --- all our trials and tribulations have their purpose, which unfortunately we do not have the prophetic wisdom to see nor to understand, especially at the time these are happening. Moreso, we must never forget that God never gives a trial greater than the grace and power with which to sustain the trial! It is known fact that gold is tested by fire; thus, in a comparable manner we could say that our life, --- our soul, --- our faith, is tried by all the difficulties, with which we have to contend, at one time or another. History is replete with the names and acts of many heroes, who suffered much, but yet were invincible, and ultimately became victors, through their faith and perseverance. Without question though, there are also the myriads of unknown heroes, who overcame, even though history has not recorded their names. This then, is the great call, and the need for today. Faith; -- but not as many Christians would have it, and which oftentimes borders on lip-service. We need faith, with unshakeable foundations, --- faith of the type, as was related in today's Gospel Lesson. Faith is merely a word, but it is a crowning virtue. Faith will always remain only a word, unless we choose to give it substance. This is true of all the virtues, which we surely know, and which I am confident we are desirous of possessing! But, these all remain beautiful and abstract ideas, unless we implement them, by giving them the breath of life to animate them; ---to turn them into saving energy. If we are true believers, our life will reflect this belief, and our faith automatically becomes a motivating and powerful force, deeply within our soul. It is then, that we will sense God's re-enforcing and comforting Grace. It is then, that we will feel the comfort and power of the Lord's words: "O my child, great is your faith; may it be done for you, as you will!" Amen. + Fr. George Papadeas back to sermons |
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