The Canaanite Woman

At that time, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out,
“Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!
My daughter is tormented by a demon.”
But Jesus did not say a word in answer to her.
Jesus’ disciples came and asked him,
“Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.”
He said in reply,
“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
But the woman came and did Jesus homage, saying, “Lord, help me.”
He said in reply,
“It is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs.”
She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps
that fall from the table of their masters.”
Then Jesus said to her in reply,
“O woman, great is your faith!
Let it be done for you as you wish.”
And the woman’s daughter was healed from that hour.

(Matthew 15: 21-28).

This, yesterday's gospel, is a difficult reading. It seems to contradict the clear message of the Gospel that Jesus came not just for the Jews, but for all mankind—or rather, for all good people. St. Paul says “there is no Jew nor Greek in Christ.” The parable of the Good Samaritan opposes considerations of ethnicity. Note that, elsewhere in the Gospel, Jesus has no problems with healing a Gadarene demoniac, or the physically ill daughter of a Roman Centurion, despite their not being Jews.

We must conclude that ethnicity is not the issue.

Consider that what the Bible calls being “tormented by a demon” is surely what we today call “mental illness.” And that the primary cause of mental illness is parental abuse, or emotional betrayal by a parent. This is the current conclusion of psychiatry, and it seems to be the traditional understanding.

So the natural assumption when a parent comes to ask for her child to be freed from a demon is that she herself is its cause. Accordingly, were Jesus to say “let it be done for you as you wish,” were he to answer her prayer, the ultimate effect would be to confirm her authority and to make the child’s situation worse.

Now consider too that the Canaanites were, according to the Bible, to contemporary Greek reports, and to archeological evidence, practitioners of child sacrifice. To those Jews observing at the time, even if the charges are not true, “Canaanite” automatically implied “bad parent.”

Jesus might have been omniscient, and might have known that the mother’s request was sincere. Nevertheless, the crowd would not know. To acknowledge her authority over her daughter in this way would have been to publicly endorse bad parenting and dysfunctional families. It would be publicly absolving her of guilt, and abetting the abuse.

Consider in this light his stated objection: ““It is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs.” “The children” may not here refer to Jews, but, more simply and literally, mean children generally. Jesus is here for abused children, not for their parents, who are morally equivalent to dogs.

This is a worse insult, in the Middle East, than the reader may imagine.

Who then are “the lost sheep of the house of Israel”? He actually cannot be referring to the Jews. If they are good Jews, they are not lost. If they are not good Jews, they are not sheep, but goats. “Sheep,” as Jesus uses the term, means those obedient to God. To be a sheep yet to be lost implies someone who is obedient to God, but without proper guidance, the unchurched. John 10: 16: “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.”

This might apply to the Canaanite woman. It is significant that the disciples ask Jesus to drive her away, and he does not. Instead, he says “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” And lets her stay. Being Canaanite, then, does not disqualify her.

When he calls her a dog, she accepts the grievous insult. This is the critical act, that shows she is a sheep, that she is spiritually of the house of Israel, of Jacob. She thereby shows she is not a narcissist, not a goat. Moreover, she accepts this insult in hopes of helping her daughter, showing true paternal devotion.

It is this that allows Jesus to perform the miracle before the crowd.

Like much of the Bible, the passage is about dysfunctional families.