THE DEDICATION OF THE BASILICA OF SAINT MARY MAJOR (OPTIONAL MEMORIAL)

 woman, great is your faith! 

Why would Jesus treat this Canaanite woman so harshly?   How could he ignore her, brush her off, even call her names?   That doesn’t sound like something a loving God would do.

But perhaps Jesus was acting in love—both for this woman and for his disciples.   Maybe he was trying to highlight the way his disciples were looking at her.   To them, she was an interruption to a much-needed rest.   Worse, she was a foreigner, an unbeliever, a “dog.”

So perhaps Jesus mirrored their attitudes to draw attention to them, even as he knew what he was going to do.   Because he saw this woman in a completely different way.   He saw her as a woman of great faith (Matthew 15:28).   He was moved by how she humbled herself in order to seek healing for her daughter.

From the beginning of his public ministry, Jesus looked beyond stereotypes.   There was no room for “us” versus “them” in his kingdom.   He longed to reach out to every person on earth and draw all of us into one family, one body.

So where most people saw a leper who had to stay far away to avoid contamination, Jesus saw a believer in need of human touch (Matthew 8:1-3).   Where they saw the commander of an occupying army, Jesus saw a man of great faith (8:5-10).   Where some saw a greedy tax collector, Jesus saw a potential disciple and called him by name (9:9).

It’s only human to look at people through the lens of our own experience and biases.   We get in trouble, though, when we judge people who are different from us—those who dress differently, who raise their children differently, who worship differently.   Jesus invites us to take a second look and to see a person God loves very much, someone who has unlimited potential.

Think of one person whose differences rub you the wrong way.   Imagine Jesus sitting between the two of you, one arm around each of your shoulders.   Ask him to give you a glimpse of why he loves and values that person so much.   Let glimpses like these help you bridge the gap between “us” and “them.”  Take on the heart of Jesus!

“Jesus, open the eyes of my heart and help me see people the way you see them.”

Jeremiah 31:1-7
(Psalm) Jeremiah 31:10-13