When the Answer is Slow in Coming, Don’t Slow Down Prayer!

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, August 16, 2020

The beginning of the Gospel of Matthew 15 tells us that the Pharisees were not happy that Jesus’ disciples were breaking the tradition of the elders, which is, not washing their hands in a proper way before a meal. When they registered their displeasure to Jesus, he used the opportunity to rebuke them for their zeal to keep man made laws while at the same time ignore God’s commandments. To drive home his message, he said, “It is not what enters one’s mouth that defiles that person; but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one” (Matt. 15:11). At the end of the argument—about what really defiles and makes a person unclean— he withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon, an area considered unclean by the Pharisees. To really call their bluff, so it seems, Jesus entered a non-Jewish territory. Surprisingly, a Canaanite woman there courageously approached him and pleaded with him to heal her daughter. At the time, the racial divide and discontent between Jews and Gentiles was deep. So, it was a big deal that Jesus was in that region, and was even a bigger deal that a Canaanite woman would approach him so directly to heal her daughter. Jesus is breaking down racial, ethnic and religious barriers and inviting everyone regardless of race, religion and tongue to come to him. While some Jews, like the Pharisees were rejecting the offer, people considered outcastes, like the Canaanite woman, were accepting it. delay

I believe that the needy woman knew who Jesus was—his racial background, his title and what he was able to do. She knew that Jesus was a Jew, but the problem at hand far outweighed the issue of racial differences. Coming to Jesus, she called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” At first, Jesus was silent. Then his zealous disciples suggested that he send her away. Rather than send her away, Jesus tested the woman’s resolve, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” The woman was not ready to back off, rather, she pleaded further, “Lord, help me.” Responding to her plea, he used a derogatory term that was often applied to Gentiles by Jews of that time: “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” If this Canaanite woman was fainthearted, she would have ended every plea here and walked away. But she did not feel insulted nor deterred in persisting for the cure of her daughter, instead she courageously told Jesus, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” With this, Jesus said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” 

Brothers and sisters, it will be a mistake to spend time wondering why Jesus said it is not right to give to dogs food meant for the children. There are times we call those who are close to us “unbeliever,” “sinner,” “rascal,” “goat,” “dog,” “stupid,” etc. But when we call them such names, the tone with which we say them and the accompanying smile on our faces take the hurt and irritation away. When a brother, sister, friend or parent call us a derogatory name with a softer tone and smile, the sting or the insult which usually accompanies such is rooted out and filled with affection and laughter. We can be certain that the compassionate Jesus said what he said with a softer tone and a friendly smile on his face. We can be very certain that the smile on his face and the compassion in his eyes robbed those words of all insults and bitterness. 

But the lesson to be learned from this Gospel passage is persistence in prayer. The Canaanite woman’s persistence and solid-rock faith in Jesus saved her daughter. Her refusal to give up brought healing to her daughter. Her persistence in prayer resulted in the deliverance of her daughter from an aggressive and tormenting demon. Her practice of PUSH (Pray Until Something Happens) saved the day. The story which started badly ended so well! Glory be to God! Now, how many times have we prayed earnestly for something very dear to us, and God seems to ignore us? How many times have we asked, sought and knocked and the answer is delaying in coming? And when that happens, some of us turn on our heels and walk away; some of us become angry, disappointed, depressed and even promise to stop praying and stop going to church. Some think that God just doesn't care about them. But in the Gospel of Luke 18:1, Jesus teaches us of the importance of perseverance in prayer and not giving up. The woman in today’s Gospel teaches us the importance of persistence in prayer. Against all odds, she refused to give up. Against all odds, we can also refuse to give up.  The silence of God, as frustrating and upsetting it can be for us, is not necessarily a refusal by God. Just like the tenacity of the Canaanite woman in today’s Gospel was tested and tried by Jesus, we also can be tested and tried. So, I urge you, when the answer to your prayer is being delayed, continue to ask, seek, knock and pray fervently and earnestly. Mark this, in such times, the temptation would be to just conclude that God isn't interested and then to quit praying. Again, I urge you to continue to ‘disturb’ the heaven with your request. God’s silence can be an opportunity to grow in faith, opportunity to learn to pray, opportunity to develop trust in God. If there’s one thing that the story of the Canaanite woman teaches us today, it is that persistence in prayer can break the silence of God. I leave you with this words of St. Paul, “With all prayer and supplication, pray at every opportunity in the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:18).