Matthew 15:21-28
Prosperity Can Lead Society Down Wrong Path by
Rev. John De Celles
Reprinted with permission of "The Arlington
Catholic Herald"
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Matthew wrote to show that Christ
was the
Messiah and fulfilled the Jewish prophecies.
Then Jesus went from
that place and 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 he did not
say a word in answer to her. His 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
him 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 her daughter was
healed from that hour.
Our
country's incredible commercial development has led to great prosperity.
Unfortunately, this affluence has led to a culture which tends toward
materialism and decadence. In the first century, the cities of Tyre and
Sidon were very much like we are today. Both were commercially prosperous
port cities, but also plagued by materialism and moral corruption.
In
one way, however, Tyre and Sidon were distinctly different from our culture:
they were Canaanite cities and were not founded, as we were, on faith in the
fundamental truths revealed by God to Israel and fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
They had no true faith to guide their lives, to elevate their desires from the
material to the eternal.
This
is the background of the woman in today's Gospel text - the "Canaanite woman of
that district" of Tyre and Sidon - and for Jesus' interaction with her.
But it also forms the background for the woman's problem: she comes to Jesus
because her daughter is "tormented by a demon."
Since
"the beginning" in the Garden of Eden, when Satan, confused Adam and Eve about
the many good things God had given them - we might say the "original prosperity"
- the demons have continuously worked to confuse man about the good things of
the world. Prosperous societies have been an especially fertile ground for
their work, as demons prey on man's fallen nature to corrupt our natural desire
for good things into a lust for decadence.
And
so, the Canaanite's daughter, living in a world of both prosperity and
decadence, was tormented by demons. Is she so different than our children
today? Raised in a culture so open to corruption and temptation, are we so
naive as to think that they are not also the targets of the demons? Not
only those who willfully expose themselves to demons (e.g., fascination with the
occult and witchcraft) but also those who are simply constantly exposed to the
culture and the demons who prey on their innocence.
How
can we live in this age of prosperity without succumbing to decadence? How
can we fight the temptations and confusion of demons? The answer: faith in
Jesus Christ.
When
the Canaanite woman comes to Jesus he seems to dismiss her, telling her: "I was
sent only to . . . the house of Israel" - to those who have faith in the true
God. But the woman neither leaves, nor disputes what he says.
Instead, she proclaims her faith in Israel's God - displaying the purest form of
faith, a faith rooted in humility: "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the
scraps that fall from the table of their masters."
Jesus
is not being cruel to this poor woman. He has simply moved her to accept
and proclaim her faith. He did this also to Martha at Lazarus' tomb: "do
you believe?" and to Peer as he called him to walk on the water: "Oh you of
little faith." Jesus loved Martha and Peter, and he loved this Canaanite
woman. And in his love he asked them to accept the only solution to all
sin and suffering: faith in Him. And so "Jesus said . . . 'O woman, great
is your faith!' . . . And the woman's daughter was healed from that hour."
Ours
is a great and prosperous nation, but its culture is all too corrupted by sin,
especially as it increasingly rejects its foundational faith in Christ. So
as we raise our children to both love our country and participate in her
prosperity, we must also be aware of the temptations and the demons that thrive
in this prosperity. And we must have faith in Jesus Christ and share that
faith with our children, as the only protection against the confusion that
corrupts prosperity into decadence.
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