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THE FAITH OF A GENTILE WOMAN (MARK 7:24-30)

REFLECTION

The theme for our reflection is “The faith of a Gentile woman” Faith “… is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1). A Gentile is a person who is not a Jew. The faith of a Gentile woman was tested by Jesus when she came to Jesus seeking deliverance for her daughter who had been attacked by a demon. She indeed had faith and Jesus set her daughter free from the demon that had tormented her even before she got home. Have you ever gone into an examination room, seen the exam paper and then panicked because the questions were impossible to answer hence you anticipated failure? Here we have a Gentile woman going to write faith exams and Jesus was the examiner.

Jesus was perfectly playing the role of any Jew at the time but was not approving of Jewish racism against the Gentiles. When the Gentile woman came to Jesus for help, Jesus responded “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” (Mark 7:27). Jesus’ response sounded harsh, offensive, and unwelcoming. In fact, many of us would have been offended and returned to wherever we came from. Who then was the children, and who was the dog? The children in Jesus’ statement are his fellow Jews and the dogs refer to the woman and his fellow Gentiles. I am sure the Gentile woman felt rejected by Jesus but unlike most of us who will walk away in anger or give up when met with seemingly difficult or impossible situations, the Gentile woman was humble and had a persevering faith. The kind of racial resistance she experienced during her encounter with Jesus was normal at the time, Jesus was only re-echoing the popular Jewish racial superiority and cliché at the time. In other words, a Jew will certainly love his fellow Jew and prioritise his or her fellow Jew’s needs over and above a person of another race. The popular cliché “…it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” in Mark 7:27 is usually used by the Jews to express a hostile rejection or denial of support to the Gentiles. Unlike most Jews, Jesus was gentle with her because He cared and would respond positively to her plea.

Beloved in the Lord, the Gentile woman gave an answer to Jesus that perhaps had never been given to Jesus by a Gentile during His engagement with them. She humbly responded to Jesus’ seemingly harsh and racist statement which was indeed a test of her faith by saying “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” (Mark 7:28). Put in another way, she was saying that “I know a dog does not sit to eat bread with the children but a dog is equally satisfied when crumbs of bread are allowed to graciously fall on the ground” In fact, a hungry dog that is determined to find something to eat will always stay under the table unless it is forcibly driven away. Even if the dog is forcibly driven away, it will not stay too far away from the table. This may sound bizarre but hungry dogs have faith more than many Christians. I am inviting you today to try the persevering faith of a dog. You never give up until you receive your crumbs of blessings which is graciously sufficient for you. Today, we have heard language or statement of faith which Jesus confirmed when he said “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” (Mark 7:29). You may not be qualified for the bread at the table but possessing the persevering faith of a dog will surely earn you the crumbs of blessing from the bread at the table. These crumbs of bread are what I call grace, we do not deserve them but through faith and God’s mercy, we receive them. Let us continue to pray without ceasing even as we persevere in faith, for “without faith, it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

In summary, we have learnt about the faith of a Gentile woman. Just as the faith of the Gentile woman was tested by Jesus, our faith may also be tested when we pray to the Lord, we must have the persevering faith of the Gentile woman who demonstrated the patience, humility and faith of a hungry dog that yearns for crumbs from the master or owner’s table.

PRAYER

GRACIOUS GOD, MAY WE NEVER GIVE UP WHEN FACED WITH CHALLENGING SITUATIONS, MAY THE HOLY SPIRIT GRANT US THE PESEVERVERING FAITH OF A DOG THAT WE MAY ALWAYS BE BENEFICIARIES OF YOUR GRACE AND MERCY. AMEN