Matthew 15:21-28 (NRSV)
Read Matthew 15:21-28 on biblegateway.com
Verse 21Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Verse 22Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon." Verse 23But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, "Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us." Verse 24He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Verse 25But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." Verse 26He answered, "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." Verse 27She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Verse 28Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed instantly.
Devotion
The "Not yet" place is not a fun place to be. It's that place where I'd like to believe God has something good in store for me, but I haven't come across it—yet. Despite the "not yet" things that hadn't materialized for the woman in our story, she remained convinced that Jesus could and would help her. When she kneels down and says, "Lord Jesus, help me," his silence must have seemed like the ultimate put-down. Instead, she's asked to identify with the scenario where food is thrown to the dogs instead of given to children. Yet she holds on and manages to be pretty quick on the uptake, "Yes, Lord, even little beggar dogs get in on the crumbs from their master’s table."
Jesus seems amazed: "Great is your faith!" We're not told that he ever said the same of Peter or John or anyone else who had left everything to follow him. A great faith, indeed. Greater still, her Lord's ultimate faithfulness to her.
Prayer
God, Grant us wisdom, courage and faith to face each hour. Amen.