THE CANAANITE MOM

WALLS AND BARRIERS.

This mother was desperate because her beloved daughter was seriously ill.(Matthew 15:21).She took the chance of coming to this stranger for help; she was like good mothers all over the world - they stay loyal to their children.  Even before she began, this mother had  3 strikes against her: (1) women weren't supposed to speak to men in the street, (2) she was asking for the cure of a girl and not the more favored male child, (3)  she wasn't only a Gentile but from a hostile tribe. The Apostles wanted coldly to get rid of her.

She was a good woman and she came with love, and there's nothing nearer to God than that.

This mother presented Jesus with a dilemma: if He granted her request, He would seem to be indifferent to those considered themselves God's chosen people; if He didn't grant her request, He would be going against His innate compassion.

He brought her near and she changed from the superstition that had brought her here, into a prayer to the living God - and her prayer was persistent and deadly earnest.

The dialogue was a test of faith for her and a match of wits between her and Jesus which He intended to be humorous. She showed  extraordinary ingenuity. In her replay, she changed His word "house dogs" to a diminutive meaning "pet dogs" or "puppy dogs". Jesus' final replay was enthusiastic and warm; He was tearing down the walls that separated Jews and Gentile, the barriers based on religion.

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