Wednesday of Week 18 Year 1

Some of us may have taken our faith for granted at times. When times are good, when we are enjoying peace and prosperity, some of us may have become complacent, wallowing in the good life. But what if, all of a sudden, the good life we had been enjoying is gone. Persecution is taking place all around us, many of our faithful are being put to death, and we are living in a perilous environment. Many of us would then turn to God in prayer and supplication, asking Him to rescue us, but some may lose faith and turn to other forms of help, thinking that they would stand a better chance of survival, and yet some would even go so far as to abandon their faith to save their skin. As Christians, how should we respond to such a situation?

In today's Gospel, we come across a Canaanite woman who was pestering Jesus to heal her daughter. The Canaanites generally have got nothing to do with the Jews or even Jesus for that matter. They were considered pagans and the Jews had been warned not to mix around with them, for fear that they would become attracted to their pagan ways. But despite the suffering this Canaanite woman was experiencing, despite the fact that the Jews shunned such people, this Canaanite woman had great faith in Jesus. She had faith, trust and confidence that Jesus would heal her daughter. Jesus must had been quite amazed with such great faith, and even though He said: "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel," Jesus had found that even a Canaanite woman could have greater faith in Him than "the lost sheep of the House of Israel" at times. Because of the Canaanite woman's great faith in Jesus, her daughter was freed from her torment.

What can we make out of this? Today's Gospel shows us that we should never take our faith for granted. We should have trust and faith in Jesus, in good times and in bad. We should not be complacent with our faith, but be alert and ready at all times. When the time comes to show our faith, may we be courageous and bold, knowing that we are being witnesses of Jesus for His glory.