I was listening to my friend Alaisa stream live on Facebook this morning and she said “Remember who you are.” That reminds me of this powerful scene from the kid’s movie “Moana“. When the now corrupted Tefeti comes barrelling down the barren ocean floor only to draw up short to the brave and compassionate Moana. They then tilt their heads together and she sings “You know who you are.” It’s a very emotional experience to think of. We often forget who we are don’t we? Children of God, yes. Saints in the making? God willing. Sinners? One and all.
That brings me to the thoughts I had this morning while reading the Gospel for today. You find this woman from Caanan who is desperate for her daughter’s healing. She has left her own lands to seek out Jesus. That’s key to think about for a moment. She went on a pilgrimage, away from the things that were hindering her and sought the Lord. She makes a scene calling out to Him in public. When He didn’t even respond, how much must that have hurt? So much so that St. John Chrysostom said the disciples likely entreated Jesus to send her away from both embarrassment and out of a sense of dignity for her. Here she has come into the place she is hated, loathed even. From a land of the “them,” the “others.” He didn’t even respond. I think most of us would be wounded in our pride, scampering back to where we were from. At best the crowd might have had pity, but some would have been scolding and hateful. Against all of this, she continued to call out.
Jesus then calls her a dog, a puppy. To which she responds “even the dogs eat from the scraps at the Master’s table.” In all of this, she shows something that we need to learn. True humility. She doesn’t deny what the Lord has said about her or even try to defend who she is. She doesn’t make excuses. She doesn’t brag about her journey to get to Him, or her faith to be there against all of these odds. Instead she just humbly admits her faults and places herself at the feet of Jesus. Oh, that we might do the same. To get up from this world that is holding back our prayer life, to get out of those situations that are keeping us from being close to God, to put everything behind us and put our hands to the plow of the Gospel. That we might receive the “gift of our faults” by admitting them, striving to be holy and against them, but never letting pride blind us to their existence. To not let those jeering around us, calling us to go home, or even when our prayers don’t seem to be receiving an answer make us turn back… but with humility and faith keep petitioning Jesus, knowing He is still listening, that He still loves us and wants to feed us more than just scraps.
That brings me to that last verse from Jeremiah for today, where it says “For thus says the LORD: Shout with joy for Jacob, exult at the head of the nations; proclaim your praise and say: The LORD has delivered his people, the remnant of Israel.” The Lord has delivered his people. He is prepared to say to each and every one of us the words He said to the Caananite woman who had enough humility to seek Him out, to place her burdens at His feet, and to ask for healing for her daughter: “great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” So don’t just remember who you are, but also remember whose you are! The Psalm prayer today reminds us that Jesus has redeemed us, His people, His Church! This is why we should be joyful people! It’s up to us to continue to remember that, to remind ourselves daily, and to have enough humility to get on our knees in prayer even when it seems like He is not listening… Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be open unto you.
A reflection on the readings for Wednesday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time: August 5th, 2020.