In the Gospel stories, geography, history, and people are often very important. The story of the Canaanite woman is an example.
As the story unfolds, Jesus is taking a short trip “outside the country.” He has left the boundaries of the Holy Land, the place the Jewish people called home, and visited a part of the country populated by non-Jewish people. He went beyond the borders of God’s land of blessing. While there, he encountered a woman from that area. She was descended from the ancient enemies of Israel, the Canaanites.
For many years around the time of King David and after, there were periodic wars between the Israelites and the Canaanites. In fact, at certain times in Israel’s history the people turned away from the covenant with God and began to worship the fertility gods of the Canaanites. Canaanites had been enemies of Israel for centuries.
Now this enemy woman approaches Jesus with a prayer — “Help my daughter. She is bound by an evil spirit.” She even addresses Jesus with the title which finds its roots in the wars of the past. She calls him Son of David. And she persists in her plea.
Jesus reminds her of the barriers placed by history and geography. She is not one of the chosen people, and she lives outside the Holy Land. How could she expect to receive the gift of freedom and deliverance promised to God’s chosen people. Yet she believed, and her prayer was answered.
She believed in the power of Jesus, certainly. But she believed in more than that. She believed in the overwhelming mercy and compassion of God. She was certain that God’s love was far too strong to be held in by history or geography.
That Canaanite woman reminds each of us that there is no situation or circumstance beyond the reach of God’s mercy. God’s love seems to be so strong that it even reaches beyond the initial plan of salvation. God’s love has a life of its own driven by compassion and need.
Jesus comes to show that God is the Lord of life. No death, whether physical, spiritual, or emotional, is beyond God’s ability or desire to heal. Keep on asking, and you shall receive the promised freedom and life.