He was passing through, his eyes straight ahead; the people whom he passed by interested him very little. His purpose being established forty-two generations before his birth, he had come to save those to whom he belonged. So, he trudged along, busy doing that, for which he was called:
- Preaching the gospel to the poor,
- Healing the brokenhearted,
- Delivering the captives,
- Recovering the sight to the blind,
- Setting at liberty those who were bruised,
- Preaching the acceptable day of the LORD.
That was his mission, and the Chairman set his aimed at fulfilling this purpose.
They say the cities of Tyre and Sidon were rich and prosperous under the Roman Empire. People's acceptance depended upon what they were born as, either boy or girl, and their racial birthright, either as a Roman or Phoenician citizen, or a person who had been enslaved as loot from war conquests.
The poor lived dreadfully poor in poverty; the rich lived filthy rich in riches; the widows lived upon the goodness and mercy of their relatives, and women who were unfortunate enough to have children outside of marriage, lived on the crumbs that were thrown at them from society. Their birth heritage and their standing in the society determined their status of recognition and acceptance among people, and so was it for the woman whom the foreigner was about to encounter.
She was the epitome of a human being who obtains invisibility in the society because she was different. Her presence was there, but not acknowledge, her pleadings unheard, and her cries silenced by the deaf, impaired ears of her society. With a sick daughter, who would probably undergo a worse tragedy as she would, the woman had no hope, no money, and no friends. Her destiny was doomed; a woman with a sick daughter. Not even, the title of widow was given to her. If it had been, a certain amount of respect would have come her way, but a woman with child, no way! She was scum.
- What do you do when you encounter a single woman with a child?
- Do you turn your head and look the other way?
- Does your treatment of people go beyond the shallow words that you voice when you are among your kind?
See the foreigner, as he was passing through, he moved quickly. The Chariman, clothed as a foreigner, had left his own country after refuting the learned religious scholars of his day, and their interpretations of the commandments given them. Maybe, he desired a much-needed break away from the hypocritical facades of the people who had been given charge to take care of his people, or maybe he was seeking a quiet place to commune with the Lawgiver. The reason he departed to Tyre and Sidon was not mentioned; what we do know is:
- He explicitly gave an order to his board members to go only to the people who belonged to their race and culture,
- He led by example and did the same.
If only this woman had not appeared, shameless and brazen, her cries rang out and were intolerable to hear. Beaten down by the burden of poverty, alone in the world with only one precious valuable asset, she wailed loudly demanding he hear her out, but the more she wailed, the more he ignored her.
It is a strange story; whether she was married or single, no one knows. What we do know is the woman's soul anguish was written on her face. She was a woman. She was scum.
- How do you deal with someone walking behind you screaming for attention?
- Where do you go when you do not want to be bothered with what you call the foreigners of the world?
- What is your excuse for ignoring people?
- How do you treat the foreigner in your land?
Interesting is the treatment of the foreigner by the woman. Instead of ignoring him, she ran behind him wailing. Here, is the crux of the matter! She knew he was the Chairman! It did not matter what his nationality was, or his race, or his color, it mattered who he was. He was the healer she had heard about, and whatever he had, she wanted some of it, no matter the price.
Can't you see her people?
The woman wailed loudly. His board members were tired of her cries. They probably wanted to stone her to silence. She disturbed their inner peace. They were tired of being molested by her cries and begging the Chairman to send her away, he answered them.
"I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
And the woman, the scum of the earth, kept on wailing as she ignored the disgust of the board members. The Chairman did not stop her from wailing, either. It did not bother him. He knew his mission.
- How do you get the attention of a Chairman, even though you know you have no rights to his presence?
The wailing woman changed her tactic. Recognizing his steadfastness at ignoring her pleas whenever she stood before him, her inner voice, within, advised her to give him the proper reverence, which was his due!
Can't you see the woman as she approaches him, wailing, loudly for help, but this time her position has changed? She no longer stood tall with her head held high like a proud falcon in the sky looking for food for her brood. No, she was bowing down in worship as she approached him, and the Chairman smiled within himself and gave her his attention as she cried out:
"LORD, help me."
"It is not meet to take the children's bread, and cast it to the dogs."
And she said, "Truth LORD: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table"1
Incredible, thought the Chairman, absolutely incredible, and he looked at the wailing woman.
"Oh woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour."2
Ciao,
Pat Garcia
1 The Holy Bible, New International Version, ZONDERVAN, 1984 Edition, The Book Of Matthew , Chapter 15-21-28
2 The Holy Bible, New International Version, ZONDERVAN, 1984, The Book Of Matthew, Chapter 15:21-28
