The Israelite people in the old testament reading today demonstrated a complete lack of faith in God. However, Jesus commended the Canaanite woman in the gospel reading today for her great faith. What a striking contrast between the two stories.
After all the miracles God performed for His people, by parting the Red Sea, leading them out of Egypt and freeing them from slavery, God still did not gain the Israelites’ trust in Him. What more could He do to prove to them that He would follow through with the promises He made? God was stronger than Pharaoh’s army and yet they doubted His ability to help them conquer the men of Canaan. The spies allowed themselves to be intimidated by the size of the Nephilim men. Sometimes we are intimidated by a person in a position of authority too, like a politician, business tycoon or even an intimidating family member. They are just as much of a human being as the rest of us though, even if they think otherwise. In fact, in God’s eyes they may not measure up at all. Why should we be afraid of someone who’s own soul might not be right with God? Catholics are sometimes a little too meek. We think that maybe we are not a good Christian if we speak up to others because they might get upset and angry with us and negative feelings is not what Christianity is all about. This isn’t true at all though. Hitler orchestrated the worst evil the world has ever known and the men who fought and died to stop the evil he was inflicting on the Jewish people, are spiritual heros even if they were not Catholics. Hitler’s influence seemed insurmountable at the time, but enough men stepped up and said that it wasn’t impossible to defeat him and although some died trying, Hitler was defeated. This is why God was upset with the Israelite people. They allowed themselves to be intimidated rather than trust that God was on their side.
God sure got upset with them. Have you ever wondered why the Israelite people wandered in the desert for 40 years? Well, today’s scriptures explain why. Since the people didn’t trust God and complained against him, He decided to punish them very harshly for their lack of faith in Him. “According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for every day a year, you shall bear your iniquity, forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.” What a harsh punishment, but perhaps in the long run, it helped them learn their lesson to believe in God and to trust Him.
The Canaanite woman in the gospel reading today was actually from the same country that the spies in the old testament reading went to. The spies went to the land of Canaan and saw how big the people were and was afraid of them. Not so with the Canaanite woman. She wasn’t afraid to approach Jesus at all, even though she was not Jewish. She practically crawled on her knees begging him to help her daughter, but still, she approached Jesus because she really did believe he could heal her daughter. What awesome faith. Her faith crossed all boundaries, even those Christ himself had set and her faith touched his heart and he granted her wish.
The scriptures today give us a lot to think about. We shouldn’t let others intimidate us, no matter who they are. God is stronger than they are. We should also trust Jesus more, to be with us when we face things that seem insurmountable at the time. We never have to face the difficulties in life alone because Christ is with us. And we should keep in mind that Jesus in his great compassion may have mercy on us too, and grant our requests that we ask of him in prayer, especially if it is for other people.
God rewards those who have faith in Him.
