What is your earliest memory of a visit to the doctor? I remember visiting my pediatrician as a child. I remember getting a lollipop or a piece of candy at the end of the visit. I remember that it felt good to be listened to and cared for.
One of the things that I have discovered over the last few months is a new-found appreciation for access to good healthcare. It’s not the only time in my life that I’ve held a deep thankfulness for good health insurance and the world-renowned doctors and hospitals here in Chicago. That said, these are things we often take for granted. Sometimes it takes a traumatic event–a tragic illness or injury, a pandemic–to discover again gratitude for health and healing.
The gospel story begins with a woman in search of healing for her daughter. “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David, for my daughter is tormented by a demon.” And very uncharacteristically, for Jesus, he greets her plea with silence. “Send her away,” his disciples say.
Maybe Jesus is tired. Maybe he can’t deal with one more healing. Maybe he’s hung up on the fact that she’s Caananite, an outsider. Maybe there are some troubling power and gender dynamics going on. Whatever the case may be, the woman wants access to health and healing for her daughter and not only is her request denied, Jesus, at first, doesn’t even listen.
Even as I express gratitude for good health and access to good healthcare in corona time, this pandemic has also exposed deep inequities in the quality of and access to our healthcare system. We now know that the virus disproportionately affects communities with high rates of poverty and communities of color. Many of us have come to realize what people of color have known all along–that our healthcare system is yet another system that is broken and another system infected by the virus of racism.
Which leads me back to Jesus’ actions in today’s story. This story makes me wonder how many “Canaanite women” are out there today? How many people desperately need access to health and healing for themselves and their family and they’re either denied or ignored?
The Chicago Tribune ran an article a few days ago documenting the implicit bias that keeps people of color from getting the care that they need. One of the subjects interviewed for the story said that over the course of his life, when seeking help for a medical condition, he says that nine times out of ten, he was completely brushed off.
When we hear stories that suggest deep and troubling disparities in access to health; when we hear the pleas for healing, too often we don’t listen. We don’t show enough empathy or try to understand. We cast blame. We make judgments. From a perspective of privilege, the system works just fine. Yet just because it works fine for some people doesn’t mean it works for others.
In today’s story, the Canaanite woman won’t take no for an answer. In response to Jesus’ final attempt to brush her off, saying, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs,” the woman pushes back, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
Her persistence pays off. Something in Jesus clicks. He does finally listen. In a complete turnaround, he praises the woman for her great faith and her daughter is healed instantly, that very moment.
The prophet Isaiah writes, “Thus says the Lord, maintain justice and do what is right, for soon my salvation will come, and my deliverance will be revealed.” Today’s story reminds us of the responsibility that flows from the waters of baptism: to continuously work for justice in the world. Today’s story reminds us that a critical part of doing justice is listening in the first place–listening to neighbors who are ignored or brushed off. Today’s story reminds us of our call to embrace, welcome and care for all who cry out for help.
Today’s story also reminds us of God’s expansive, inclusive vision for the world. God desires healing and wholeness for all creation, especially those who are brushed aside or denied help.
Today’s story reminds us about the relational nature of God. The good news that flows from the waters of baptism and through the story about the Canaanite woman’s daughter is that God is always drawing us into relationship. Jesus, in the end, hears what the Canaanite woman has to tell him. Our God is a God who listens, a God who hears our cries for love, care and healing. Our God is a God who reaches out to us with limitless grace and mercy.