“Lord, Help Us”

We cannot ignore what has been happening during the past couple of weeks.  Thousands of people have been killed or displaced in Iraq, the Ukraine, and in Gaza, and at least one thousand people have died in West Africa because of the Ebola crisis.  Some people stricken with this disease are known to members of our community.  It is a tragic and fearful time for those who live in these countries, and it is not a good time for anyone who cares about what is happening in our world.

The World Health Organization has urged all nations where the Ebola disease is spreading to declare an emergency. They are asking that all people traveling through international airports, seaports and land crossings be screened, and to prevent travel by anyone suspected of having the Ebola virus.

Unlike previous outbreaks of the Ebola virus the West African epidemic erupted in areas with more traffic, trade and freedom of movement, facilitating transmission of the disease. In addition, the affected countries have extremely weak health infrastructures and lack the capacity to respond effectively.

Liberia, which saw what had happened in Guinea and Sierra Leone, responded more quickly than some other countries, but it lacked the capacity to contain the disease and is now fighting the spread of the virus in Monrovia. With a population of four million people, Liberia has only 250 physicians.  There is no licensed protocol of treatment or vaccine to halt the disease.

Next month we shall have an evening forum here at All Saints’ for anyone in the community and the Diocese who is concerned about travel to destinations in West Africa or about loved ones and friends who live there.  We shall have a physician who specializes in infectious disease and travel as well as a couple of our residents from West Africa to discuss necessary precautions and to alleviate some of the fears that people naturally feel.

Where is our faith in the midst of all this?  Where do we find hope in the midst of disaster?  What can we learn from the Canaanite woman we heard about in today’s Gospel?

Jesus had left the area of Gennesaret where he had been preaching to a large crowd and was on his way to the gentile area of Tyre and Sidon.  He was probably exhausted and wanted to find some rest and peace on a retreat with his disciples.

Along the way a Canaanite woman started shouting, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon."  Jesus did not respond and his disciples urged him to send her away.  They did not want a screaming foreign woman, an outcast as far as Israel was concerned, to disrupt their travel.  Jesus acknowledged that he was sent “only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

The woman went up to him anyway and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." He answered, "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."   Jesus was startled by the woman’s unexpected immediate retort.  A pagan woman agreed with what Jesus said about it not being fair to take food from children and giving it to the dogs.  She effectively turned the tables on Jesus and said that even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master’s table.  What mattered was that her daughter was suffering and tormented by a demon.  Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed instantly.

Matthew doesn’t tell us how Jesus felt when he lost this argument with the Canaanite woman.  What is implied is that he recognized truth when he heard it.   The Canaanite woman’s persistence not only made her daughter whole; it also showed Jesus that there was a larger world beyond Iarael that he had come to listen to and to heal.

With all that is happening are we not like the Canaanite woman screaming to God for mercy and healing of our troubled world?  We are all members one of another, part of this great earthly gathering of the people of God.  It does not matter where we live or the circumstances of political conflict, war or disease from an untreatable virus or from starvation.  We are God’s people of every race and nation, and our faith calls us to pray and worship, to give thanks to God for his compassion and mercy, and to participate as ambassadors of reconciliation. 

We pray that wars may come to an end, that people may learn to live side by side in respect and dignity, and that all of us may work to heal those who are sick and suffering.  “Lord, help us.”  Help us to be faithful doers of your Word and pray for your compassionate care and relief of suffering wherever it occurs.  Amen.