Faith that melts barriers

In tomorrow's Gospel reading Jesus tells a Canaanite woman who asks for her daughter to be healed,

I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel...It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs.

The woman stands up to Jesus saying,

Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.

Jesus compliments to woman's great faith and her daughter is healed from that moment.

Harry Denman, a lay preacher from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma writes of this encounter in his sermon for tomorrow found at the Episcopal website Worship That Works,

Why is it that the poor and the outcast are so often the ones who recognize Jesus? The vast majority of our ancestors—slaves or free—that landed on the shores of an uncertain land, were either poor or outcasts, yet they brought with them a personal faith. They sensed the grace of God that guided them across stormy seas and gave them stamina to withstand the brutality of chains and unruly ship captains. It has been said that, “If they had less to lose in the eyes of others, then Jesus’ message of acceptance was a welcome mat for hope in the future.”

The Canaanite women would not accept the idea that Jesus was only sent for certain people. Her faith melted that barrier. It calls all of us to receive what Jesus has to offer. Our collect for today says, “Give us grace to receive thankfully the fruits of his redeeming work, and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life.” His redeeming work is poured out for the likes of us: warts and all.