I love that Jesus modeled this common moment of humanity: the moments when someone else knows you better than yourself. Or more specifically, the moments when someone calls you to do more than you intended to do.
Now, if I were Jesus, I might have said, “Enough is enough, Lady. I’m super busy! Doing everything under the sun, and now you want me to do it for everyone under the sun. Take a number! I have to draw the line somewhere.” He does say that first, although, admittedly, he was much politer and kinder about it than we tend to be.
But she persists!
I was recently talking to a co-worker about a plan I had that would improve communication and mutual goal setting with my team. I said it was a bit ambitious and maybe I just can’t do it for this month. The coworker looked at me and said, “Well, it’s a great idea. Of course you can pull that off.” That simple vote of confidence really struck me. Sometimes we have a different vision than someone else of ourselves or our mission or tasks. But more often than not, we have a great vision, one of which people can totally buy into, but maybe our scope is just a bit too limited. That seemed to be the case for both Jesus in this gospel reading and myself when I was talking to my coworker.
I have another coworker who works in housekeeping. She pays exquisite attention to the residents’ needs. I want her to work on my team because of that compassion and attention paying, however, she told me she does not believe herself to be extraverted enough to work in Activities. Fair enough. Just because I observe qualities that would be a great fit, doesn’t mean my vision for her is in sync with her own self-concept. However, it could be that my invitation, my encouragement to think other possibilities, could be a window opening that will let some much needed fresh air into her internal rooms.
Jesus’ acceptance of the Canaanite woman’s vision of His mission and ministry as broader and more expansive than He was embarking on in the moment is a model for us. We too should be as open to other people’s feedback as to what and who we can be beyond our own self-reflective visions. Sometimes that vision does not change things in the moment, but it may plant seeds. In addition to pondering and occasionally accepting others’ visions of our missions, we need to speak what we see as possible for others. We need to be both Jesus and the Canaanite Woman.
Journal Reflection
Reflect on a time when someone shared their vision of your mission or abilities with you.
Reflect on a time when you shared with someone else, your vision of their mission/abilities.
Reflect on whether these were invitations to a new life and new to-do lists, or whether they were calls to do ‘more of the same’ but on a wider playing field.
Writing to Pray 