A Helper
Notice the woman is a helper. She is not subservient or less than the created man. God put the man in a deep sleep to prevent him from observing creation or how creation happens. And man is filled with joy to find someone like himself.
We all need helpers in life. I think of the many teachers, male and female, who have helped me. I am thankful for the time they helped me to understand and mature. I pray that I may have done the same for others. When I first was discerning to enter the Permanent Diaconate for our diocese one of the questions an interviewer ask was, “When you die what do you want written on your tombstone?” Admittedly I had not given that much thought. But even more surprisingly I responded immediately, “He helped.” I remember thinking ‘where did that come from?’ It is true, though. I have only sought to help.
Many times, people take today’s gospel I think too literally. If you want to that is fine. I tend to think of it that you have two cultures at work here. They know each other’s opinions about men and women and their respective religions. But this woman knows Jesus can heal her daughter. In a very tense situation, I find many people resort to humor to ease the tension. There was a friendly banter back and forth using the tensions of the day for the words used. With only a word Jesus heals her daughter.
What word are you looking for from Jesus? Perhaps you are the word He is sending out to be His helper.
May the Lord bless you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen