Today's Gospel passage is awkward for us. This is not the Jesus we want to see or emulate. We just do not like the way Jesus interacts with this Canaanite woman. He does not seem respectful, but instead rude, insensitive and exclusive. People try in all kinds of ways to excuse, justify or reinterpret Jesus' words and actions to recast them to be more harmonious to the way we want Jesus to have behaved. But even earlier in Matthew's Gospel (11:6) Jesus had said: "Blessed is the one who takes no offence at me." Perhaps this Canaanite woman is blessed because she takes no offence where none was intended.

Jesus claims in today's passage that he has been sent only to the lost sheep of Israel but had withdrawn to Phoenicia, to the region of Tyre and Sidon. That certainly was an odd way to go about his mission. There would probably not have been many Jews to be found there. Recall that the Canaanites were the ancient and historic enemies of the Hebrews and perhaps even in Jesus' day the conversation we overhear is the manner in which Jews and Canaanites just normally interacted with one another.

Didn't this Canaanite woman act like the hound of heaven: relentless and not giving up, but instead kept calling out even when there was not a word of response. She reminds us that our God does not give up or go away.