Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall...

22 And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, "Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon."

23 But he did not say a word in answer to her. His disciples came and asked him, "Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us."

24 He said in reply, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

25 But the woman came and did him homage, saying, "Lord, help me."

26 He said in reply, "It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs."

27 She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters."

28 Then Jesus said to her in reply, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish."


I have often been puzzled about this verse. Why did Jesus call this poor woman a dog? His behavior simply doesn't seem to mesh with what we know about Jesus; why is he rebuking this pleading woman who is only seeking mercy for her beloved daughter?


Recently I recieved some insight into this when listening to a CD from a Bible Conference I attended last summer. And I have come to realize that Jesus has been calling me a dog for a very long time.

If we really LOOK at that verse, we see that this Caananite woman has come to Jesus, in faith and trust, begging for help for her daughter. Jesus calls her a dog! Yet she remains. Why does she remain?

Because this is not really a rebuke. Jesus is testing her; he is explaining his mission, that to the House of Israel, but notice he has not told her to go away! She seems to understand this, although his words must have punctured her heart and soul with a thousand arrows. Yet she remained, pleading on her knees, refusing to take "no" for an answer. Rather than running away, she followed and did him homage.

And what was Jesus's response? Read it again:

28 Then Jesus said to her in reply, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish."

He's THRILLED! Jesus has seemed to reject her, but she persists, continuing to believe in spite of such a seeming insult. And as Jesus was wont to do, he was really inviting her to go deeper, to persevere in her faith; He did not want her to leave, only to understand FOR HER OWN VERY SOUL what she was asking him to do and what she BELIEVED he could do. Jesus knew he could heal her daughter and free her from the demons. But the woman must have been lacking in something to be tested in such a way. And she let her love for her daughter and the faith obtained through grace overcome what may have been her shame at being rejected.

Because she had faith, she grasped it with the tenacity of a dog, and she would not let Jesus turn her down.

And by Jesus' word, it was done.

I've been grasping this Gospel lately, myself, realizing that I'm just a dog begging for scraps from the Master's table.

I'm at the end of my rope at work. On Thursday, I nearly gave immediate notice and walked out; the only thing that saved me, ironically, was my dogs and the mortgage. I can't go around letting my frustration write resignation letters I can't afford to write. And so I remained. And still I remain, still begging the Lord for Mercy, for direction, for new and fruitful employment.

I know that my gifts are not a match for my current job and I know that I have no future with this company. Nor do I want a future here. And we know there is a systematic problem when the other THREE team members ALSO are desperate to walk off the job.

Because it comes down to the fact that our Manager is not hearing us, and Management in general in this company isn't hearing us nor do they want to; they are too focused on "the bottom line". They are too focused on "profit", and whenever someone complains about workload, the pressure, the stress, they offer trite platitudes about the end of the year profit-sharing and the money to be made by each individual.

I'm starting to wonder if they are Communists parading as Capitalists. And neither, in their pure form, is good.

I don't care if they were to offer me $10,000 more annually...I can't keep this up. I can't continue to go to work with my stomach in knots, my heart in my throat, and my pulses racing. I can't continue to take the whips and stings of a workload that becomes more and more burdensome, or a double standard that forces my unit to take excess work from other less specialized units, while they refuse to help us when we're so far overloaded. They use "numbers" to measure "productivity", and forget that the numbers aren't accurate for there's a lot of work yet to be done on issues that have been closed out. Nothing is really closed, and I have hours of work to do on a number they can't even see in their paltry system.

Not to mention the hours of work that comes without credit from our outstate counterparts who consistently get less measurable work, have stellar performance, make more money...we do their work and we don't get the credit for it. It doesn't measure into our "numbers" in our Metro office.

I can't continue to work for a company that has forgotten that without their employees, there is no company.

And yet, I can't find another job. I can't even figure out what I want to do, but for those careers for which I am not qualified because further education is required. (Which I am seeking, as you know).

All I'm really begging for is scraps from the Master's table; I'm not looking to get rich, I'm not looking for prestige, definitely not management, only to be able to pay those bills I have to pay to keep a roof over my head and the internet connection working! I'm asking for a job that I can go to in peace; not expecting perfection for we will not find Eden here, but there is more to life than the stress caused by bad employment. No matter how much we are paid. And although the money is decent, it's not enough for what it takes out of us.

When out legitimate complaints are deflected, downplayed, or outright rejected by Management, then it's time to abandon ship. Will someone please send a lifeboat? Mass exodus from the Titanic that is my company is in need of lifeboats and personal floatation devices. I'm not the only one.

So I am saying a prayer each day, now, from the depths of my soul, begging for mercy, reminding the Lord that I may be only a dog, but even dogs receive the scraps from the Master's table.

And I am praying that if I persevere with faith in the face of the silent rebuke which has so far met my tearful pleas, maybe Jesus will FINALLY say,

"O Woman, great is thy faith! Let it be done for you as you wish."

Should the Lord answer this prayer, you will all be the first to know. For I am now doing what the woman in scripture did...I am approaching Jesus publicly in the face of his rebuke, (2 1/2 year's worth) accepting the title of "dog", and I will follow him to the ends of the earth in order to obtain the answer to this prayer...and I will not take "No" for an answer.

Help me, Lord. I am only begging for some scraps.