Readings
Isaiah 56:1,6-8
Psalm 67
Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32
Matthew 15:21-28
Today we encounter a shocking image of Jesus, one that flies in the face of our popular images of him. Who among us doesn’t see Jesus as unfailing in his love and compassion for the other. Who among us doesn’t call to mind that Jesus is the one who brings those on the margins and even those on the outside in? Left to our own devices we are most likely to see Jesus as meek and mild, loving and compassionate, reflecting the steadfast love and mercy of God. He is the one who stands as critic to the religion of his day for its rigidity and exclusion. He is the one who rises above society and culture to usher in the Kingdom of God.
And yet today, when Jesus encounters a Canaanite woman, at first he reflects a very different reality. Startlingly, he refers to her as a “dog” and seems indifferent to her plight. It is only after much pleading and one might argue, groveling does Jesus relent and commend the woman for her faith and grant her request.
Who is this Jesus we encounter today and what are we to make of what we see?
Well, I would argue that today we see a very human Jesus. A Jesus who is, at least initially, reflecting the culture within which he was raised. And why wouldn’t we? If we believe Jesus to be both fully human and fully divine, it should not be shocking to see the fullness of his humanity on display from time to time.
It is clear from the witness of scripture that Jesus initially understood the primacy of his mission to be for those within his own people. That it was primarily a mission to the Jews. In the Gospel of Matthew, his miracles were intended to reinforce the power of his message and to support the claim that he is the Messiah, God’s anointed one.
And as for the Canaanite woman. Well, in order to understand Jesus’ exchange, we have to go back to how people viewed foreigners. Put simply, the assumption of most peoples in the ancient world was that only people from their own tribe or nation were real human beings. Everyone else was a barbarian, something less than human. Further there was the assumption that their own land was the center of the universe and that their god or gods were supreme over all other deities. In this regard, Jews were no different than anyone else.
For this reason, it was commonplace for Jews of Jesus’ time to refer to Canaanites as “dogs.” They were seen by Jesus’ own people as something subhuman. They were seen as being at the bottom of the barrel and worthy of prejudice and derision.
In this regard, when Jesus says to this Canaanite woman, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs,” he is simply reflecting the assumptions of his own day and looking at her no differently than anyone else would. Jesus, as a devout Jew, was acknowledging the exclusivity of his mission and just how ridiculous, from a cultural perspective, her request was.
But this woman would not be deterred. She reminds Jesus of the deeper tradition within the writings of the prophets of the universal nature of God’s mercy. She reminds him that “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
Isn’t it interesting that ultimately it is this woman from outside who ends up teaching Jesus something. That may, in and of itself, sound shocking. But do not forget, this is not the first time in scripture that an ordinary person reminds God of God’s steadfast love and mercy and ultimately changes God’s mind. Remember that Abraham did just that when God was set to destroy the city of Sodom. It was Abraham who convinced God to relent even for the sake of ten righteous people.
And so it is in this story. In the end Jesus is reminded of the larger and more expansive nature of his ministry. He is reminded ultimately of the larger implications of the Kingdom he proclaims and he relents because of the “greatness” of this woman’s faith.
What are the implications for us in this story. Whether it be race, creed, class, gender, or place of origin. Who among us does not fall captive to the prejudices of our own family upbringing and cultural formation?
If we are to believe that the Spirit of God dwells in us and that Jesus has left the mission of the proclamation of God’s Kingdom to us in our own generation, then we too need to be attentive to those we see at the margins or completely outside. Now let me be clear, we need not be bigots, chauvinists, or elitists in order to participate in the narrow thinking or behavior all around us. No, but we need to recognize both the overt and the subtle ways we participate such thinking and behavior.
There are many proverbial Canaanites among us. And among them, there are many crying out seeking healing, wholeness, and restoration. Will we, like Jesus, be open to being taught something more than what we have always assumed? Will we in the face of such teaching embrace a larger vision and express the steadfast love and mercy of God?
Let me once again be clear about something. We live in an age where we neatly categorize things as social, religious, or political. We argue vociferously for the separation of such things. But I would argue that this is a reflection of the narrowness we see in today’s Gospel. By describing such behaviors as being in only one category we bar ourselves from the spiritual and religious implications of our lives and the assumptions that shape us.
No, we must be willing to let the faith of others shine a light on the assumptions of our own lives, whether they be social, political, or religious. We must recognize that the spirit of God, which dwells within us and all around us, affects every dimension of our lives and calls us to move beyond the narrow assumptions and prejudices that infect our thinking and behaving.
We must, like Jesus, be open to being taught by ones we assume are beneath us, beyond us, wrong, or have nothing to offer. If we do, then we become open to having the heart of God change our own hearts. We become open to being shaped more fully into the image of God.
May we be open to great faith from where we least expect it, and may we be agents of that faith in our own day. May we, like Jesus, be transformed by the encounters we have with the Canaanite women of our times and through that experience, may we become agents of God’s healing and transformation.