In one sense when we hear
this gospel we kind of think, gee how cruel of Jesus. First of all He wouldn’t even respond to the
woman who asked Him, you know for help.
And then the disciples want to dismiss her and get rid of here. You can kind of see there is probably a crowd
building. Now remember Matthew’s gospel
is written to Jewish converts to Christianity so that’s why this reading is
filled with a lot of innuendoes that would be important even for our culture and
time today.
A
Canaanite woman. First of all she is a woman and in that
culture and society a woman would never approach a man, let alone someone who
is considered to be a rabbi. They’re in
an area, in a district where again Jewish people, the Canaanites were a curse
in the Jewish people’s minds. They were
literally, that’s why they called them “dogs”, a very derogatory term. So this scripture passage is loaded with a
lot of things that say, “whoa, what’s really going on
here?” So a cursed member of a society
that the Jewish people would not even associate with, in a public area, this
woman dares to approach a man, a rabbi.
And then she asks for help. But
notice too, she calls Him Lord, son of David.
In the Jewish culture in people’s minds that was a term for the Anointed
One, for the Messiah. So she is
professing faith in this Jesus. A faith that a lot of other people did not approach Jesus with. So she is on a whole different level. She is approaching Jesus because she does
believe He has the power to heal. And I
wonder if maybe Jesus is in a sense testing her faith by not responding in the
first way. But then she comes right
back, “Lord” the title for the Messiah, “help me.” She doesn’t back off. And Jesus again then says, “Well, I’m not
going to take the food that belongs to the children, the people of
Faith does not know any
ethnic boundaries. All it takes is for
you and me to believe in the Lord God.
Look about us this morning in this church right now. There are young and old, there are
Republicans and Democrats, probably Independents too. There are people who may be healthy, people
who may be sick. There are rich, there
are poor. We have different ethnic
origins in this church right now. Yet we
all have a faith in the same Lord. God
does not distinguish on those things from externals. God looks into the heart.
I wonder if maybe Jesus
didn’t smile a little bit when she came back with that other retort. “Well, even the dogs get to eat the
scraps.” He knows that this woman does
believe in Him so finally He says, “Great is your faith.”
I wonder perhaps in our
lives how many times perhaps we do separate people on the basis of ‘you’re not
like me’. You know again you get all
these distinctions that go on in our lives.
Conservative, liberal, rich, poor, you’re on that side of the street, I’m on this side of the street. You speak this language, I don’t speak this
language. Whatever it
might be. We can separate
ourselves, we build these walls and yet we come here to the same
Eucharist.
Even the first and second
readings are trying to remind us. Even
Isaiah, the prophet Isaiah writing perhaps 500 years before the birth of Jesus,
“My house shall be called the house of prayer for all people.” God’s love is big enough for all the people
of the world. What right
do you and I have to limit God’s love, who can come through these
doors? Who am I to ask you for help and
assistance?
The gifts and the call of
God are irrevocable. God’s mercy is upon
all as Paul reminds us in the second reading.
So I think in my own life,
how have people of a different background, perhaps challenged my faith? That might be a good question for all of
us. Whether we agree, and not get into
all the stuff about legal or illegal, all that type of a thing. But look at all the people that make up the
church, the Body of Christ throughout the whole wide world. So many different peoples,
backgrounds, mentalities, cultures, societies. That enriches who we are.
Sometimes, yes I may not
understand another culture. Why do they
say it this way? Why do they pray that
way? Why do they have to, you
know......Look at me. I’m constantly
using my hands. If you want to really
get me to calm down you’ve got to tie my arms behind me and I’d really be
constrained. Other people don’t perhaps
vocalize it that way, or sing that way.
I love to sing, you know that.
Other people perhaps say, “Well I can’t sing.” Okay, but you pray in a different way. Some people are great in silence. Some people like to kneel, some people can’t
kneel. Are they still praying? Yes.
So just look at physically how we pray.
All these beautiful ways that we give praise and glory
to God.
So I think these passages
today in a sense want to challenge each of us, how we approach prayer, how we
approach this table of the Lord this morning and whom
do we in our mind and our heart block out for whatever reasons. Are we willing to embrace all different
peoples and cultures?
And maybe look at it from
the other way too. Have you ever
experienced somebody shutting you out because you are white? Because you speak English? Or because you speak
German, or Polish? Or because you’re of a different, you know,
Republican/Democrat? Whatever
it might be.
Sometimes we just turn
people off because we look at them and say, “Oh my gosh,
you’re driving a convertible. I can’t
afford a convertible. Look you must have
more money. Therefore I can’t talk to
you.” It can be so
stupid as that.
So maybe today take a look
at how we block others out, how we have been blocked out and say, “Okay Lord,
You’re still the faith, You’re still the Lord of all
of us. And if this woman who got turned
down and was called a dog still comes to You with
faith and You responded to her.”
There is another idea in the
gospel too. Perseverance. Don’t give up on God. Don’t give up on yourself. Don’t give up on other people. People can change. Look at how many people go through AA. They hit bottom. I was talking to a woman last night. Her daughter has been taking heroin and lying
to her mom and dad. And mom and dad are
just at their wits end. They have spent
thousands of dollars putting her through treatment and everything. And Diane last night was just pouring out her
heart to me as we were talking on the phone.
I could feel her pain and her hurt that this daughter of hers,
struggling, trying to find meaning and purpose and yet seems to be pushing mom
and dad further away as they try to help her.
Maybe you’ve experienced that too.
Someone the more you try to help them it seems the further they go
way. And it hurts, it’s
frustrating. Maybe they feel like they
are a ‘dog’, they have been pushed out and they don’t know how to ask for help.
Don’t give up on
yourself. Never give up on anybody
else. Don’t give up on God because God’s
love is always there for you and for me.
And that’s why we are here at the Eucharist this morning. We do have faith. Let’s take that faith and somehow today go a
little bit deeper with God’s love.