Matthew 15: 10-28 Jesus teaches his disciples that true purity is a matter of the heart rather than outward religious observances. Almost immediately, this teaching is tested when a woman considered to be pagan and unclean approaches him for help.
There are three key
words that I want you to remember in today's gospel reading. You may
think that they are DISCIPLE, JESUS, HEAL, but they aren't the ones.
The key words are:
FOREIGN NUISANCE DOG
It is through these
words, that we will learn what really transpired between Jesus, his
disciples and a woman. FOREIGN, NUISANCE and DOG will show us the
meaning of this text, perhaps in a way that we hadn't thought of
before.
You could summarize
today's reading simply like this: Jesus was walking through the
country side when a FOREIGN woman asked him to heal her daughter; but
the disciples thought she was being a NUISANCE, and even Jesus
thought she was acting like a common DOG in the streets, until she
said the right words to him. And then he healed her daughter.
The word “foreign”
is something that doesn't belong together or of the same family, we
could say - like the dust in my eye, “foreign body”; or
“foreign country” a place outside of my own country.
“NUISANCE” can either describe actions that make the person a
problem, or something that is out of control, like weeds in a garden.
Lastly we have “dog.” Dog has a dual meaning. Dog is mostly
thought of as a long-time family pet; your cute and lovable pal, best
friend, or your hunting companion. “Dog” can also be “dog-tired”,
“worked like a dog”, or the “dog-days of summer.” But to
some people, Dog is that barking beast next door, or that animal that
attacked you.
Now that we are
familiar with the meanings of the key words, FOREIGN, NUISANCE and
DOG, let's try a summary again.
And so we find
Jesus, walking through the country side, in an area that he hoped
would keep him from being hounded by the“pop a rozzi” of the day
- the people who had heard of his miracles and powers of healing, the
ones who clamored around him wherever he went. Jesus had hoped to be
left alone, except for His disciples who accompanied him on this
journey. A FOREIGN woman, who cried out to him by name, begged him
to heal her daughter of demons. The disciples were embarrassed by
her actions. Without giving Jesus a chance to reply, the disciples
step in and advise him, “Give her what she wants, get rid of her.
Do you know what she is?” She was a NUISANCE and the only way they
saw to shut her up was to respond quickly and end it – a common
reaction.
She wasn't one of
them, she was an enemy, like a common street DOG expecting more than
she deserved. At first Jesus seemed to ignore her. But she had in
fact, called out to him by name, hadn't she? “Sir, Son of David.”
By calling Jesus “Son of David” she was using his correct name;
she must have heard of his miracles.
This name, had
stirred Jesus with compassion, but he didn't let her know that
immediately. She might have used the right name, but who was she to
call him that? She was a Canaanite Gentile – an enemy to the Jews,
the Jews that Jesus came to save. It was like saying, “ok, lady,
you got my attention. But how do I know you're for real? You could
have overheard someone using this name with me.”
How does Jesus
respond to her? He refers to her as a dog, which was a scavanger, a
savage, but the woman replies that even the dogs get their share from
their master. Not only was she calling Jesus by his right name, but
she is telling him that she knows she is at his feet yet calls him
master.
Besides Jesus,
there are a few key people in this story, too. We have the
disciples, the chosen few, who left their lives and families behind
to follow Jesus; and we have the ones who chase after Jesus because
they've heard of his love and miracles, but have never or may never
want to experience them first hand, because they know what's best for
themselves.
By the time of
Jesus, the people of Israel had been foreigners for so long that we
might think they would have had heightened sensitivity to the
stranger in their midst. The Law of Moses specifically addressed the
need for faithful Israelites to look out for the widow, the orphan,
and the “sojourner”, someone not of Israelite descent who lived
among the Hebrews. These foreigners were under the protection of
God.
Listen to Isaiah 56:
6-8: “and foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord, to serve him,
to love the name of the Lord, and to worship him, all who keep the
Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant –
these will I bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house
of prayer.......he who gathers the exiles of Israel: I will gather
still others to them besides those already gathered.” This reading
tells us that they were welcome at God's holy mountain, and their
sacrifices were acceptable to God. But what we see in our gospel for
today is that by Jesus's day, the Israelites' attitude toward
foreigners had changed. Then a foreigner was no longer a member of a
protected and welcome group but could be anyone who was simply
unknown or away from home.
If we were to put
ourselves into this story, I would imagine that not one of us would
want to be the NUISANCE, the one who is so persistent that they are a
pest. I also believe no one would want to be the DOG who was a
scavanger, looking for more than its share. How many of you then
would consider yourself a FOREIGNER? Depending on our age, at one
point everyone who lived in the United States was a foreigner or a
descendant of a foreigner. All of our families came from somewhere
else. But few of us think of being a foreigner. Even fewer of us have
had an opportunity to actually experience being an outsider. No one
wants to be that either.
Now with the key
words and key people together, here is one more interpretation of
this text that puts our Gospel message in today's language.
And so we find
Jesus walking through the country side in (your hometown). There
are those that chase after him because they are skeptical – they
want to see his miracles for themselves; perhaps test him, but have
no real interest in experiencing his love. As Jesus is walking along
the Heritage Trail, a stranger, a drunken woman of simple means
immerges from the trees, and cries out to him as he passes by. She
begs him to heal her daughter of drug addiction. Jesus slows but
keeps walking. His followers position themselves between Jesus and
the woman, and try to find an easy way to help her, to quiet her
down, so that she will not bring any negative attention to their dear
Lord and Savior, Jesus. Afterall, she and her kind are the drifters
who have already requested help over and over and over. What is she
doing to change her ways and help her daughter anyway? Because His
followers know Jesus needs some contemplative time right now, they
hope their efforts satisfy her so Jesus can get on with his walk.
Instead, Jesus responds to her not with the same frustration that his
followers used, but with a quiet tone, “You savage and
scavander”as he remembers that she called him by name. He is
humbled by her willingness to put herself in the public arena in the
shape that she is in, and stand apart from her fellow alcoholic
friends to request help from him. And when he challenges her, she
bares her soul by admitting that even the scavangers and savages,
even the dogs get food from their masters. She had proclaimed her
faith in him. She had put herself at her Master's feet in humility.
Our dear Lord and Savior Jesus praised her for her deep faith! He
granted her request and her daughter was healed.
Perhaps you never
thought of the key words – FOREIGNER, NUISANCE and DOG as
describing your faith in Christ Jesus. We don't look at ourselves
as a Foreigner until we acknowledge that we go our own way and get
separated because we haven't trusted God's direction for our lives.
We certainly couldn't be a nuisance could we? until we beg God to
respond to our prayers, promising beyond our abilities. We could
never be the scavanger, expecting more than we deserve, could we?
Until we admit that we are self-righteous, and humble ourselves in
the sight of the Lord. Today's text makes us look at who we are as a
follower of Christ, and reminds us that the same Grace (GRACE = God's Redemption At Christ's Expense) of God, the
same love of Christ that is offered to the foreigner, the nuisance or
the scavanger, is the also offered to each of us.
Today's text also
gives the Church as a whole the image of Mission. Every community is
filled with people who are hurting, tormented, sick and oppressed.
The Church must be in and of the Community to share God's healing
with the world. It is much easier to help to those we do not know,
cannot see or hear about. In sharing the Body and Blood of Christ,
the Church receives the strength to enter this world and bring
comfort, healing and justice to those in need. May we see ourselves
as the body of Christ and witness to foreigners the universal message
of God's grace, just as we receive him ourselves.
Dear Lord, we give you thanks for women and men in every age who have devoted their lives to you. Gather us with all the peoples of the world into your wide and loving embrace, here and in the life to come. AMEN
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