Year A, Proper 15

August 17, 2008

Friends, what we just heard is one of the most jarring and unsettling passages in our Holy Scripture. That these words and actions appear in the New Testament, the one centered on God’s love and mercy, the one dedicated to the Good News of Jesus Christ, is truly unnerving. The way Jesus reacts to the woman asking for his help contradicts everything we understand about the Son of God and his mission on earth. We read, we listen and we wonder, what is God about here? 

This morning, we’ll take some time to explore Matthew’s account and discover God’s purposes being worked out. You will recall that the time Jesus walked the earth, the Israelites, the people called Jews, were the only people in the world who worshiped one God. All other races, nations, tribes and empires on the planet believed in multiple gods. They erected namesake temples, they carved little god figurines, they created gigantic idols to worship. Only the Jews worshipped the one God. The Almighty Creator we know made a covenant with Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation. If you follow me, I will bless your descendants. I will raise you above all others. You will become an example to the world. Through your faithfulness to me and my generosity to you, other nations, other people will be drawn to me. This is how they will come to know me. God’s covenant with Abraham was the Father’s first plan and greatest hope for mankind after we exercised our free will so poorly and put distance between ourselves and God and between ourselves and our best natures. 

For centuries, God kept his part of the covenant. His chosen people had real difficulty in maintaining their part of the promise. At some point, the Father determined other measures were required, so he sent his Son to bring a very clear message. His Son would come into the world and live a fully human experience. He would eat and breathe rest and laugh, preach and teach, form attachments and friendships. His Son would live a life free from SIN.  Sin being all thoughts and behaviors that pull one away from good relations with God. The Son would understand the nature and essence of God. The Son would serve like the prophets who came before him. He would remind the chosen people about their covenant with God and encourage them in their faith. He would do whatever was necessary to bring them back to the Father. He would, in essence, save them. He would reunite them to their creator and to their original goodness. When this was accomplished, when the first covenant, the first plan was intact, all the other nations, peoples, tribes, empires would be amazed and inspired. They would put away their false gods and follow the one God above all other gods.

So, Jesus of Nazareth comes into the world.  Born of a Jewish woman, raised by a Jewish father, he follows Jewish law. He follows the one God of the Jewish people. He studies the Jewish scripture and does nothing to separate himself from the God he serves. He doesn’t sin. God wants the chosen people wholly dedicated to Him. Jesus complies. He is not distracted by other pulls or considerations. As he matures, Jesus of Nazareth becomes aware that he is something extraordinary. Through his prayer and his interactions with the Father, he comes to realize that he is the promised one, the Messiah, the Deliverer, the Christ. He begins to see, understand and accept his destiny. He takes this charge, this burden very seriously. He will return the chosen people to their God! He will follow the Father’s plan. 

Please understand, everything Jesus of Nazareth knows about God has been revealed to him in the context of Jewish law and scripture. The Lord God- the Chosen People of Israel, the Chosen People of Israel- the Lord God, this is the summation of Jesus’ experience that Matthew is expressing. Then, we come to this astounding passage in Chapter 15. Jesus is taking care of the Father’s business. He has just fed 5,000 chosen people. He’s walked on water and saved chosen Peter from drowning. He’s healed many sick chosen people in Gennesaret. He’s argued with the leaders of the chosen people trying to move them from the letter to the spirit of God’s law. Now, he’s traveling with his chosen disciples when a “Canaanite” accosts him. A “Canaanite” is a word in Jewish scripture used to designate a pagan enemy of ancient Israel. 

When Matthew selects this word, he wants to make a connection between pagan enemies and gentiles. A gentile is any person who is not Jewish; who is not one of God’s chosen. At this point in the story, Jesus is refusing to talk to an enemy of God, an enemy of his Father. The disciples want him to deal with her, to dismiss her and get rid of her. Jesus again refuses to get involved. He says he’s not going to be ugly to her, but he is not going to be distracted from his mission. He is not going to “sin” and be drawn away from the Father’s plan. The woman persists and forces Jesus to deal with her. Our Lord then says something very harsh to our 21^st century ears. Jesus likens his fellow Jews to “children” and all Canaanites to “dogs.” We are shocked. He isn’t going to help this desperate woman and her sick child, and even worse, he‘s being rude and mean-spirited. 

But, remember, Matthew is reporting the incident in language and imagery of 1^st century Palestine. All the parties in this account are centuries away from our sensibilities. Because the language is so jarring, and because Jesus is so adamant, we can lose sight of the significant twist that happens next. The woman is not dissuaded. She is relentless and answers the Messiah right back. “I’m not chosen, but neither am I worthless! You have the power to help me. I believe this. Honor that belief.” And, dear ones, here is where everything changes.

Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus the Messiah has a sudden insight. God comes to him with a new mission. The Messiah, the Christ, will not lead the chosen nation back to the Father. The Christ will lead any one who will follow. Everything Jesus has understood about his work and destiny shifts. Everything he has believed about God’s will and plan is altered. Jesus is not the savior for the Jews. He is the savior for the world.   Any one, anywhere, any time, who believes his message and accepts his identity, will be given the keys to heaven. They will have intimate access to God. In this moment, our faith is born. We, the former pagan people, we the gentiles, the unchosen, now become the people of God. Our faith, our belief makes us chosen. We are now the Master’s children – precious, precious and worthy in his sight. A moment ago, we were like dogs. Now, we are fully his. He sent his Son for us. The Son will die for us. 

What was harsh and ugly now becomes very, very Good News for us. Room has been made in the kingdom of God for each one of us. And, room was made for us because the Son of God was willing to accept some new information from the Father. Jesus was open to the idea that perhaps God might move in new ways. Jesus was faithful, prayerful, and responsive. He allowed himself to change. He moved from certainty and comfort to new understandings and challenge. We are the beneficiaries of his insight. He came for his own, for the ones he knew and loved. He left with us, the new people, the ones who came later and crowded in. Do you recognize a recent theme?

This moment in Jesus’ ministry is a poignant parallel to this moment in our ministry at St. Mark’s. Jesus had a clear, powerful legacy to honor and carry forward, but he came to this precise point and he had to decide. Do I stay the usual course, or do I take what came before and open it up to something more expansive, something greater than I first imagined?

He was his father’s son, so He accepted the challenge. He allowed his vision and his mission to be transformed. As his followers, we are called to do likewise. Part of our faith, which is often overlooked, is the charge, and the command to be alert to God’s movement and to be willing to adapt, change, and follow him to new places. It may be for us today at St. Mark’s, that the new building is our Canaanite woman. It may be that God is telling us, honor what you know, but make room for something new. It may be that God is telling us – my plan for you is mighty and impressive and marvelous. So, go deep to the core of your faith. Pray and meet me there. Wait and listen. I will send you answers and peace.

 God also tells us that the call to new vision doesn’t come without sacrifice. There will be many, many blessings but giving over is also required. Accepting the Canaanite woman into the fold sealed Jesus’ fate. His sacrifice was supreme. But, because he was willing to go to that place of deep faith and give himself over to the Father’s plan, we all now have a place at the table. We’re welcomed to the heavenly banquet. We hold the keys into the kingdom.

Like our namesake, like the one we follow, may we be open to God’s call to new vision. May we be willing to sacrifice for the grand future God has in store for us and the generations that follow. Jesus said, “Gentile, Child of God, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” This legacy and this blessing are ours as well.

Amen.