Proper 15, Yr A (2023) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield

Proper 15, Year A (2023)                                                         The Rev. Karen C Barfield

Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32                                                     St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church

Matthew 15:(10-20), 21-28

In the name of the one, holy, and living God:

in whom we live, and move, and have our being.  Amen.

Kyrie eleison….

            Lord, have mercy.

Today’s Gospel story begins like so many others:

someone comes to Jesus asking for help and healing.

The person who comes to Jesus for help is identified only as “a Canaanite woman.”

Like many others whose stories we hear,

she has no name,

no personal attributes cited.

“Canaanite woman” is all that Matthew’s hearers need to know to understand who she is.

She is a foreigner,

an “outsider,”

a heathen pagan,

     a reminder of ancient war, idolatry, and wandering in the wilderness.

She is a Gentile,

                 a woman,

                        and the mother of a demoniac.

In the ancient Jewish world she would have been utterly unclean and unapproachable:

            3 strikes; you’re out!

And yet, she appears out of nowhere and starts shouting at Jesus:

            “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David;

                        my daughter is tormented by a demon.”

There is absolutely no mistaking who she is addressing.

“Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David.”

She names Jesus as the Messiah – his true identity.

            In Matthew’s gospel only true believers address Jesus using the title “Lord.”

And yet, remarkably, Jesus’ response to her is utter silence.

We get no indication that he even looks her direction.

            He just keeps on going about his business.

Jesus’ response makes no sense and seems so uncharacteristic of him.

He has been teaching and preaching in Israel,

and yet no one seems to recognize him for who he truly is. 

Even people in his own hometown were offended by him.

And then this woman,

presumed a pagan,

       comes up and addresses him as “Lord” – the Messiah –

and he doesn’t even bother to give her the time of day.

This reaction seems uncharacteristic

because in his ministry Jesus has been supportive of women,

       teaching them and healing them and expecting from them a faithful response – something no other man in his day would have done.

So, why does Jesus just ignore her?

Perhaps he was simply exhausted.

He has tried multiple times to get away from the crowds

who continue to surround him and seek his healing power,

draining him with every touch;

      and those he keeps teaching about new life just don’t seem to get it. 

It must be frustrating…

            and exhausting.

Only for brief times does he manage to escape and regenerate.

So, perhaps he has come to this foreign land to get away

and is determined to let nothing stop him

so that when this woman approaches,

        even though she addresses him as “Lord,”

      he merely ignores her. 

He can’t give any more right now. 

Go away.

The disciples, annoyed by her persistent shouting, ask Jesus to send her away.

And then he answers,

“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

I imagine that as Jesus responds to the disciples,

he speaks loud enough for the woman to hear his comment. 

Perhaps his dismissive words will put her in her place,

and she will go away.

Now, it is important in understanding this story to recognize that at this point in his ministry Jesus understands his mission to be only to the Jews. 

Just a short while ago when Jesus sent out the 12 disciples,

he gave the following instructions:

      “Go nowhere among the Gentiles,

     and enter no town of the Samaritans,

but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”  (Mt 10:5-6)

So, despite the fact that this Canaanite woman knows Jesus’ true identity,

she is decidedly NOT among the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

            She is NOT in the purview of his ministry.

And yet, having already been ignored and then rudely rebuffed,

this woman,

with great humility and courage,

comes and kneels before Jesus.

Boldly planting herself in his way, she says,

“Lord, help me.”

With such humility kneeling before him,

I would think Jesus’ compassion would break through,

       but surprisingly he responds with further insult:

“It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”

He has just called her a dog!

            - in the Jewish understanding of the day a dog was an unclean, filthy animal who belongs outside in the dirt.

What a slap in the face!

And yet,

in her boldness she manages to respond,

      again addressing him as “Lord”… a title of respect.

“Yes, Lord,

yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”

With her courageous and persistent faith,

she challenges Jesus’ understanding of his own ministry.

And Jesus takes the challenge and seems to make a change.

“Woman, great is your faith!

            Let it be done for you as you wish.”

And her daughter was healed instantly.

What a remarkable story!

This story flies in the face of the Jesus we like to remember. 

It is good to remember that he is human after all.

Although healing this Canaanite woman’s daughter seemed to contradict tradition

and God’s purpose for his life,

       Jesus changed his mind.

He offered God’s healing power to a Gentile.

So, what might we take away from this story?

I don’t know about you,

but I find it is easy to become overwhelmed by the needs of the world we live in.

We are surrounded by pleas for help as we hear of natural disasters around the world,

            as our families and friends succomb to disease and stress,

                        as we walk or drive down the street.

      There are people in need everywhere, ourselves included!

It can be easier to turn a blind eye

and keep on walking in silence

or maybe even utter a rude comment,

       hoping the one in need will just go away.

I have found in my own life that just when I think I understand where God is calling me to be in ministry, that my horizons seem to keep expanding, or the road turns in an unexpected direction.

Sometimes I refuse to follow,

but I find that when I do let go of my boundaries,

God gives me the grace I need,

       and my relationships are blessed.

Jesus gave in to compassion and found that he had enough to give –

            and to an even wider circle than he had expected.

So wide was his circle expanded that in the end he commanded his disciples:

            “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations….”  (Mt 28:19)

We, too, are called to inclusion,

            to scatter the seed far and wide,

to allow God’s grace to work through us in ways infinitely more than we  could ever ask or imagine.

I pray that as we go forth from this place that we may have the courage to listen

            and to follow,

      wherever the road may lead.

Amen.