“Jesus’ Kind of Justice”
Matthew 15: 21-31 - 12th Sunday after Pentecost
August 20, 2023
Pastor Deborah - BRCC

We have a new little dog/person at our house these days. His name is Teddy and he is a 12 year old Shih Tzu mix. I refer to him as a “person” because he is VERY communicative and demanding of my attention while his own master, my daughter, is out of town. Teddy is never more than a foot from my side and has this whinny and insistent voice that will not quiet until he gets what he wants, whether it’s to go outside, just to come back in within minutes; or to take me to his food dish to get water or kibbles; or to have me pet and scratch his ears. Teddy is a force…a little force, but a force, and will not be denied. Teddy is a bit like the Canannite woman in our story today. When Jesus refers to her as a “dog” it feels shocking and dismissive to us, but in truth, the word Jesus is using her refers not to a street mongrel, but a beloved pet “dog”. A pet that needs a master to respond to her desperate need, and who is willing to cry at his feet until her faith in him is realized.

There are times in our contemporary world when we just don’t understand Jesus’ words and actions, and this morning’s text from Matthew where Jesus refers to the Caananite woman as a “dog” is one of them. As with so many of the stories in Matthew’s gospel, we have to understand the historical and cultural context in order to make sense of what Jesus is really doing and saying. After the miracles of healing and now feeding thousands of people who were flocking to him, the religious fervor to deal with Jesus as a threat to the traditions and laws of the Jewish authorities was becoming intense. Jesus spoke truth to power, and that was becoming a wildfire that would soon go out of control. Jesus could see in the reactions of the religious leaders what a deep hold the empty, outward system of tradition and rules had on the people, and even his disciples. He challenges these systems of “control by guilt” in the most plain language that he can find, eating, for the kosher rules of what to eat and what not to eat were ridiculously rigid in his day. It’s not what we put into our mouth that defiles, says Jesus…but what comes out of our hearts when we do not have God’s love and faith guiding our thoughts and actions. And then, as if it is critical to nip this blind attachment to RULES, and firmly establish the essential difference between Jewish religion and the teaching of the Son of God, Jesus leaves that place and takes his disciples to the district of Tyre and Sidon.

Now this is important, for you see this is the ONLY time that Jesus’ ministry took him and his disciples outside the boundaries of Jewish territory into what was considered Gentile territory. This text foreshadows the future of the Gospel going out to the whole world where the faith of Gentiles would soon be compared to the unbelief of the majority of Israel. Jesus’ withdrawal from Jewish territory was deliberate. The growing clash with the Jewish authorities foreshadowed the cross that would come and Jesus needed to take his disciples away to a quiet place where he could teach them without being interrupted. Nowhere in Israel could he now find such privacy for wherever Jesus went, the crowds would follow.

Tyre and Sidon were inhabited by the Phoenician race, and no Jew would follow them to the land of the despised Gentiles…It was bad enough to witness Jesus interaction with the Samaritans…half breeds at best. But Gentiles…. This was truly unheard of. So Jesus is being very intentional here. He wants his disciples to get it that the Son of God brings mercy and salvation to ALL people, not just a chosen few. The disciples must have been a bit confused and overwhelmed as they stepped out of the lines of their Jewish traditions to follow Jesus into forbidden territory.

It is here then, that the Canannite woman appears, like a dog whining for attention and help. She will not leave Jesus’ feet, but cries out for help and mercy for her daughter who is tormented by a demon. Can you imagine the desperation of this poor woman? She is a foreigner…Jesus and his disciples are also foreigners. There is NO relationship…just HOPE, and the possibility that God’s healing grace might be for the outsider too.

Human need is the same everywhere, and news must have leaked out that Jesus was a healer. The woman had very little knowledge of who Jesus was, and what he taught, yet she had that unprejudiced pure heart which instinctively recognized his divine power and loving compassion for every human being who needed him. And so, even as Jesus tried to walk by and didn’t answer her at all, she dug deep into faith and persisted.

I love the little saying, “God may be slow…but God is NEVER too late!” Perhaps Jesus knew that her faith needed to be stretched. He needed to persist and reach to receive what he had to offer. The disciples, however, were irritated. They felt like I do when Teddy just keeps whining at my feet. “Send her away!” they prodded. But Jesus NEVER sends us away, does he?

But Jesus had to be very careful outside the boundaries of Israel, for he didn’t want to appear to be abandoning the Jews in favor of Gentiles. Yet, He was awakening in this woman, and ultimately the entire world outside of the Jews, a faith that would be transformative to ALL people. That would swing wide the arms of God to His children everywhere…without exception. And so it is here that he uses that offensive word…DOG. “Why should I take the “children’s food”....that is the salvation promised to Moses and Jacob and their descendents, and give it to these dogs?” in other words…these outsiders. But Jesus’ use of the word “DOGS” doesn’t carry malice…but is a kindly reference to a beloved “pet” in need of what others believe belongs only to them. And the woman picks up on this opening, and in faith asks for just the “scraps” that fall from the table of the Jew’s Messiah! What a humble…yet profound faith! And Jesus says, “Great is your faith! Your daughter is healed!”

This reminds me of a mission trip I had the privilege to take to Tanzania, Africa a few years ago. As part of a mission program called “Bega qua Bega” (meaning SHOULDER TO SHOULDER) our church mission outreach team visited several outpost villages, called “Preaching Points'' to develop relationships and bring funds and support. The ELCA church in Tanzania often had only one pastor who would travel throughout these mountain villages to preach and teach. Our mission group was part of a wider circle of Minnesota congregations who raised funds, supported the ELCA’s presence in Tanzania through a seminary, schools and hospitals, and also took trips to Africa to develop relationships with our newly formed partners in Christ.

As our little bus of travelers climbed the mountain roads, It was overwhelming to arrive at these mountain outposts and be met by villagers enthusiastically dancing and singing and waving floral branches. They would gleefully show us how they made straw and mud bricks to build a little church; and then we would worship with them for hours, as they brought gifts of live chickens and homemade garments to thank us for helping them grow in faith and in economic development so that these communities could thrive.

While there, it felt like WE were the outsiders whose hearts and eyes were being awakened to the reality that Jesus’ was present and powerfully alive in the faith of these beautiful people who were content with the “scraps” of mission support. While there, I watched as the women received sewing machines so that they could embroider garments to sell; I witnessed the giving of peanut grinding machines that allowed the villagers to make peanut butter to feed their children. We planted trees together, and irrigated motes around them to capture moisture to nourish their fields. And we visited schools where their children were getting a real education, and hospitals and clinics where the sick were being cared for….very “third world” in it’s setting, but definitely a “jewel of hope and pride” for these children of God whose faith was so strong that the scraps they received from us Americans was a profound gift from a God whose mercy if for ALL.

Those experiences are so important, because it reminds us that we are ALL outsiders! We, like Teddy, my daughter’s dog, are all BEGGERS! And when we have faith to embrace our neediness…and experience the gift of receiving the scraps off the tables of the “Others’ we might consider outsiders…we discover that the Christ is truly here and growing our faith.

As those villagers shared their chickens; as they wrapped us in their homemade garments; as their children reached for our hands to show us how they play on their drums and sing with their hearts a song of joy…the scraps from our table, became precious gifts from theirs.

It is estimated by some Bible scholars, that Jesus and his disciples stayed in the region of Tyre and Sidon for as long as six months. They also went to Caesarea Phillippi and later to the Decapolls, all Greek cities east of the Lake of Galilee. Although we know little of what happened during those six months when Jesus was teaching his disciples away from the Jews, this must have been an unforgettable experience for this “retreat” ended in the tremendous moment when Peter responds to Jesus’ question…Who do YOU say that I am? And Peter says, “YOU ARE THE CHRIST…THE SON OF GOD!”

This segment in Matthew also shares the account of a feeding of the 4000… a different crowd than the feeding of the 5000. This crowd must have been filled with more Gentiles than Jews, and accounts for the unusual phrase in Matthew 15 where the crowds praised “the GOD OF ISRAEL.”

So, you see, this hard to understand gospel text this morning is really GOOD NEWS and a call for Justice. As we heard from Isaiah: Maintain Justice and do what is right for soon my salvation will come, and my deliverance be revealed. The foreigners who join themselves to the Lord…these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer…thus says the Lord Gd, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, I will gather others to them besides those already gathered.”

The apostle Paul got this…His ministry was to the outsiders….the Gentiles…those hungry for even the scraps off the table of the chosen Jews. And in his letter to the Romans, Paul acknowledges that we are all imprisoned in our disobedience and sin (in bondage to human sin) SO THAT God IN Jesus Christ, can be merciful to ALL.

And in faith and hope…all God’s people said. AMEN!

Prayers: 12th Sunday after Pentecost - August 20, 23

Holy God, you have graciously called us to be a house of prayer for ALL people. You’ve asked us to look beyond our comfortable cultural settings, rules and expectations, to welcome all who may feel like outsiders and outcasts, INTO your arms of Mercy. Awaken our faith and open our eyes, to see in the scraps we are given…and the scraps that we share…the fullness of your vision for our world. Let us not be afraid of the ones we might name as “The other,” but instead, let us open our hearts to their shared humanity…their shared need, and our partnership with each and every child whom you have created in eternal love. Help us walk in peace; give in generous compassion; and rejoice in the diversity of our experience as recipients of your salvation. LIYM

Lord Jesus Christ, the lament of human loss; the destruction of your beautiful creation; and the desperate need to reach out and help one another surrounds us every single day. We watch as communities lay in the ashes of fire; torn open by floods; blows apart by violence; war; and injustice. Let your justice reign down like manna upon this desert of disobedience. In our imprisonment of sin, pour grace upon our woundedness and restore us to your redemption and new life. Teach us to make your house a place of prayer…of welcome…of justice and mercy. LIYM

We know by faith that you hear the insistent voices of all and that you will respond to our need. Bring healing grace to those we now name before you with our communal voices and silent heart prayers:

Empower our voices to sing…and dance…and proclaim your mercy and favor to all, even those we might consider our enemy…for as Jesus as taught us, FAITH must extend beyond our borders and follow you wherever your lead. In Jesus’ powerful name we follow. AMEN.