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Every time I’ve brought up this scripture this week, it has sparked discussion, even argument. So today’s sermon will be an opportunity for you to join the discussion.
Have you ever watched a movie or a play and found that you see it differently because you’re thinking about how the person sitting next to you is seeing it? Like watching a sexy movie with your parents. Ick.
Maybe the worst, though, is watching a movie with your kids. When our girls were six and eight, there was a special 20th-anniversary showing of Grease (1978) in the theater. This was before streaming was much of a thing. YouTube had only been around a couple of years.[2] We remembered Grease being a wholesome movie. Fun songs. Dancing. Fifties era styles. But it felt much less wholesome with our kids sitting there. Because of them, we were uncomfortable, and saw that movie in a whole new way. (They, however, only remember music, dancing, and pink dresses.)
Today’s scripture reading can be like that. Jesus and the disciples do not treat the Canaanite woman very well, and it makes us uncomfortable. Jesus ignores her, and the disciples are rude. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.”(Matthew 15:23)
What’s up with that? Isn’t this the same guy who tells the story of the Good Samaritan helping a stranger? Why aren’t Jesus and the disciples being kind and helpful like the Samaritan was? Is Jesus really calling this woman a dog?
Jesus responded, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.” (Matthew 15:26)
He does. Ugh. C’mon, Jesus, we know you’re better than that.
This is what it looks like when we do this, when we are bothered by someone’s begging, or see someone as less than human, and even worse, say something to them that reveals that we think they are unworthy of our help. Kind of like seeing a movie differently when you’re watching with your parents or kids, we see this scene differently because it’s Jesus and the disciples. We expect this kind of behavior from other people, but not them.
Part of the challenge here is that we can’t help seeing this with 21st century eyes. In the previous scene, Jesus was having a somewhat similar argument with the pharisees. They wanted to know why Jesus wasn’t observing the ritual handwashing practices. Jesus responds, “It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.” (Matthew 15:11) The disciples slide on over to Jesus and give him a little whisper: “Don’t you know you just offended the pharisees?”
The disciples don’t understand. So Jesus explains. 17 “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. 18 But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. 20 These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.”
In other words, how we treat people matters more than following traditions. In the discussion with the pharisees, the tradition is handwashing. In the discussion with the Canaanite woman, the tradition is to avoid contact with outsiders. So Jesus responds to the woman according to the Jewish tradition, according to what’s expected of a rabbi or teacher. In doing so, he also shows us how ugly that looks.
Socratic method
- Alex Campbell: It does fall into Jesus’s normal style of using the Socratic method of teaching. Going back a few verses we see all his disciples urging him to send her away. but he says nothing and addresses only her with statements and waits for her to disprove them or disagree. His statements are incredibly blunt and abrasive. But in line with his teaching methods that puts the emphasis on students to finding the truth.
- Tabitha Krabbe: It comes off patronizing.
- Alex Campbell: Oh for sure, it can be a very abrasive way of teaching.
- Alex Campbell: One of my favorites is when Socrates himself asked “what is a man?” and all his students came to the conclusion a featherless biped, and he accepted it as an answer. So, another philosopher, Diogenes plucked all the feathers from a chicken and threw it at him yelling “BEHOLD A MAN!”
What do you see in this story?
Is Jesus being racist?
- Is this like Jonah, the prophet who didn’t want to help the Ninevites to repent because he knew God would forgive them and the Ninevites were his enemies?
- Exodus 22:21 “Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.
What gets in the way of helping?
- It’s too much of a bother
- We aren’t prepared
- Here’s what it sounds like to be unprepared: I got a call about a family needing help in another city. When that happens, I call a church or colleague in that city, because they’re more likely to be effective at helping in their area. They know what’s there, and I don’t. Often this works out well. But sometimes the response is something like, “Ummmm….I don’t think our church does things like that.”
I worked in the office of a church that had a much better approach. I was given a list of people to call who had signed to be part of helping people in various situations. One was a nurse, so she got more of the medically related questions. All of them were prepared to offer financial assistance. A few of them would give rides. They were a great resource! But there was one guy who was the best. If the help needed was anything out of the ordinary, or bigger than our usual requests, I called this guy because he never said no. He always found a way to get the person helped. Ever since, it’s been one of my personal goals to be more like that guy.
One way to be prepared is to have resources set aside specifically for this. I try to keep some cash in my wallet just for giving to someone on the side of the road. I know people who keep care packages of food and toiletries in their cars so they’re always ready to give them out, and who keep envelopes with a $5, $10, or $20 bill in them so they’re ready to give.
I have found that it’s much easier to say yes. It feels more right to say yes. I always feel guilty when I say no, so I try not to do that.
- Prejudice
- People will use it improperly
- Is that our call?
- Abuse of welfare is greatly overstated. Studies show that it’s actually quite low.[7]
- Implicit bias
- 1 Timothy 5:21 I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism.
- FONHE (Fear of not having enough)
Should the focus be the woman?
What are your takeaways?
- We can argue with God
- We need to be persistent with God
- Racism is ugly
- Withholding help is ugly
- No one has to worry about being good enough for God
- “Restoration and full inclusion are themes that reside at the heart of Christianity.”[8]
- Other?
[1] Photo by Krists Luhaers on Unsplash
[2] YouTube was born in 1995. Netflix started streaming in 2007.
[3] Photo by Gustavo Fring: https://www.pexels.com/photo/tired-mother-asking-for-help-while-sitting-with-children-4017419/
[4] Photo by Colin Horn on Unsplash
[5] Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash
[6] https://pngtree.com/freepng/rubber-chicken-toy_5242958.html png image from pngtree.com
[7] https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/five-myths/five-myths-about-the-safety-net/2020/04/16/dbbe0dec-7f37-11ea-9040-68981f488eed_story.html
[8] Joel B. Green, Thomas G. Long, Luke A. Powery, Cynthia L. Rigby, Carolyn J. Sharp. Connections: A Lectionary Commentary for Preaching and Worship (p. 552). Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition.
United Presbyterian Church 