Crumbs

After Pentecost (Proper 15 ) | Year A | Matthew 15:10-28 | TJ Torgerson

I told a friend today that for this week's blog, I am going to write about the time Jesus called a woman a dog. His response was, "Wait, what?" This week's Gospel passage has a little bit of shock value to it, or at the very least, it might take the reader by surprise. This passage is perhaps even more shocking than the time Jesus flipped tables and ran people out of the Temple because in that story, we can see the wrong being committed and understand Jesus' action as righting a wrong. However, to speak to a woman in need, a grieving mother, in a way that seems void of compassion, well, that is difficult. If you and I were to do this, it would be seen as un-Christlike.

Matthew 15:20-28 is a challenging passage, and its difficulty can teach us something. First, it can remind us that maybe it is harder to figure Jesus out than we sometimes pretend. Second, difficult passages like this speak to the authenticity of scripture. Think about it. If you were writing about the accounts of Jesus' life and knew that the message of Jesus was spreading all around the Gentile world, would you include a story about Jesus, the Jew, referring to a Gentile woman as a dog? But Matthew doesn't skip the story.

So I wonder, what does Matthew want us to take from this story? There was a common prayer that Jewish men would pray that would go like, "Thank you, God, that I was not born a Gentile, a dog, or a woman." Did Matthew include this story because he was a Jew and wanted to include a story of which we could use to say, "See, look, even Jesus thought this about non-Jews; we are totally justified in our unloving attitudes towards outsiders!" Or maybe there is something else going on here. Let's take a look at the story.

• Jesus and his disciples travel to a Gentile (non-Jewish) area. It seems they wanted a break from ministry.

• A Canaanite woman finds out Jesus is there and goes to him. In recognition of who Jesus is, she cries out, "HAVE MERCY ON ME!!"

Good Sunday school students, readers of the Bible, or watchers of the Chosen, would expect that at this point in the story Jesus to do something amazing: heal the woman's daughter, or say something profound that we would spend the next week pondering. But that is not what happens. Jesus is silent. Is he ignoring her?

Do you ever feel like that? Do you ever feel like God is ignoring you? Have you been at your wit's end, pleading and crying out to God, "HAVE MERCY ON ME!!!" and in response — nothing — crickets — no response? Feel helpless, hopeless, and like your prayers are not even reaching the ceiling?

Why was Jesus silent? Did he look down on non-Jews like other Jewish people did? Did Jesus look down upon women like other Jewish men did? Is that what is happening here? Some may offer that as an explanation, but that simply does not make sense. Because remember Jesus' genealogy, that includes 4 women, 2 of which were Canaanites. Remember his encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. Remember his encounter with the centurion (Matt 1, John 4, Matt 8:5-13). Jesus' compassion stretches to all, regardless of societal standing and reputation.

Why did Jesus remain silent? Here is what I think is happening — Jesus, by his silence, was providing an opportunity. Specifically, an opportunity for the woman to show her faith and even discover her faith. When God is silent, He is giving us room to grow. A good teacher will often be silent so students have the opportunity to show what they have learned as well as discover their capabilities. Jesus' silence, while difficult for this woman, was ultimately beneficial for her.

Additionally, Jesus' silence could have been beneficial to others who were there, specifically the disciples. Just before this encounter, Jesus taught his disciples something about what we speak. Jesus said it is not what goes into our mouth that defiles us, but what comes out because the things that come out of the mouth stem from one's heart. Imagine the scene with the disciples in mind. This Canaanite woman comes to Jesus asking for help. Jesus and the disciples were looking forward to some rest, and now they are being bothered by an outsider. When this woman approached, perhaps Jesus saw something festering in their hearts. Maybe it was a smidge of hate or prejudice.

This hatefulness needed to be exposed so that it could be addressed. So Jesus was silent. He was silent long enough for his disciples to speak their hearts and perhaps even discover their hearts. "Send her away," they said. They didn't want to be bothered. You might have people like that in your life. People with whom your first instinct is - send them away — get rid of them. That was the attitude of the disciples. They wanted Jesus to send her away, either flat out tell her to leave or maybe they were even saying, "Just give her what she wants so she will go away. Throw her a couple of dollars and tell her to get out of here." Either way, it is clear that they believed — she doesn't belong here — she needs to go away.

So what is Jesus to do? If he heals her and lets her leave, then the evil festering in the disciples' hearts could not be addressed. Perhaps their thoughts that this woman was unworthy, that she was a nuisance, would have been reinforced. Jesus took the opportunity to show that his ministry, while it may start with the Jewish people, would overflow to the world. There was plenty of God's grace and provision to go around. Jesus would show that this woman was not less than, she was not unworthy because of her gender or nationality. She was not out of reach of the blessings of the Messiah and the kingdom of God. When God is silent, sometimes it is because he is using your response to Him to teach those around you.

So Jesus says, "I was sent only to Israel." I understand Jesus' statement as a test. A test his disciples do not seem to pass. The same test he is about to give this woman. A test she passes. It appears to me to be a test because Jesus does not have this same attitude everywhere in the gospels. It is true there is the idea that Christ came to the Jew first then to the Gentile, but that is not the same as coming ONLY for Israel. Take, for example, Jesus' encounter with the centurion in Matthew chapter 8. Jesus did not tell the Gentile Centurion the same thing he told the Gentile woman. In fact, Jesus said the opposite thing to the Centurion. Matthew 8:11-12 reads, "I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Jesus says that those on the outside (Gentiles) will find a place at the table while the insiders will be thrown out. In the encounter with the Canaanite woman, we end up seeing the outsiders being provided for from the crumbs that fall from the table. Ultimately, both encounters end up making the same point in different ways. That point is that there is plenty of Room at the table for everyone. There is enough to go around. There is room for you and there is room for me.

The Canaanite woman instinctively knew this. She understood this concept that the disciples were still learning. God's love was never-ending. God's grace was ever-flowing. God's mercy new every morning. She had faith that there was plenty to go around. This faith caused her to persist. She persisted even though the odds were stacked against her. The Disciples wanted her to go away. She, as a Gentile woman, had no place speaking to a Jewish man, and to top it off, Jesus himself seemed to ignore her. But she did not give up; instead, she went boldly to Jesus and threw herself at his feet, saying — Help me!

It is at this point in the story that Jesus gives her the same test that he gave his disciples. Jesus, building upon his previous statement, essentially says, I was sent to Israel, there is not enough for you. Jesus says, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs." But she persists and gives her beautiful response. Perhaps a response Jesus wanted his disciples to give. An attitude Jesus wants us to see and learn.

She says, "Jesus, there is plenty to go around — I don't need much — they can have the bread — a crumb of God's mercy is more than enough for me."

What do you need from God today? Does it feel like God is silent? Does your need seem too big, or maybe too small? Are you fighting against all odds? Everyone around you wants you to go away. Looks down on you and sees you as a problem or a bother. God sees you. God hears the cries of your mouth and of your heart. God says that there is plenty of room at the table for you. There is plenty of love and grace and mercy and miracles to go around. And even if you feel more like a stray dog than a member of the family — know that many of us have felt like that at some point — you are not alone. Discover today that one tiny crumb of God's grace is sufficient, powerful, and life-giving.