Re-evaluate
Kingdom Transformation - Part 2
Sunday, August 16, 2020
Matthew 15:10-28
He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
Matthew 15:24-28
The story of Jesus’ encounter with the Syrophoenician woman is perhaps one of the most challenging passages in the gospels. Why did Jesus hesitate to heal her daughter? Even worse, why would he refer to her and her people as “dogs?” This does not sound like the Jesus we have all come to know and love. In this particular encounter, Jesus comes across as grumpy, angry, arrogant, dismissive, and dare we say, maybe even just a little bit racist.
I don’t dare to presume what Jesus was feeling or thinking in that moment. Some say he was simply testing her faith while teaching his disciples a lesson about the value of everyone, even a foreigner such as this woman. Others say that Jesus was tired and worn, reacting as many of us might when we just don’t feel like dealing with another person’s problems. Still others suggest that Jesus didn’t even realize how deeply ingrained the “Israel First” worldview surrounding him throughout his life had become and that this woman served as a voice of clarity reminding Jesus and us not to become complacent in the face of injustice toward those who are outcast by society.
Regardless of Jesus’ motives or intent, one thing is certain. We have all encountered people like this woman. We have all turned the other way when we saw someone in need coming our direction. We have all found excuses to avoid helping someone in the moment. And whether we want to admit it or not, we all have some degree of biased toward people who are different than us in some way. We tend to compare the way someone else acts or thinks or lives to the way we act and think and live. Even if we do not go as far as saying “they” are wrong, we cannot deny that our way almost always comes across as the preferred way of thinking or being.
In the end, even Jesus’ changes his tone. For whatever reason Jesus shifts from brushing her off as an outsider and a burden, a commonly accepted position among his Jewish friends, to elevating her as a model of great faith and extending his healing power to her daughter even from a distance.
Who in our lives do we see as “less than” in some way? Who do we instinctively turn away from? Who do we assume are the people furthest away from God?
Might it be that those are the very ones God has placed in our path to wake us up to our own prejudice and self-righteousness? Might it be that the very people we assume have no faith at all are the ones who might remind us what faith is really all about?
Listen to this week’s sermon here: