Our lessons today are full of forgiveness and reconciliation; of hope and embracing those who are different. In our first lesson, Joseph embraces his brothers, forgiving them for selling him into slavery. Joseph forgives them, and assures them that God used those events for the purpose of preparing a way of salvation for his chosen people.
Joseph not only forgave his brothers, but then he provided for their welfare and that of their families for the duration of the famine. For us to understand, if Joseph, who suffered injustice after injustice can forgive the brothers who initiated the whole thing, then we need to look at our own lives to see where God may be calling us to forgive those around us. This is but an example of the kind of love God has for us and that he wants us to extend to others.
Our gospel lesson is also an interesting study. Jesus starts out redefining Jewish dietary laws. It is not that the laws themselves are bad - they served a purpose when they were given. The problem was that the religious leader of the time had made those same laws into a kind of religion apart from God.
What Jesus is saying is that these laws mean nothing if your heart is not in a right relationship with God. You can follow the laws to the letter, but if you are not treating people right, then the laws by themselves cannot save you. The traditions that the Pharisees follow no longer mean anything. They have made a religion of being “holy” and he says that doesn’t matter to God. He is saying that God cares less about these rules than he does about the condition of your heart. And then we get this vivid example of a right heart.
Jesus leaves and goes into Gentile territory. The Pharisees are beginning to take offense at him and he may be tired of defending himself against them. This is probably still in his first year of ministry – he’s maybe still learning what God is calling him to do – how he is to behave. And he finds himself confronted by a Canaanite woman - a Gentile.
Now remember that Jesus has been raised as a Jew – to have compassion for Jews but Gentiles are outside that scope. Gentiles generally have other gods, they are outside the covenant given to the Jews. Jesus sees his mission as bringing back the lost sheep of Israel, bringing the children back into covenant with God.
Jesus has travelled outside Palestine, taking some time off, something of a vacation. I don’t know about you, but when I’m on vacation I want to rest, I don’t want to have to do any thing that looks like work.
So here he is, on vacation, confronted by the Gentile woman – and he ignores her. She calls him “Lord, Son of David.” She has some understanding of the Jewish traditions and history. The disciples tell him to send her away. She is a Gentile woman – two strikes against her – she is a woman – a second class citizen – not even a citizen. She is a Gentile – unclean, unworthy.
Have you ever noticed that the disciples often do that? They seem to feel that they are above certain things – let’s look briefly at the times that they encourage Jesus to blow someone off. In the 19th chapter of Matthew we will see people bring children to Jesus – and the disciples try to send them away. They are just little children – not important in the ancient world.
In the 20th chapter of Matthew we see the crowds rebuking two blind men who call to Jesus as he is leaving Jericho. “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us.” And once again the crowd tells them to be quiet and not bother the teacher. This is a common theme – and each time Jesus eventually responds.
With the Canaanite woman, when Jesus says he was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel, she kneels before him showing honor and once again says, “Lord, help me.” She is persistent – she doesn’t give up.
And then Jesus, the Jesus I love, insults her, “It’s not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” Most people I know would get huffy and say something like, “Well, I’m not going to stay around here and be insulted. I’ll go find someone who cares.” Our pride would probably get in the way of our healing.
I don’t think that Jesus started out intentionally to hurt her. I think he was probably tired – the reason he was on vacation – and I think his human side – his human pre-conditioning just sort of took over.
But her love for her daughter and her deep need to see her daughter well keeps her rooted to the spot. She still addresses him with a title of honor, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat what falls from the master’s table.”
Jesus may also have been on a learning curve. We want to think of Jesus as above human pettiness, but he was raised with Jewish values and like the disciples, he may have first responded in accordance with his upbringing.
But the woman’s persistence and her continued respect for him in the face of adversity, may have made him begin to realize that Canaanites were human too, worthy of consideration. Here we begin to see his ministry open up to others. Most of his ministry was to his fellow Jews – he was determined, almost driven, to bring them back into covenant with God.
But then we see him break that mold to reach out to others – as he is confronted by various Gentiles - and in these instances, we see the Kingdom of God extending, stretching and growing. We see Jesus reaching out to and embracing those who are different; who live differently, who have different values, who have different priorities, who may not have the same opportunities we have.
I have been deeply troubled by the unrest that has settled upon this country and the violence that has become all too familiar in today’s world. I think part of the problem today is that we have not treated each other with respect, we have not treated others as we would like to be treated. Too many people today have taken offense without taking time to listen or to try to understand each other.
I would really hope that we as a Christian people have grown past looking at others as inferior - unworthy of God’s love. Jesus would call us to reach out to those who are different, who have different value systems, and who have different life styles. I don’t know where all this is going, or where it will end up, but I do know that God abhors the violence, the polarization, the inability to sit at table and be civil to one another.
We are all children of God, whether it’s our family of origin, our church family, or the human family. I would ask that each person make it their responsibility to pray for peace and reconciliation in our world today.
Let us pray,
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of David, help us to see you in the world around us – to reach out to those you bring into our realm of influence. Lord, you have loved us, now help us to love as you love, to see with your eyes and hear with your ears. Stretch us to reach out to those who are different, to those who are marginalized. Help us to be your hands in city, in this community and within this church family. Amen.
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