Matthew 15:21-28
Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” 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 from that moment.
I want to introduce two friends of mine who have been instrumental in my life. There is quite an age difference between us, 60 years or so, and their arrest records are quite lengthy.
Meet Sister JoAnn Persch and Sister Pat Murphy, both sisters of mercy and co-founders of the Interfaith Committee for Detained Immigrants. In the summer of 2015, I spent four months with them on the southside of chicago. On my first day, I walked in and Sister JoAnn greeted me at the door saying, “hurry up and get in the car; you’re gonna make us late”.
Sister Pat Murphy in the middle and Sister JoAnn Persch on the right.
I never expected to work or get involved with immigration. Up until that point in my life, I felt a call into ministry but never to immigrants, people who broke the law, who crossed boundaries they shouldn’t. Why couldn’t they just come in legally I thought. But then, I encountered the sisters, these women of great faith, who remind me so much of this woman Jesus encounters in our reading this morning.
This story is one of the most difficult stories we read in the gospels because we see the human side of Jesus like we’ve never seen before. Jesus is leaving Gennesaret, a small town on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Ironically, he just finished telling the disciples that its not what goes in your mouth that defiles someone, but what goes out. Jesus is making his way north to the region of Tyre and Sidon, both of which are gentile territory. Jesus had never gone to such a place thus far in his ministry.
This isn’t all too surprising since Jews viewed Gentiles as unclean and even inferior; that includes Jesus, who only made negative comments about the gentiles until now: saying things like “Don’t be like the gentiles who only welcome and love their own kind, who say empty words and promises” and don’t go near them nor bring the gospel to their towns and territories. If Jesus had these beliefs and preconceived notions, why go to these towns in the first place? Matthew doesn’t tell us of course.
On the way, this woman comes shouting at Jesus “have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David”. To our ears this doesn’t sound scandalous, but it certainly was. Women didn’t approach men in public, especially not gentiles who weren’t exactly on speaking terms with Jews. To make matters worse she’s called a Canaanite, the ancient foes of Israel. There was no land of Canaan at the time of Jesus, but obviously the sentiment that these people are enemies was still prevalent.
The woman must have heard that Jesus had healed many people plagued with a demon so this was her chance to get her daughter healed. Yet for some reason, Jesus completely ignores her. Undeterred, the woman proceeds to shout, making a scene in public. Out of pity or maybe annoyance, the disciples ask Jesus to give her what she wants and send her away. Again Jesus refuses, and gives a reason for his less than Christ like actions: “Gentiles aren’t my mission; I am a shepherd to Israel and Israel alone''. This coming from the man who said to the disciples when thousands gathered in the desert, “you give them something to eat”. Now he won’t even give this one woman the time of day?
As a last ditch effort, the woman throws herself on the ground in front of Jesus, kneeling before him. You can imagine her, head bowed down to the ground, hands folded together tucked beneath her chin as she begged for help. It’s a position of worship and respect, but it’s also one that is not so easily ignored. Jesus now has to address her.
And he does so, but in a most shocking way. “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs”.
The Jews (the people of Israel) are the chosen people, God's people, while the Gentiles, well, they are dogs and not simply dogs, but in the Greek text it says little dogs at that. Some argue that the diminutive lessens the slur, making it more endearing like a lap dog or even a pet. But I've never known that adding little to any insult makes it any less insulting.
The woman, quick with wit, reminds Jesus that all she is asking for is a crumb of the healing he so abundantly gives to the children of Israel. Even the most strict masters allow for that. Right then something changes in Jesus, he recognizes the great faith of this woman, and does exactly what she asks, instantly healing her daughter.
Through this one encounter with a woman who was an outsider of outsiders, in a place he said he wouldn’t go, Jesus’s understanding of his mission and ministry changed. No longer was he only the shepherd for the lost sheep of Israel, but the savior of the world. Gone is the belief that the gospel isn’t to go beyond the Jewish people. Instead, Jesus will say take it to the ends of the earth, baptizing and making disciples of all nations.
Through this woman’s great faith, I’d like to think that Jesus’ beliefs and preconceived notions (as Matthew tells them) are forever altered, and he sees more clearly the love and purpose God gave him. All it takes is one encounter with someone whom we believed certain things about, who we’d drawn a boundary between, and who we could have sworn we weren’t called to help, one encounter and all of those divides come crashing down. And it is to those people and places, the outsider of outsiders, in places that we wouldn't normally go into, that God calls us to.
That encounter for me was with Sister JoAnn and Sister Pat. Like the woman of great faith, they crossed all sorts of barriers put in their way to get help for the people who needed it. They shout and protest in public, calling attention to the immigration system that tears families apart, hurting children most of all. Like the woman, they too make a scene in public, getting down on their hands and knees in front of deportation buses as an act of worship, forcing people of power to reckon with their cry for help.
Every Monday I would get in the car with them and drive two and half hours outside of Chicago to a detention center where we would meet with immigrants. I can still hear the desperation in their voices as they lowered their heads, hands tucked under their chins and begged for help, for prayer, for sooner court dates, for anything that would reunite them with their loved ones. I remember Ray from Jamaica, Jose from Honduras, Habbi from Uganda, Lee from China, Caleb from Ethiopia. Our encounters forever changed the preconceived ideas and beliefs I had, widening the narrow idea of who I was called to serve and to love.
God calls us to cross the divisions we’ve made that separate us and encounter people on the margins of society, the outsiders of outsiders. And that call is as incessant as the woman shouting at Jesus for help. Because all it takes is one encounter with someone we’d least expect for the Holy Spirit to change or shift our understanding of what we believe and break down the barriers we have about who is worthy of our help and who is not.
Who is God calling you to encounter and challenge the too narrow idea of who’s worthy of your love? Where is the spirit leading you that will force you to reckon with the long held bias or beliefs you hold? My prayer is that you have a Sister JoAnn and Sister Pat in your life, exemplars of great faith who lead you to encounters you never thought you’d have.
And at those encounters, may Jesus change your heart just as the woman changed his.
Amen.
