Loving God, we thank you for your faithful care for all your children, for your grace and peace that sustain, and for your compassionate presence in our lives, relationships, and world. May your Holy Spirit meet us in this moment and continue to guide our faith and understanding. Amen.
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Jesus and his disciples were traveling through Gentile territory when they encountered a Canaanite woman who lived there. Word must have spread to this region about Jesus’ healing abilities because as soon as she sees him this woman calls to Jesus and his disciples. She wants to plead for his compassion and hopes he might heal her tormented daughter. She is a mother in a desperate circumstance. Who knows how long her daughter has been suffering. Perhaps she has sought out everyone and tried everything she could think of to help her child and nothing has worked. Perhaps she’s at the end of her rope.
But the disciples want nothing to do with her. And, at first, neither does Jesus. And, as we heard, he doesn’t just dismiss her politely. His response is basically “I’m not here for you. I’m here for my own people. Would it be fair to take good food away from my Jewish children and feed it to Gentile dogs?”
Whoa! Today’s story probably makes us more than a little uncomfortable. It’s not a warm and fuzzy Jesus-moment. In fact, it might be Jesus’ worst moment in all the gospels. Was Jesus having a bad day? This is insulting. Sorry my fellow dog lovers! But dogs were not generally beloved pets in ancient Jewish culture. They were street animals and scavengers.
So, how are we supposed to respond when Jesus leans into ethnocentricity and insults someone different from him? It’s led plenty of people to wonder: did this encounter really happen? Or, at least, did it really happen like this? And, if it did, was Jesus trying to teach his disciples a lesson – perhaps by playing into their avoidance of this woman and then ultimately flipping the script? If so, does that even make it any better? These are all legitimate questions. And we don’t know the answers. But Mark and Matthew both included this story in their gospels and they had their reasons for doing so. For Luke, it didn’t make the cut.
Personally, I find this story compelling because this Canaanite woman is kind of awesome! Her love for her daughter is bold and motivating. Her faith is fierce (in a good way) and passionate. She’s courageous. And her response to this insult is measured, clear, and clever. She doesn’t get defensive. She doesn’t hurl back an insult. And she doesn’t back down. Instead, she turns Jesus’ icky metaphor on its head and says, “Oh come on, even the dogs get table scraps.” The street dogs may have been treated a little better in her Gentile world at that time.
She’s not even looking to be put first. She’s a mother; she has plenty of experience putting others first. She’s looking to be included. And for her daughter to be included. She’s pushing back on the notion that God’s healing power and love is only for some, only for insiders, rather than for all. Her faith is in a God whose compassion and healing presence cannot be contained and constrained by such human barriers. In a way, she is universalizing Jesus’ mission and ministry before he is even ready to do so.
And this impresses Jesus. Her persistence, her faithfulness, and her motherly love change his mind. He acknowledges her great faith and her daughter is healed. Though we are left wondering if he apologized for the insult before he left.
Often in the gospels, it is the supposed “outsiders” who get it; who really understand what Jesus’ ministry and message were all about. Usually, it’s the “insider” disciples who serve as a foil to these faithful outsiders. But, in this case, Jesus is too.
Scholars often view these moments in the gospels as preliminary signs or foreshadowing of the idea that the Kingdom of God which Jesus proclaimed was near and demonstrated in his ministry would continue to expand as time went on – beyond his lifetime, beyond the initial in-group if Jewish disciples, to eventually envelope all sorts of people, all across the world. These supposed outsiders witnessed to the good news that God’s love, God’s Spirit, God’s healing presence cannot and would not be confined to any particular theological, ideological, or cultural box we might try to cram God into to suit our own purposes.
This woman challenged Jesus. She confronted him with truth and faith – not to be combative, but as a faithful beacon of God’s love and as a faithful advocate for herself, her daughter, and her people. And he had a change of heart because of her.
There are some important lessons for us in this encounter, including how we engage with, grapple with, and learn from experienced that challenge us.
“Part of being on a spiritual journey is being challenged.” I heard the always wise Christi Dysart say that last week and I asked her if I could quote her in this sermon.
I agree. Life brings us all kinds of challenges. Some we choose for ourselves. Some we don’t. Some big ones. But also, everyday smaller challenges – unexpected or unfamiliar situations; changes in our routine habits; new or different perspectives, ideas, and insights from the lived experiences of the people around us. Our spirituality, our daily practice of faith, is what helps us navigate those challenges, helps us embrace new growth that may result from those challenges (even the harder ones), and helps us incorporate the wisdom we gain from those experiences into our lives.
Jesus encountered a challenge, had a change of heart, and experienced growth, as a result. This is good news!
This is good news for Jesus and for others he would encounter as his ministry continued to take shape. The next thing that happens in Matthew’s gospel is that he heals crowds of people as he returns home and passes by the Sea of Galilee. Are they Jews only or are there some Gentiles there too? It doesn’t seem to matter. God’s healing presence has been unleashed. He no longer seems to be reluctant to heal anyone who asks. He no longer seems to be concerned that there might not be enough healing power to go around. It seems that the woman who sought healing from him may have actually helped heal him in a way and helped him clarify his purpose and direction.
This growth was good news for the woman and her daughter, of course. And it was good news for her people. In less than a generation many non-Jewish Gentiles would become active and faithful participants and leaders in the growing early church movement. This growing community of faith would continue to widen.
And this growth is good news for us. God’s healing presence is still at work in all sorts of ways. Sometimes healing is physical. Sometimes healing is mental, emotional, spiritual. Sometimes healing is communal, as well as individual. And God’s healing presence cannot be confined, boxed in, or barricaded by anyone.
And this is good news for the world. The change of heart and growth Jesus experienced can be experienced by anyone. Who knows what God’s love yet might do to open human hearts to our neighbors in new ways, to those who have been marginalized, to those who have been excluded and made to feel like outsiders, to those in need of healing. Who knows what collective healing might unfold as a result. Maybe one day we’ll finally dismantle all the barriers we put up between ourselves and others and realize that there are no insiders and outsiders. There is only us.
And this awesome Canaanite mom lights the way for us. Fierce and faithful motherly love can transform and heal. And, whether we are parents or not, this is the kind love we are all called to embody for all God’s children in all sorts of ways.
Sometimes we might find ourselves in a position to be mentors or teachers. Sometimes we are needed as advocates for the needs of others. And when there is care needed, there is care we can give – practical assistance; and also, as a supportive friend, a prayerful presence, a listening ear, someone to laugh or cry with.
We can probably think of some people we know who are really good at this and who have inspired us (including some awesome moms we know! I see you, awesome moms!)
This week I also happened upon some unexpected inspiration from a surrogate mother named Rey. Have you heard about Rey and Sunny? They’ve been in the news. They are two sea otters who just made their public debut at the Aquarium of the Pacific. Sunny is an orphaned pup who was found on Asilomar State Beach in February and was rehabilitated at the Monterey Bay Aquarium before being transferred down here. And Rey came to the aquarium in March. She is now about two and a half years old, but she was also found as a stranded pup.
Rey and Sunny were introduced to each other in hopes that Rey could become Sunny’s surrogate mother. And she has taken to motherhood beautifully – teaching her new little adopted pup how to groom herself, forage for food, play, and do all sorts of other otter things.
Rey and Sunny are both too accustomed to human interaction to live on their own in the wild, but their human caregivers are hopeful that both of them will be able to serve as surrogate mothers in the future to other pups who may be able to be released. This surrogacy program is an important piece of conservation efforts to protect the species. And Rey’s motherly instinct is a beautiful reminder that there are many expressions of motherly love to be found in this beautiful and diverse world of which we are a part.
Jesus learned something about a fierce and faithful mother’s love that day from the Canaanite woman. And it challenged him, expanded his understanding, inspired him, and helped shape his ongoing journey and his ministry.
May it continue to do the same for us. Amen.