Proper 15-A
Matt 15: (10-20), 21-28
August 16, 2020
St. Columba’s
In the Name of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
I. Gospel
A. She was different – she was as different as she could be.
1. She was a Canaanite – to even be seen talking with her was scandalous.
2. The Canaanites were ancestral enemies of Israel; thus this woman represents all that is immoral, godless, and ritually unclean by Jewish standards.
3. So, Jesus ignores her.
4. And yet, she wouldn’t leave them alone – she kept after them, yammering away, begging Jesus to heal her daughter.
5. It got so bad, at one point, Jesus’ Disciples say, “Send her away, for she keeps bothering us.”
6. So when Jesus finally does address her it is in a rather condescending manner.
7. And yet, she calls him “Lord,” which in Matthew’s Gospel is a form of address only used by true believers.
8. Taken in the context of what precedes this story in the Gospel, Jesus has just been debating with the Pharisees – those who should recognize him.
9. And now here is this heretical Canaanite Woman with more faith than the leaders of Judaism.
10. And in the end, Jesus grants her request and heals her daughter, saying, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.”
11. The Disciples must have been stunned – how could this nobody, this worse than a nobody, be an example of great faith?
12. But what we have here is Jesus living out what he has been teaching in the parables about the Kingdom of Heaven, and demonstrated in the Feeding of the 5,000 – that God’s abundant, extravagant LOVE extends to everyone.
B. For this is a story about differences, and overcoming those differences.
1. But it’s not only a story about DIFFERENCES – but of fear of the OTHER.
2. And I think one of the reasons we are sometimes uncomfortable with how Jesus acts in this story, is that it holds up a mirror to our own behavior.
3. Who is it that is different from us – who is the OTHER in your life?
4. How do we react to them – how do we treat those WE consider OTHER?
II. Torn apart by fear
A. In the passage that immediately precedes this story, Jesus debates with the Pharisees about what is clean and unclean.
1. And here, Jesus is confronted by the very PERSONIFICATION of this debate – a heathen woman of a hated race – who has the audacity to approach Jesus.
2. In his debate with the Pharisees, Jesus says, “It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth that defiles.”
3. And when asked to explain this, Jesus says, “Whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer. But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles.” (Matt 15:10-20)
4. And then he acts this out, to show that this woman, who by all accounts of her day ought to shunned and scorned and ignored – demonstrates her faith as she proclaims Jesus Lord and Messiah – Son of David.
5. Jesus takes that which is “Other” and makes her whole.
B. And what we see when we look around, is that we are torn apart by FEAR: fear of the Virus, fear of our lives being turned upside down, and fear of the Other.
1. Just look at what’s going on all around us – rather than bringing us together, our leaders want to push us further and further apart.
2. Certain politicians want to disenfranchise minority groups, they want to roll back the voting rights act, and work for voter suppression instead of helping everyone to vote; they’re even messing with the Post Office to impede people’s ability to vote.
– And why? Because those people might not vote for them – but if you truly represented the voice of your constituents, they would vote for you.
3. Demonstrators take to the streets demanding the civil rights long denied to various ethnic groups.
4. People march in the streets to say Black Lives Matter.
5. Hate Crimes are on the rise by groups emboldened by what they hear out of Washington and elsewhere.
6. Whether we like it or not – we live in a time of hatred and darkness – we live in a time of FEAR – fear of the OTHER.
C. So I will ask you again, “Who are you afraid of? Who is the one who is DIFFERENT? Who is the OTHER?”
1. We live in a time in which very soon there will be no single majority in our country – we will become, much like California, a majority of minorities.
2. And as this happens we face a choice: we can become even more isolated into our own groups – or we can become the giant salad bowl we were created to be, each bringing our own distinct flavors to add to the mix.
3. But for some this is a difficult concept to face – and so they hold on to their old ways with both hands – resisting change whenever possible.
4. Sociologists say that we perpetuate this fear and mistrust by further and further isolating ourselves by surrounding ourselves with people who look like us, and talk like us, and think like us.
5. The Internet and Facebook and other tools for reaching out can also be used for this same isolation, as we only “LIKE” people who are like us, or go to websites we agree with and get our news from the places we like to hear.
6. And the result is we become further isolated – almost ghettoized – as we only seek the narrow way.
7. Where’s the growth in that? The only way we grow is by experiencing new and different things that challenge us and cause us to grow.
III. Our response
A. So how are we going to live? What is our response going to be?
1. Do we cower behind doors with ever stronger locks, with our heads in the sand hoping someone is going to do something?
2. Or will we work to make our world the place that God calls it to be?
3. The great preacher, Barbara Brown Taylor, has written:
4. “Over and over, God’s call to us means pushing old boundaries, embracing outsiders, giving up the notion that there is not enough … to go around.
5. “We may resist; we may even lose our tempers, but the call of God is insistent, as insistent as the Canaanite Woman who would not leave Jesus alone.
6. The call of God keeps after us, calling us by name, until finally we step over the lines we have drawn for ourselves and discover a whole new world on the other side.” (Synth 2017 – “The Seeds of Heaven”)
B. So, how do we live this out in OUR lives?
1. How do we explore this “whole new world”;
– How do WE work to become what the Presiding Bishop calls “God’s Beloved Community”?
2. The example we need to follow is right there for us in today’s Gospel, in Jesus’ interaction with the Canaanite Woman.
3. Through her faith, racial bigotry, religious intolerance, and sexism are overcome as Jesus demonstrates once again that God’s amazing extravagant abundant love is offered to everyone.
4. And WE are called to share this love through our FAITH as well.
5. So, one more time, who is the OTHER in our life – who is the One who is DIFFERENT?
– And how do you treat them?
6. How do you reach out to them with God’s extravagant abundant love – how do YOU make a difference for them?
C. There is a poster on the St. Columba’s Facebook Page that says this:
BE THE CHURCH
Protect the Environment.
Care for the Poor.
Forgive often.
Reject racism.
Fight for the powerless.
Share earthly and spiritual resources.
Embrace diversity.
Love God.
Enjoy this life.
Sounds like pretty good advice to me – and a great way to move ahead following the example of Jesus.
1. How is YOUR FAITH lived out in the way you interact with the OTHER – with those who are different – with those who you might even be a little bit afraid of?
2. Answer these questions and you’ll know what it is to live a life of FAITH – following in the footsteps of Christ – it CAN be done – it MUST be done.
3. Remember, “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.”
4. Let us do SOMETHING – let us work to be God’s Beloved Community – and work to bring God’s extravagant abundant love to a world that so desperately needs it.
Conclusion
Edward Markham, the onetime Poet Laureate of Oregon put it this way in his poem entitled “Outwitted”:
“He drew a circle that shut me out-
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle and took him In!”
Let Us Pray
O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN. (BCP p. 815)
