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Sermon - The Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost (A) - 17th August 2008
St Aidan ’s West Epping 8.30 am
Readings:Matthew 15:20-28, Genesis 45:1-15; Romans 11:13-32
There are some Bible stories that remain unforgettable – ones that seem always to be fresh – and this is one of them – this Canaanite woman – this woman who won’t take no for an answer. Have you ever met a woman like that? Its because of her quick thinking, her boldness and her faith that she remains unforgettable. She is a great example to us.
But historically, people have been bothered by Jesus’ language. When we read it, it looks to us like he is calling her a dog. But I’m not sure that she would have taken it like that. Jesus was using a method of arguing that was well known in his day. He was using a parallel or what we might like to call a parable – or a mini-parable. He was explaining to her why he could not heal her daughter. His point was that it would be inappropriate to perform the healing. He doesn’t explain why it is inappropriate. Rather he fixed on the idea of appropriateness. So he gave her an example. You wouldn’t give the children’s food to the dogs. That would imply that the children would starve – that would be inappropriate parenting. The emphasis is upon the inappropriateness of the behaviour, not the children or the dogs. This was an intelligent woman. She would have understood the argument.
What’s interesting is that she ignored the reference to dogs as an insult. Rather, she focused on the argument and noticed its weakness. She pressed her advantage. Surely the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master’s table. While it is true one doesn’t feed the children’s food to the dogs, its also true that the dogs get fed somehow. They too will benefit. And she had won.
I think this is a reasonable understanding of what was going on. I don’t think we should be concerned for this woman. She didn’t take offence, and because of her own drive, she got the blessing she wanted. At the end of the day I’m sure she was very happy with the outcome.
But to understand these events better, we need to look at the bigger story of the state of Israel. We must remember that God had bound himself to Israel by covenant - that he would be their God and they would be his people. Therefore, God had particular responsibility to Israel. So when Jesus began his ministry he always acknowledged Israel’s special status. When Jesus sent out his disciples to minister town by town he gave out strict instructions not to visit a gentile town or any town of the Samaritans. Rather they were to go to the lost sheep of Israel.
This phrase is used again in today’s passage. Jesus cannot cure a Canaanite girl. He had come for the lost sheep of Israel. Later on, Jesus was to tell the parable of the good shepherd who went out searching for the sheep that was lost. Whatever sense we make of that parable Jesus’ point was that he had come to rescue Israel, the people that were bound to God, the people who had received the promises of God.
But why was Israel lost? They had come under God’s judgment. As God’s people they had not served him as God. They had worshipped other Gods. They had rejected him as their God. And they suffered the consequences as a result. They had lost their land and their nation. They were now back in Israel but they were under another ruler, under another empire.
Israel was lost as well because of poor leadership. The Pharisees and the Sadducees were poor spiritual guides. King Herod was one of the worst of tyrants, using the Romans to gain as much power as he could. No wonder Jesus wept for the poor state of the nation. No wonder it is a repeated phrase that when Jesus saw the crowds he had compassion for them. They were like sheep without a shepherd. And so Jesus had come as their Messiah preaching the good news of the kingdom of God.
But that message too came with a warning. What would happen to Israel if they rejected God’s messiah? Jesus had warned them that if they did that, then he would take his message to the world. Those who had the privilege would lose it. The first will be last and the last will be first. An underlying theme in Matthew’s gospel is the possibility of taking Jesus message beyond Israel. The possibility always existed.
Look at where Jesus is at the beginning of our passage. He was in the region of Tyre and Sidon. This was not Israel. Because of where he was it was not surprising he came across this woman who was a Canaanite rather than an Israelite. When Jesus had sent out the twelve, he had to give the instruction not to go to the gentile or the Samaritan towns, partly because that was the area they were in. They had to seek out the Jewish towns and minister there. But this was never meant to imply that the Gentiles were to be excluded forever. Rather, the point is that Jesus ministry must begin in Israel. Jesus talked about a greater ministry to the world and speaks in those terms to the disciples at the end of the gospel. But because of the promises God had made to Israel, Jesus must begin there before he could move to the wider world.
And so we come to the woman herself. She was a Canaanite woman of that vicinity. Jesus was passing through a gentile area. Now after 2000 years we miss the impact of this encounter but the Jews did not think too kindly of the Canaanites. They were the original inhabitants of Israel. But God had given the land to Israel and so traditionally the Jews didn’t think highly of the Canaanites. It was quite unique that Jesus would speak to her at all. It just wasn’t done. Remember how surprised the disciples were that Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman. Well this encounter is even more unlikely - if such a thing can be imagined. Jesus would normally have absolutely nothing to do with the Canaanites.
And notice how she speaks to Jesus. “Lord, Son of David.” These are marks of deep respect. To call someone a “Son of David” would be to place him at that high level. To associate Jesus with Israel’s greatest king was to show great respect indeed. We can be sure that no one in Israel ever referred to Herod as “Son of David” particularly not behind his back. The disciples expected Jesus to send her away. Jesus had told the disciples not to minister to people like her. So surely he would want her gone. Certainly his first words to her would not be a surprise to the disciples. He had taught this point regularly, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
But, of course, this woman doesn’t give up. She won’t leave until she gets what she came for. And so Jesus spoke in these very blunt terms, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” No good parent would do that. But she would not be so easily put off.
“But even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master’s table.” Jesus was truly amazed and commends her, “Woman, you have great faith.” This was exactly what Jesus had been looking for. Many times he found Israel faithless. So many times Jesus found faith among the Romans, among the Gentiles, among the last people you would expect. And so her daughter was healed.
It concerns me that we are too distracted by Jesus language and don’t put enough emphasis upon the faith of this woman. She is a wonderful example of faith. Here is such a great example of Jesus “topsy-turvy” world. Where does Jesus find faith? Not among the male intellectuals in Jerusalem. Rather, he finds it in a Canaanite woman. It is a long time ago and it is hard for us to grasp how lowly her position was in society. Against we have another example of a woman playing a prominent role in a gospel story. This is so out of place in Jesus’ day. What is more, she is an example to the disciples. In fact, they needed to learn from her the nature of faith. And dare I say it, we need to have the humility to let this woman minister to us as well. She had some small grasp as to who Jesus was. She had trusted him to help her and there was nothing that was going to stop her.
So often in life we need that kind of determination to continue believing, to continue trusting, to continue clinging to Jesus. We know so much more than her. We have seen the whole story of Jesus, of his death, of his resurrection. We have more reason to hope than she did. And yet how strong is her faith? She is an example to us, but she is also an encouragement to us. Because, in the end, her prayers were answered. She remained persistent, and she received her reward.
Its not like the Olympics. I enjoy the Olympics, but it also has a discouraging side. I can run, but not like them, I can swim, but never like them. Watching the Olympics is about watching things I never could do, nor never will. This Canaanite woman offers us so much more. Believe like she did, trust like she did, put your hope in the Son of David as she did. And there is no doubt we too will be rewarded, just as she was. Trust, persistence and hope. What a girl! And what and encouragement to faith for each one of us.