Even the Crumbs, First Congregational UCC, WY 8-14-2011

Even the Crumbs
By Rev Steven R Mitchell
First Congregational UCC, Rock Springs, WY 8/14/2011
Based on Matthew 15:21-28


What is your “image” of Jesus of Nazareth? Is this reading from Matthew consistent with your image of what the Son of God’s actions are supposed to be? If not, then what is making this reading inconsistent with what we are reading in the Gospel? How would you react if you went up to Jesus and asked for help and was treated in the manor as this Canaanite woman was treated by Jesus? Would you continue to badger him for help or would you turn around and as Jesus himself said to his disciples that “if you are not received in a community dust the dirt off your sandals and leave that town?” Today’s lesson is dealing with “outsiders” and the topic of “who is really welcomed
Every so often, we here in the United States get a dose of this story as we struggle with whom is considered equal. From 1950 – 1980’s we labeled this story, “the civil rights movement.” Since 1976 thru now, a major segment of the church has labeled this story, “the gay agenda.”
I think another upcoming label to this story is going to be labeled “Migratory habits of aliens” and I don’t mean those beings from outer space. As followers of Christ, we Christians have to translate what we read in scripture in order to help make what we read relevant to us. Specifically, when we read words such as “Israel” we generally translate that to mean, the Christian church. We do this because the word “Israel” as used in scripture is generally the vehicle in which God interacts with Creation.
When Jesus was telling the Canaanite woman that, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Jesus was indicating that Israel meant “those who are called by God.” It would translate to us as saying, “I was sent only to those lost sheep of Christianity.” It is also true that as we read scripture, we within the church, take on the teachings of Jesus, his actions, and his temperament to be a path in which we are to follow. Jesus says, “Love one another”, we try to incorporate that within our lives; Jesus says, “feed my sheep”, again we work at providing food for the hungry. With this understanding in mind, does today’s reading provide a loop hole in which we can use to deny someone or some peoples group and not be held to the basic teachings that in general Jesus has taught during his ministry? Are we really allowed to see some people as being on the level of an unwanted “dog?” Are we able to turn our backs on some who cry for help?
It would seem Jesus was doing this; at least at the beginning of the text. There are however some interesting aspects of this story that need to be brought into light. First off, Jesus was not in an area where the general population were Jewish. Rather, he was truly in a foreign region, a region of Tyre and Sidon, which was home to Gentiles. It would be as if Jesus was in Mexico, still in North America, but out of the United States. Jesus was the foreigner not the woman who came up to him seeking help. This interchange between Jesus and the Canaanite woman reminds me of the “ugly American” image that has developed with those Americans who feel privileged and empowered, who while visiting in a foreign country, are offended by the customs of that country and vocalize to the locals the idea that the way we do things in the United States is the correct and proper behavior and that they, the locals, need to change to accommodate the tourist.
Matthew just doesn’t say to us that a woman came up to him and started shouting. This woman was a “Canaanite woman”. This is a powerful word to any Israelite. The use of this word brings up images of “ungodliness”, of “idol sacrifices” and “idol worship”. It would bring up images of Elijah the prophet and his quest to help bring back the Hebrew leadership to worshiping the true God of Israel and not the god of Queen Jezebel, which was Baal, which was one of the stories that the children studied this last month in VBS. The prophets of Baal and Elijah had a show down on which god was more powerful. After an all day frenzy by the priests of Baal to bring down fire to accept their sacrifice, nothing happened. Then Elijah, after preparing his sacrifice to God, upped the ante by pouring water, not once, not twice, but three times on the wood, making it so wet, that it could not be light by fire. Then prayed to God and God sent down a blaze of fire, consuming the offering as well as the alter itself. Meaning God accepted Elijah’s offering.
Today, a large portion of the church would use words that are just as highly charged as did Matthew, when they say, “the Homosexual agenda”. The word Homosexual brings up tremendously negative feelings to many people when they hear it. It is a proven fact that when the topic of who should serve in the military was discussed, when the word “gay” men and women was used, the majority polled were favorable, but when the word “homosexual” was used the polls showed a far less support about “those” people serving as defenders of our country. The word Canaanite was just as explosive to the first generation of readers of the Gospel of Matthew.
The disciples were highly bothered by this Canaanite woman, crying out to Jesus to help her daughter. They were obviously not able to get rid of her and so they ask Jesus to send her away. At first, Jesus even ignores her cries for help. But out of persistence, he finally sits down and tries to reason with her, saying that his mission was only for those who God counts worthy.
That’s a shocker! Does this statement mean that there are truly those who are counted as favored by God and the rest are going to hell? Undeterred this mother continues to beg Jesus to help heal her daughters illness. Then Jesus actually likens her, solely because of her being a Canaanite, to that of a dog! “It's not right to take bread out of children's mouths and throw it to dogs.” And she once more responds with, “You're right, Master, but beggar dogs do get scraps from the master's table.”
I would like to point out that this story comes after a serious of stories where Jesus is confronting the Pharisees over questions of ritual purity and obedience to the law of God, and Jesus quoting from Hosea 6:6, “I desire mercy not sacrifices.” Jesus is now being confronted with exactly what he had been chastising the Pharisees of doing. It is a story of a woman putting a mirror up to Jesus’ face and calling him on his own prejudices and limited scope of what and to who his mission was about. Finally, as I understand this story, Jesus has an epiphany as to who is equal in the sight of God. It isn’t just about who gets help, who we in the church give assistance to, but rather a point of “who is equal in the eyes of God”, which translates for us, “who do we see as equal”, as “brothers and sisters – as family?” This is a profoundly important message to the church! It is a profoundly important message to us – are we truly seeing even the most undesirerable of our society as being not just acceptable to receive the word, the love of God, but truly “acceptable” to God?
I mentioned earlier that the civil rights movement was one of those labels for the Canaanite woman. Much of America feels that we have moved into an era of being less racist, yet I hear language being used every day that says we are still struggling with racism; if you don’t believe me, then who comes to your mind when I use the word “terrorist?” If your first thoughts are “Arabs”, “Muslims”, “Iraqis”, or “Afghanistan’s” then you are thinking as a racist. There is a population of people who are crying out to the church to be let in and accepted as children of God, and yet the church fears them and sees them as undeserving of God love or being equal. Yet they are still marching, still raising their voices, asking the church to have “mercy” on them, to welcome them as brothers and sisters.
Our text today is truly speaking about God desiring “mercy over sacrifice”. Sacrifice is form and doctrine; mercy is love, acceptance, and equality. God is telling us, that every person, regardless to race, social standing, educational level, sexual orientation, even mental illness is equal in God’s kingdom. It is a challenge to us to recognize that “even the crumbs” are there for everyone. In reality, if we can come to such an understanding and reconciliation within our own hearts, then there will be no need to discuss who gets the crumbs for everyone will be eating at the table. Amen