8/20/23

Today's gospel reading was Matthew 15:10-28. It's one of the more interesting and theologically deep passages—its encounters are complex and full of contradictions that find their resolution in the growing understanding and compassion of Christ. It shows a Jesus who's fully human and fully divine, a Jesus who's a hypocrite and a Jesus who heals. It shows a Jesus who's part of the dominant culture and a Jesus who's marginalized. It shows a Jesus who ignores and insults and a Jesus who learns and grows and expands his vision.

Just before his encounter with the Canaanite woman, Jesus attacks the misunderstanding of religious purity laws, making the point that it's our intentions and what comes from the heart that defiles us or makes us clean, not eating with unwashed or washed hands. The religious elites are upset at this apparent transgression of Jewish law by Jesus' followers, but Jesus calls them hypocrites and says they are like the blind leading the blind. Jesus is then approached by a Canaanite woman, who asks Jesus to heal her daughter. Jesus has healed many others, after all, and she believes in his mission, so why not heal her child as well? Jesus first turns a blind eye to her and her suffering, not even deigning to answer her. The woman persists and refuses to leave. Jesus then says his mission and priority is to the lost sheep of Israel. Yet the woman persists and continues to ask for help. Jesus then insults her by comparing her and her people, the indigenous inhabitants of Palestine which the Jews held in low regard, to dogs in his retort, "It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs." And yet, once again, showing endurance and love and wisdom beyond that of even the great rabbi himself it would seem, the woman persists and turns Jesus' metaphor around on him in her own reply that "even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters." Jesus then praises her faith and heals her daughter.

In many ways, Jesus represents the dominant culture people: he's a male in a patriarchal society, he's a Jew in a land claimed by his people and colonized by them, and he's a religious authority among a people whose lives revolve around their faith. And Jesus seemingly treats this woman accordingly despite all of the things he preached earlier during the Sermon on the Mount, including loving your enemies and the golden rule. But in others, Jesus himself is marginalized: his people are under the domination of the Romans, he's poor, and he's being judged and persecuted by the religious and state leaders of Judea.

Jesus chastizes and criticizes the religious elite for their hypocrisy and lack of understanding, time and again highlighting that the truly religious person helps others, loves others, and treats others as they would wish to be treated themselves, especially the marginalized. Jesus calls them blind in their understanding and example. And yet when confronted with a woman who Jesus has likely been socially conditioned to look down upon, he ignores her and then insults her as if her suffering and that of her daughter meant nothing to him. Yet this woman seemingly becomes his teacher and not only turns his insult around on him, but opens his eyes to his own privilege and hypocrisy, shining a light upon his ignorance and closed heart. And to his credit, he doesn't shut her down but listens, stays present, and in that moment, seemingly grows and expands his vision, being converted and transformed by her faith. Yes, Jesus is fully human, and as such, Jesus has very human characteristics and prejudices despite his deep and intimate connection with God. But Jesus also learns and grows like every human does and he becomes better and his mission broader to include all people. And just as the Trinity is relational and incarnate in all creation, that nature is mirrored in this relational moment between Jesus and the unnamed Canaanite woman, a dialectical spirit present throughout the course of human history.

This exchange reveals the humanness of Jesus in the midst of his divinity. It challenges dominant culture social relations, past, present, and future. It highlights the importance of intention and quality of one's heart vs. adherence to rites and rituals. It expresses the sacredness of everyone, especially the marginalized. It illustrates our potential for growth. And it's a representation of the power of relationships, which filters down from the divine template of creation in the form of the Trinity all the way to human interactions and beyond.