This is an amazing Gospel passage that we are given today. It is one of the few times Jesus uses harsh language with people. On more than a few occasions, Jesus calls the Pharisees and other religious leaders ‘hypocrites’ and ‘liars’ but we can all admit that they had it coming. But his encounter with the Canaanite woman is very distressing because it presents Jesus as being limited in his response to another person. Jesus clearly appears to be haughty and removed from this woman who is in need.
Let’s look closer at what happens.
Jesus is with his disciples in Gentile territory of Tyre and Sidon. We are told that he withdrew to that place perhaps because he was tired or weary and seemed to be spending time in the company of his close disciples. Into his presence steps a woman. We are told that she is a Canaanite woman— meaning that she is not a Jew but a pagan. Canaanites were known to practice many strange rituals, fertility rites and even engaged in human sacrifices in ancient times. So, they were not looked upon with great kindness by other Jews.
This woman, however, approaches Jesus, referring to him as the Son of David, and asks that he heal her daughter who is being tormented by a demon. Apparently, she is persistent because the disciples tell Jesus to get rid of the woman who is a bother. Jesus turns to her and says, “I was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” In other words, he is telling the woman that her concern is not important to him because his first priority is to minister to the Jews. But the woman is not easily brushed off. Instead, she does Jesus homage and says, “Lord, help me.” Jesus replies, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs!” In other words, he doesn’t believe it is appropriate for him to share his ministry to the Jews with a non-Jew. Jesus uses the word “dog” which was a common reference to non-Jews. He was referring to her as a scavenger or worse. But this woman is not going to give up. After all, this is about her daughter, not about her. So she trumps Jesus’ insult by saying, “Even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table.” She accepts the insult. She is a scavenger and will accept any crumbs he might toss to her. She takes the blow and twists it to her advantage. At that, Jesus recognizes her great faith and heals her daughter.
This is a powerful, but troubling story. Why was Jesus so hurtful in his response to this woman? Why did he treat her like dirt and insult her in the presence of his disciples? Some might argue that Jesus was showing his human side— he was tired and weary and not in the mood to help this woman. Others believe that Jesus was testing her faith to see how strong it might be. Others suspect that Jesus may have been verbalizing what prejudices his disciples already had. After all, what he was saying to this woman was probably what they themselves were already thinking about the woman.
Whatever the reason, Jesus acknowledges that the faith of a foreigner— even a pagan— can be strong and that God will respond to the needs of those who exercise some faith— not matter how little it might be.
This inclusive attitude would have shocked his listeners because, in their mind, only the Jews had a special relationship with God. God would only answer their prayers because they were the chosen people. It was impossible to think that non-Jews could have a relationship with God much less call on him in time of need. But Jesus challenges this kind of thinking by including even non-Jews into the circle of those who are God’s children.
In fact, the Bible supports Jesus’ thinking and actions. In today’s first reading, Isaiah says, “The foreigners who join themselves to the Lord will be brought to the holy mountain and have their offerings accepted.” Isaiah speaks for God when he says, “My house shall be a house of prayer for all peoples.” There are other examples in the OT where people outside Israel were on the receiving end of God’s blessing. God is a God of all people, not only the Jews. After the death and resurrection of Jesus, it is Peter and, later, Paul, who will travel into pagan territory and announce the Good News to the Gentiles as well. As Paul says in today’s second reading, “I am speaking to the Gentiles even if it makes my race jealous.” So, the lesson that Jesus gives his disciples is that their thoughts about having an exclusive relationship with God were wrong. Furthermore, they should not think that their ministry would only be limited to the Jewish people.
Even with the support of the Scriptures, there are some today who believe that God is limited in who he can respond to. There are some in the faith community who don’t believe that non-Christians can have a faith relationship with God. There are many Christians who don’t believe that the prayers of non-Christians can be heard. How sad, really, that they overlook the example set by Jesus in today’s Gospel. Time and time again, Jesus surprises his disciples by complimenting the faith of non-Jews and responding to their needs.
As you know, I have been part of an interfaith group over the past few years. We are a group of people from all walks of life: Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, Unitarian, and others. Yet, amazingly, we can all come together to pray— each in our own way. Does God hear the prayers of some more than others? Can God respond to the needs of a person who doesn’t pray through Jesus? In those gatherings, do I secretly pray, “Lord I ask you to hear their prayers, too, even though they’re pagans!” Of course not.
I was at such a prayer event not to long ago. To my surprise, there was a pastor there from one of the large evangelical churches in Fresno. As I was sitting next to him, he leaned over to me and said, “Brother, I don’t know about you, but I just don’t feel comfortable praying with our non-Christian friends here.” Later, he hinted that he thought it was inappropriate for a Christian to pray with non-Christians because the only authentic prayers were those prayed in the name of Jesus.
One thing is clear from this Gospel. It is painful work for many of us to broaden our horizons and to extend the circle of grace to include those who are different from us. We naturally tend toward being exclusive. We want to believe that we are right and others are wrong. But then, we see the example of Jesus in a story like this which shatters any form of racism, nationalism, religious prejudice or bigotry. What we learn is that God is abundantly generous— more generous than we are. God doesn’t simply allow crumbs to fall from our table of blessing for others but actually invites those who are different to have a seat at the same table.