Reflections in Ordinary Time

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time - August 14, 2005

A Canaanite woman approached Jesus and shouted, "Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon."

Jesus said in reply, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs."

But she said, "Please, Lord, even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from their master's table."

Then Jesus said, "Woman, you have great faith. I will do what you desire."

And her daughter was healed at that very moment.

Matthew 15: 22-28

Jesus Likes Dogs

The Gospel story of Jesus' encounter with the Canaanite woman is a difficult one. Jesus is portrayed in this story in a way that is downright embarrassing for Christians. The Canaanite woman approaches him in a crowd, shouting and drawing attention to herself, and asking for help for her daughter. At first Jesus just ignores her. When she persists, he treats her with blatant disdain. He even insults her by comparing her to a dog. It is completely out of character with what we think Jesus was like.

To understand the point of this story, we should keep in mind that no one who was with Jesus during his public ministry kept a written record of what he said and did. No news correspondent was embedded with the disciples as they followed Jesus around the towns of Galilee. While it was all happening, the disciples hardly understood what they were seeing and hearing. Only afterwards did small communities of believers begin to sort out what it meant. They listened as those who had been eyewitnesses recounted everything they could remember about Jesus. Their stories were repeated over and over, and passed on to new followers who joined the community.

Eventually some members of the community committed the stories to writing, so they would be preserved for future believers. Their work became what we know as the New Testament. The collective faith experience that produced these writings was guided by the Holy Spirit, and the writings themselves are the holy and inspired Word of God.

But while the New Testament is the Word of God, it is not the words of God. This distinction is important for understanding the disturbing exchange between Jesus and the Canaanite woman. The story was written to make a point. The words attributed to Jesus in the story are not direct quotes. We can say confidently that in real life Jesus never treated anyone with disdain, not even his enemies. He probably even liked dogs. (Although the gospels don't record it, I imagine that when Jesus went into a town and the townspeople brought their sick to be healed, all the dogs in the town followed the crowd, and barked excitedly as they scurried around Jesus with tails wagging, and he probably took the time to pet each one of them.)

If we try to read the story of the Canaanite woman in a narrowly literal way, we will miss the point.The early followers of Jesus wrestled with a very big problem that doesn't mean much to us today. They had to come to terms with where the newly-emerging church stood in relation to their Jewish faith, which was also the faith of Jesus. Is Jesus' message just for the lost sheep of the house of Israel, or is it for everyone? The answer wasn't obvious to everyone at first, but eventually it became clear. It is for everyone. In the end Jesus did heal the Canaanite woman's daughter. Jesus helped her because she had something worth more than a birthright. She had great faith.

And that's the point. No one gets special favors from God because of birthright. Membership has no privileges. God makes no distinctions. His love is freely given to all. No matter how hard we try to keep the church exclusive, no matter how much we disdain outsiders who do not share our faith, God keeps throwing our blessings to the dogs and caring for everyone. Different cultures and traditions call God by different names, but he is the one Father of us all, and we are all brothers and sisters. It's a pretty obvious point, but we just don't seem to get it.

Almighty God, ever-loving Father, your care extends beyond the boundaries of race and nation to the hearts of all who live. May the walls which prejudice raises between us crumble beneath the shadow of your outstretched arm. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

- from the mass for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time