Today, we look at a Day 5 text from this year’s summer curriculum, “From Generation to Generation.”
Prayer: Redeeming God, you overcome all differences and divisions to welcome those we want to call outsiders into your fold. Remind us that we too were once estranged from you but have been brought nearby your love in Christ Jesus. By your Spirit, guide us into the ways of welcoming those whom we would rather ignore, dismiss, or degrade into our way of life in you. This we pray through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Reading: Matthew 15:21-28 (Click to read text) Stop and GROW: After reading the text, discuss/ponder the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Book of Faith questions, which are part of Camp Mount Luther's GROW Time with campers. QUESTION 1: What scares, confuses, challenges, or doesn’t make sense to me in this text? QUESTION 2: What delights me in this text or is my favorite part of the story? QUESTION 3: What stories or memories does this text stir in me? QUESTION 4: What is God up to in this text? Reflection: What did he just call her?! I’m sorry, rewind for a minute; did Jesus just call her a dog? That can’t be right, can it? Surely Jesus wouldn’t use such a derogatory term to refer to this woman looking for aid. I’m re-reading the story now -- hold on. Ok so, it’s actually worse. Here we have this woman looking for help on behalf of her daughter who has apparently been afflicted by some sort of evil possession. She approaches Jesus and the disciples, imploring them for mercy, but Jesus just ignores her? Then he only seems to address her because the disciples want him to send her away, which it seems like he does! “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” he says. He might as well have summed it up by saying “you’re not my problem.” But he doesn’t even stop there. When the woman finally stoops in front of him pleading “Lord, help me,” Jesus returns with a veritable gut-punch: “it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” Oof! It’s really difficult hearing such unkind words on the lips of this Savior. Reading it, we might be more than a little taken aback by what this Jesus is saying. I mean, sure, as a Canaanite this woman was an outsider, but does that really warrant the slur of calling her a dog (a derogatory term not uncommonly used to refer to outsiders among the people of Jesus’ time)? It’s a tough scene that’s given to us. On the face of it, this Jesus looks incredibly callous and downright insulting. Some have tried to write the episode off by saying that this was all a setup; Jesus was only saying these things so that he could show something more powerful. Regardless, though, whether you think Jesus was genuinely using the insulting language of his time or simply play-acting to make a point, it’s difficult to stomach these words on Jesus’ lips. Which is precisely why the outcome is so important. Because despite being ignored, despite being dismissed, despite being insulted and degraded, the Canaanite woman nevertheless persisted. She implores Jesus one last time, in a recognition that even the crumbs would be enough to sustain her. And there, everything changes. After moving through the messy articulations of human biases (especially those existing between the good Jewish folks around Jesus and the Canaanite outsiders), Jesus finally recognizes her faith and human dignity as worthy of attention and a place in God’s unfolding drama. May this be a reminder then. May Jesus’ encounter with the Canaanite woman remind us that no one, even those we want to ignore, dismiss, or revile with dirty language, no one is beyond the bounds of God’s life-giving love and power. May this give us cause to stay our tongues when such language comes primed and ready to be wielded against those we count as “outside” our normal spheres. May it give us hope for the moments we ourselves are cast away with ugly dismissals. May it give us hope that God’s redemption is greater than the worst we have to offer. ~ Justin Lingenfelter
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