Jesus said, "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." I don't know about you, but those words surprise me. It just doesn't seem right for the loving accepting Jesus implying that the Canaanite woman is a dog! I have to speak to this Gospel story.

This Jewish Jesus had just come from a run in with his fellow religionists: the scribes and Pharisees. He was teaching that mere outward conforming to tradition is not enough. The scribes and Pharisees jumped to the conclusion that Jesus was against tradition and religious observances. What he was trying to do was get to the spirit of the tradition and apply it to the present day. He went to the synagogue regularly, he faithfully kept the religious feasts, he studied the scriptures. But for him, those practices were a humble searching for guidance and prayers for strength. They added up to a loving relationship with God and neighbor.

Somehow, Jesus couldn't quite get that across. They saw him as a troublemaker, destroyer of religion - someone who didn't understand people and the way things were.

So Jesus, discouraged by his fellow Jews, went from there, and for the first and only time went outside Jewish territory to the district of Tyre and Sidon. That's the area of modern Lebanon filled then and now with age-old animosities. As Jesus was continuing his teaching with his disciples, a Canaanite woman came up to him and asked for help. At first Jesus didn't ignored her. The disciples responded, as I imagine a Jew would today to a Palestinian, "Send her away, for she is crying after us."

Jesus answers, "I am not sent, but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." He was focused on his work with the people of Israel. Sometimes our plate is too full, so full that we can't see anything else.

The woman came and "knelt before him saying, `Lord, help me." Now we are in a different situation. Faith is being awakened in the woman. Her prayer is a statement of need: a cry from the heart of a faith and hope that Jesus would and could help her.

Then he says, "It is not fair to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." Some commentators say that Jesus was joking or playing as he used the word for little puppy or household pet. It may be, but I don't think so. I tend to think that the human Jesus grew up with the assumptions of the times and he is just saying, "Well you know what we think of you Canaanites." (The fact that we have prejudices is just a human condition. As the Jews had prejudice against Canaanites, so early Christians developed prejudice against Jews.) She on her part does not contradict him. She doesn't argue that she is as good as anyone else. She doesn't point out the shortcomings of the Israelites: how they were hypocrites. All she knows is that she has a need for God's help, that Jesus is able to give her that help, that even though she doesn't have a "right" to it, she may expect a crumb of the unmerited love of God. Her humility and faith speak to the Spirit in Jesus, expands his self understanding and vision, and draws forth the healing power of Christ: "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire."

Note there are two themes here. One is faith. Faith that God welcomes, accepts, and hears the prayers of anyone and everyone, and responds. The past several weeks Matthew has been dealing with different dimensions of faith. In the feeding of the multitude faith that we can be a source of blessing and nurture to others. Last week it was that by faith God would not let us sink in the storms and dangers of life, but hold us up. And today, great faith is expressed by outsiders. It is even with the Caananites of this world: members of oppressed or despised groups who cry out in faith for God's blessing . That's the first theme.

The other is outreach and inclusion. Our God is a universal God. There is no other God than God. Even though the Canaanites don't know it, worship another god, have different scriptures - the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is still their God even though known by a different name. And God answers their prayers. All of us are unworthy to gather up the crumbs from his table, yet we all have the promise that God's love and concern goes out to all his children. God hears the cries of the needy.

We must remember that you and I are the heirs of that Caananite woman. She is the door that Jesus opened to Jesus move beyond the confines of Judaism. She challenged the human Jesus to move out from the house of Israel to be the Messiah, the redeemer of the world.

We live at a time when there is great conflict between the generations, differing lifestyles and belief systems, and nations and religions. In such a world the man Jesus lived. What if the person coming to Jesus were a Muslim? Or someone else other than "our kind". A drug addict? a homosexual? A corrupt accountant? A conservative or liberal? A How do you think Jesus would have acted?

At Lambeth, our new Bishop Eugene was approached by African bishops. They wanted to know the perspective of "an African American who has experienced first hand how people have been abused by well-meaning Christians who've justified their prejudice from church tradition and the Bible. (he answered) I welcome all of these conversations, and look forward to having them throughout the diocese. We may never all agree on all of the issues before us, and we may not agree on what we believe are the essentials of the Christian faith, but there is one thing of which you should have no doubt: the Diocese of Maryland is an inclusive Church, and we will pray, worship, argue and work together, expressing our unity in Christ despite all our differences, for this is what God requires of us. In a world that increasingly knows only how to respond to conflict by dehumanizing, name-calling, destroying and violence, isn't this good news?"

We, like the Caananite woman, are not worthy to gather up the crumbs under his table. We don't know everything Jesus would do in our present world. We do know that he overcame the historical, religious, political, and gender prejudices that we humans have …. to pour out the promises and blessing of God to all his children. We do know that we are now included in the promises and blessing of God. We do know we are fed by Christ's Body and Blood - His presence and life giving sustenance - to go out and reach out to his world.

Father Everett Francis
All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Frederick, Maryland
August 17, 2008