Isaiah 56:1,6-8 Psalm 67 Matthew 15: (10-20), 21-28

Thus says the Lord God,
who gathers the outcasts of Israel, 

I will gather others to them
besides those already gathered.

The Prophet Isaiah speaks of a time when God’s people will be returned from exile in foreign lands, gathered again in their homeland, praising and worshiping God in his Holy Temple.  We can relate to being regathered.

Centuries after Isaiah’s time, Jesus would respond in a confusing and alarming way to this foreign woman from a Pagan society.  Jesus’ words seem cruel; in today’s world we would consider his words as racial slur.  But, Jesus has even harsher words for the scribes and Pharisees, the official keepers of Jewish tradition with whom Jesus shares gender, race, and religion.  Prior to the point at which today’s Gospel lesson begins, Jesus had been in a heated discussion with a particular group of scribes and Pharisees who had come to Galilee to confront Jesus regarding their opinion that his followers were not honoring the laws of ritual purity appropriately.   Jesus responds by labeling his visitors as hypocrites, accusing them of exploiting God’s law for the purpose of protecting their own status of importance and for the purpose of excluding those whom they determined should be excluded.

Yet, immediately following, in the account we have just heard, Jesus seems to be hiding behind the traditions that he was just declaring as hypocritical.  In our lesson, we learn that Jesus leaves Galilee and journeys toward Tyre and Sidon – pagan territory.  Here, Jesus encounters a Canaanite woman – a non-Jew who likely worships the earthly King Herod rather than the God of Israel, a Gentile pagan, an enemy of Israel, an outcast whom believers commonly label as a “dog.”

Yet, this heavily marginalized woman – a pagan woman, the mother of a demonically possessed child; this woman cries out for mercy, and she does not give up.

Jesus’ initial rebuff is shocking.  Is he really saying that he believes his mission on earth to be only for the Jewish people and not the Gentile “dogs?”  Does Jesus himself not yet understand his mission to bring salvation to all people?  Or, is Jesus speaking with tongue-in-cheek irony, as if to say, “You, a worshipper of false gods, come to me begging for mercy for your child?   Is your god not available this week?”  Or, perhaps, very likely, Jesus is simply using reverse psychology for the benefit of observers.  Remember the negative response of the disciples who first insisted that the woman be sent away.  Typically, when we hear the bigotry in our hearts verbalized, we are (or should be) outraged by it.  Without doubt, Jesus intended for his followers and for us to be called out for our cruelty and dismissiveness to others.

How ever you might interpret this for yourself, Jesus’ words, written down by Matthew, spoken intentionally in this bold manner, emphasize the very opposite of his statement of narrowed, exclusive purpose – the purpose being only for the House of Israel.   This is a turning point in Matthew’s Gospel account of Jesus’ ministry.  Without this seemingly harsh reaction by Jesus to this socially outcast woman, we might miss this stunning, undeniable message: The God of Jesus, this God of Israel, is the God of all, and this God of all is a merciful God whose will is to gather all to himself.  This, more clearly than ever, is the mission of Jesus Christ and all who follow.

This lowly non-Jewish creature steps far beyond the acceptable norms of her society; she is persistent in her demands – persistent in her faith in the mercy of God that comes in the person of Jesus Christ.  Even though dehumanized in the extreme, she is not to be dissuaded.  Once: “Have mercy on me, Lord.”  Twice: “Lord, help me.”  Three times: “Lord, even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”  This most typically faithless creature, tested by Jesus’ harsh and perplexing reaction, demonstrates with great affirmation her unquestionable faith in the mercy of God that comes through belief in Jesus Christ.  In God’s kingdom she is no foreigner.

Last week, we read of Peter, probably the best known of all the original disciples, slipping beneath the waves of chaos as he allowed his anxieties to overtake his faith in Jesus.  “You of little faith,” Jesus says to Peter as he grasps his hand to save him from the swirling tempest.

Today, in contrast, we read of the most marginalized outcast of first century society possessing such great faith that Jesus, himself, declares, “Woman, great is your faith!  Let it be done for you as you wish.”  Through the mercy of the God of all, the daughter is healed – freed of the demon that has tormented her.

Jesus’ stunning turning point highlights the depth of his message.  No longer are there foreigners.  As Isaiah has prophesied, all are united into God’s kingdom – Jew and Gentile, female and male, slave and free, rich and poor, parent and child – gathered there through faith in Jesus Christ.