In today’s gospel an amazing thing happens—Jesus is caught by a Canaanite woman in his knee-jerk reaction to her as a non-Jew, from a tribe different from his own and so not worthy of his pastoral response to her sick daughter.
This passage shows that Jesus was indeed human. That he was a member of his own group of people, steeped in his own folk lore and family stories, that included stories about how the others were not like him, not as worthy of God’s attention. Jesus is a Jew from Nazareth, not a Gentile Canaanite. Jesus is descended from the Hebrews who pushed aside the Canaanites when they entered the promised land.
This woman could have responded with anger at the Jewish rabbi’s treatment of her, perhaps she even expected. But instead of anger, she asserted herself. Even the dogs get the crumbs under the table, she wittily shoots back at his ethnic slur. She doesn’t start a fight, she starts Jesus thinking about his prejudice, and when he does this he has compassion and heals her daughter.
It can be shocking to see how Jesus is caught with his compassion down. How a Canaanite woman, not even a Jew, must teach him, through her own trust in a merciful God, that God has enough grace even for her.
Has this happened to you? Have you ever reacted with instant disdain to someone not in your little in group, only to have your reaction challenged. You may have been embarrassed later by your knee jerk statement or behavior, after coming to realize that the person you are demonizing has your own needs and desires for acceptance and love.
Why do we categorize people, put them in little boxes and call them names? Does it make us feel better about ourselves that there are others we can say are less worthy than us? Does it make us bigger, safer, more in control of our environment to cubby hole all Hispanics, all black or brown or yellow people, all short, or fat, or thin, or blond people, or everyone from Chicago, or the south, or…the list could go on. Does it keep us feeling good to think that God’s merciful net does not include everyone?
Challenging our prejudices whether big or small, brings us freedom from bitterness, anger and comparative living—looking at our lives through the lens of those around us. Often we are taught by those we associate with who is in the in group. Have you challenged your in group by including someone new? Have you opened up your heart to someone new, someone you wouldn’t normally associate with?
Opening our hearts to the new, the other, can be challenging, but as you know when you have done so, it opens up your whole world, makes it more loving, more accepting, both of yourself and the ones in the other group. And you know that when something opens up love, it is a sign that it comes from God.
Jesus’ encounter with the out group today challenged him to reconsider and open up his heart. May we all be challenged in our prejudices, however big or small, to open up ourselves as a channel of God’s mercy and love.
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