Foretaste of the Sermon to Come
A little nibble of the Revised Common Lectionary
Sunday’s scriptures are Psalm 67, Romans 11:1–2, Matthew 15:10–28, 29–36
After another break from writing, I had been thinking about picking up the proverbial pen again, and after this week’s Manna and Thursday Morning Bible Studies, I am too excited by our gospel to keep my thoughts contained.
In our gospel this week, a Canaanite or Syrophoenician woman begs Jesus to heal her daughter. As a non-Jew, Jesus rightly tells her that he came to minister to the Israelites, knowing that the Gentiles will have their time. A lot has been written to try to unpack puzzling verse. Was Jesus acting more human than divine? Was he being uncharacteristically cruel and disrespectful to teach some kind of lesson? Did the woman’s challenge change his mind? Is she the point of the story, being a Biblical example of a strong woman of great faith? Is the story not as severe as it sounds because Jesus is talking about household puppies under the table rather than the ravenous mangy animals that would have been nowhere near a decent first century dinner table? Maybe it’s a little of all of these, another example of how a nuanced story’s layers add up to paint a fuller picture of Jesus.
My first question, was Jesus acting more human than divine, is actually closest to what I think is going on here, but in exactly the opposite way. I think he’s acting more divine than human! And how is that? Well, we don’t see Jesus’ divinity right away in how he responds to the woman. Just like God hides his face from Moses, and hides his identity from Jacob until Jacob’s received his wrestling partner’s blessing, I think Jesus is hiding his divine face from the woman, his disciples, and from us readers. But the woman isn’t having it. She knows of this Jesus, and calls out to the Son of David for mercy. She knows mercy is this man’s promise, and she is going to get it for her daughter even if she has to beg. Just like Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David, and other biblical examples of great faith, she reminds Jesus of who he is and reminds him that she knows what his promise is. She has great faith, knowing that he is God, hiding in the Law, and having the absolute assurance that he can and will deliver mercy in the Gospel for no other reason than she called on his name.
Of course, we have the foresight and promise of the cross, God’s greatest hiding place and the ultimate place he shows up – God revealed in the crucified Christ, taking on our sin and giving us his mercy. This mercy, received with our faith, be it great or the size of a mustard seed, is ours, and we cling to this promise. Thanks be to God!
