Grace Supremacy: Matthew 15:21-28 - Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost

Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. ²²Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” ²³But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” ²⁴He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” ²⁶He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁷She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” ²⁸Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly. (NRSV)

Farming God's Way Ministry - Valley Points Family YMCA, New Kensington.  Photo by author.

I don’t like going into New Kensington.  I don’t feel as safe there as I do here in Leechburg or in Lower Burrell.  But I visit their YMCA branch several times a week.  When I walk from the parking lot into the building, I always feel a little nervous—particularly if I see people walking nearby—most of whom are persons of color.

Now in five years, nothing bad has ever happened.  A few people asked me for a dollar, and one woman even asked me for a ride (which I refused, much to her anger).  Most recently, I was approached by a young African American man and a white woman when I got out of my car.  I was dressed in clerics, which is why he probably said, “Excuse me, father, can you help me?”

In my mind, I’m thinking, “oh, great.  What have I gotten myself into now?”  But I say, “what do you need?”

His name was Tyrell, and hers was Melissa.  He tells me that they haven’t eaten in two days—and that it was his birthday.  He asks if I would buy him a cake. 

I ask him to walk with me three blocks to the Shop-N-Save.  On the way, he tells that he’d spent his previous birthdays in prison for drug offenses.  And he tells me how hard he is praying for God to provide him a job so that they won’t be homeless again…

At the store, he selects a small cheesecake and a half gallon of iced tea.  The total cost was less than $10.  I ask him if they needed more food, and he smiled and said, “this is all I need.”  Then he hugs me and tells me that this was his best birthday ever.  They then walk to a nearby bus stop shelter and eat the cake.

These two remind me of the Canaanite woman in today’s Gospel—frantically begging Jesus for mercy to her daughter, who was possessed by a demon.

She was a Canaanite—an enemy race God’s people despised.  And she was a woman; likely a peasant woman with nothing in the way of wealth or social standing. 

Here, you have her crying and shouting at Jesus—making all kinds of ruckus and showing none of the honor or respect that should’ve been afforded a Jewish rabbi.  All the while, Jesus’ disciples are trying desperately to shut her up.  They’re ready, at Jesus command, to drag her away, kicking and screaming.

Surprisingly, Jesus is extremely unkind toward her: “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs,” he says.  “I will not be wasted on dogs like you.”

But she persists.  She doesn’t ask for a place at Jesus’ table; just to be lick up the crumbs on the floor.

I believe her faith to be the greater miracle here.  She had nowhere else to turn; nothing else to lose and saw in Jesus as her best and only hope. Through her faith, Jesus not only healed her daughter but forever broke down the wall that kept people like her outside of God’s family.  In this brief exchange, the truth about Jesus is revealed—that he is not just the savior of proper Jews but of everyone who calls on his name.  There are no boundaries for who’s in and who’s out.  Everyone belongs.

But as sinners, you and I don’t like this.  We resist this. 

We human beings love to build walls to ensure our exclusive enjoyment of God’s gifts while keeping out everyone who would threaten that exclusive enjoyment.  This is true in your preschool sandbox, your high school lunch table, your workplaces, and the divisive political climate we’re experiencing today. 

Whether you realize it or not, you make judgments on what people are worth—and treat them accordingly.  You act as though it is your divine right to dominate and plunder those people.  If they don’t serve your interests, then it’s in your best interest to be rid of them.  And when you have a passionate majority making like judgments about those most different from themselves, you get social, economic, and political systems that perpetuate oppression.  Life cannot flourish in such an environment.  The one best word to describe this is hell.

This was on parade last week in Charlottesville, Virginia: people carrying torches, waving Nazi flags, and brandishing weapons—for the purpose of claiming this nation for their exclusive benefit.  Most white supremacists believe it is their God-given right to plunder and destroy all those they believe are beneath them. 

I can see myself as a disciple holding the Canaanite woman down as she cries out for Jesus—because she was rattling the system.  She was rude and obnoxious.  She was sticking her nose where it didn’t belong and interrupting the important work we were doing.  She wasn’t following the rules and waiting her turn.

My own white supremacy showed itself in my attitude towards the people of color I encounter in New Kensington: that they are not my neighbors, but people to be feared and avoided.  Yet I believe it was Jesus who brought them to me that day—and though that encounter cost me ten dollars, some time, and some discomfort, it was also a moment of supreme grace.

No matter what people may say, God showed you your worth at the cross.  Your salvation comes with no conditions or strings attached.  It comes to you in bread and wine that you are invited to receive without cost. 

When you leave this place, Jesus will send you to people or send people to you for you show them how much they matter to God.  Jesus is going to exorcise you of your prejudices, fears, and suspicions of other people so that you may receive them not just as a neighbor but as a gift.  On both sides of the boundaries we create there are people in need of grace—and it is in giving that grace to each other; be it in breadcrumbs or cheesecakes, that we taste God’s kingdom. 

The salvation we all long for is not about domination and elimination of peoples.  It’s about mercy, grace, and forgiveness.  These will bring us healing.  These will bring us life.