The Day Jesus Called a Woman's Daughter a Dog; Matthew 15:21-28

Rev. George Miller
Aug 20, 2017
Matthew 15:21-28

In the midst of all that’s going on in our nation, from peace vigils, to White Supremacists, to a once-in-99 year eclipse, an important bit of American history went by virtually unnoticed.

Eatonville, FL- the oldest African-American city in the United States turned 130 years old. They celebrated on Saturday with a craft and cultural festival.

Home to 2,300 citizens and the home-town of Zora Neale Hurston, Eatonville has a place in American and literary history.

Now, people may wonder why the need for an African-American community. Isn’t that self-segregation or a form of reverse-racism?

Imagine if we’re here in 2017 dealing with the KKK and tiki-torch wielding Nazi’s, how much more so were things back in 1887, just a few years after the Civil War?

Eatonville was a place of sanctuary and community, where folk could be folk, until someone came along to act unjust, be unkind, or speak humiliating words.

Sadly, today, we have a story about that very thing happening to a woman and her child; even more sorrowful is that the culprit in this reading is Jesus and his disciples.

Let’s do a brief recap- according to Matthew 10:6, Jesus told his disciples that his ministry is 1st and foremost to the children of Israel, and they are not to bother with the Gentiles.

So all the people Jesus heals, the people he feeds, the people he sits with on the mountain are people from his same ethnic and religious group.

But one day, Jesus decides to go on a mini-vaca. His battery is on low. He’s tired of people criticizing how and when he does what he does.

Jesus needs a break, so he heads to where he assumes no one will know him and no one will ask him to pray for their sister’s uncle’s niece’s best-friend’s boss’s cat-sitter’s son.

Jesus heads to Canaanite Country. There, on the border of two worlds, comes a woman from an enemy nation who is of a different ethnicity, and a different religious belief.

She shouts out to him, asking for mercy. “My child is tormented and unwell.”

Jesus ignores her. Says zip, zero, nada.

His disciples say “She won’t shut up and she won’t get over it. Tell her to go away.”

Jesus says “I was only sent here for the stray sheep of Israel’s flock.”

But this Canaanite woman, of a different nation and a different religion, kneels before Emmanuel, and humbly says “Help me.”

Jesus responds “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to dogs.”

Let us pause there. “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”

What exactly does that mean?

The word children was meant to refer to the Israelites, the followers of God. Anyone else who did not believe as they did were called dogs.

Jesus has just called this woman’s daughter a dog.

Let that set in.

Jesus called someone’s child a dog.

And yet, this woman of a different nationality, of a different faith, held her ground, and while kneeling before the Son of God, she said “Yes, Lord, but even dogs get to eat what falls from their master’s table.”

Jesus thought he could put this woman in her place, but she persisted, and she reminded Jesus just what his place was.

This is one of the most difficult stories to share because it does not portray Jesus in a positive light.

Scholars have wrestled with this story for ages, trying to make sense of it all.

It is an uncomfortable story because it shows Jesus being all too human, showing that even Jesus gave in to the sexism and prejudice of the day.

I recall discussing this scripture in seminary class. I was currently reading a book on Eastern Religion and fell into the trap of thinking that one book made me an expert on all things Buddhist, Zen, and Tao.

I said that perhaps Jesus is following the Eastern form of teaching, a style in which the teacher does not answer questions, but instead provokes their students with questions that force them to think and arrive at the answers and solutions on their own.

Perhaps, I said, Jesus instinctually could tell that this woman knew the answer and how to achieve healing for her daughter and he was empowering her to come to that answer by herself.

Oh, I was so glib and self satisfied with myself until this July when I went to General Synod.

There I met a pastor named Guy Johnson, who is black, who told me of the issues he has with this scripture.

So, with my blue-eyed, middle-class, white-skinned self I went on my spiel about Eastern-style teaching, in which Guy immediately cut me off and said-

“NO- I am not giving you that. Jesus met a foreign woman of color and he called her daughter a dog. We all that what that means, and we all have to deal with that.”

…So here we are. Dealing with it. Shells in our teeth.

The woman was a Canaanite, meaning that her people were seen as the enemy, just as we are viewing those from Syria or North Korea.

She is a Gentile, meaning not Jew. Which means her people were seen the same way people view Muslims, or atheists, or anyone who is not our religion.

She was ignored, which is often used as a tactic by people who wish to render someone else as powerless or unimportant.

Her daughter is called a dog. Every woman here knows exactly what this means. History has shown that depersonalizing a person and referring to them as an animal or a thing is a way to justify use, abuse, and injustice.

Sadly, this silence and this name calling came from Jesus Christ.

So where is the Good News?

Well, the first thing is this- she persisted. She did what it took to help her daughter experience wellness.

She shouted. She used terms to show respect, like Lord and Son of David.

She refused to allow silence or public shaming to stop here.

She put her life at risk by taking a submissive position in front of men she did not know.

She used wisdom, logic, and emotion to achieve what her child needed.

When Jesus refused to act kind, she convinced him to be compassionate.

When Jesus refused healing, she convinced him to do what is just.

When Jesus ignored her hurt and used a derogatory term, she bravely spoke the truth that needed to be told.

She said “Jesus, step into the boat and take my daughter to the other side.”

She refused to stop until that’s just what he did.

In other words- she reminds Jesus what it means to be Jesus.

She embodies the words of Micah 6:8. She becomes the 1st person to confront and correct Jesus.

She becomes the 1st and possibly only person we know of who teaches Jesus something that he needed to know.

It is not the Centurion, or a lawyer, or a frantic father, it is not a government official or a religious leader who teaches Jesus and reminds him what he is supposed to do.

It is she, a complete and total outsider-
a woman of color
from a different nation
from a different religion
from a different sex

who reminds Jesus what it means to be Jesus.

In essence it is she who tells Jesus what it means to be a Christian.

That a Christian does not turn a deaf ear to suffering.

A Christian does not ignore pain.

A Christian does not deny healing or wellness based on nation of origin or religion.

A Christian does not look upon someone’s child and calls them a dog or any other demeaning term.

A Christian should be able to live on the border of many, many worlds and see with the eyes of amazing grace.

Hear with a heart of compassion.

Act with a mind set on mercy.

Live in God’s abundant generosity.

In conclusion, Jesus, on his way to the Cross, meets someone who is the opposite in every conceivable way.

He is challenged. He learns.

The boat he steps into is now bigger, better, and more beautiful than before.

We are all the more blessed for it.

Amen and amen.