Sermon for August 17th

Who is the real hero in this story? Is it Jesus or the Canaanite woman? Who gets the glory? Who is the hero? Is it the woman’s faith we are to be amazed by or Jesus’ power we are to be awed at? Should we be upset by Jesus’ perceived racial intolerance? Should we be upset that the woman can’t take no for an answer? Who is the hero? Who gets the glory?

Throughout the Old and New Testaments, According to God, there are two types of people: the Jews and everyone else. According to the Jews, there were two types of people as well: the Jews and the Gentiles. Jews and barbarians. The children of God and the dogs. Jesus reflects this understanding in the passage today, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”

Are any of you here Jews? No? Oh dear. Well, that is a problem. Because, you see, the Jews are God’s chosen people. Throughout the Bible, they are a chosen race. They are a nation set apart by God to be a blessing to others. And as the apostle Paul points out so clearly in the book of Romans, even after Jesus’ death and resurrection, they still are. Why? Because “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”

Who is the hero in this story? Who gets the glory? As sinful human beings we are always asking this question. We are always seeking glory. We look for heroes. We like to see glory in ourselves or even in others so that we can reproduce it. This is probably why we like to watch things like the Olympics. We like to watch the best of the best and, if truth be told, we would like to be the best of the best ourselves. If I lived closer to an indoor pool, you’d better believe that you’d see me practing my 200 men’s freestyle . . . at least until I got lazy and stopped going just about the time the Olympics were over. We all love glory and are always seeking a way to find it for ourselves.

Of course, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this. In fact, competition is extremely important for our society. For a capitalist economy it is absolutely essential. Our appreciation of good work helps us understand our relationships with each other. I bet very few men or woman explain their choice of a spouse by saying, “I fell in love with him or her because they were so lazy or such a weakling or so annoying.” No. We look for the best. However, this glory seeking is very unhelpful in understanding our relationship with God.

Now, neither you nor I would argue that we are doing anything “glorious” when we do evil things like the things listed in the gospel today. The gospel author calls these things “evil intentions”. He lists murder, adultery, fornication, lying, stealing and slander. You can be sure that talking badly about someone, randomly killing another human being, or having sexual relationships with people other than your spouse is not pleasing to God. But even when we keep ourselves from these evil intentions, we get wrapped up in seeking our glory in other places and other ways.

So when we read the gospel today, we look for glory. Who’s got it and who hasn’t. Who’s the hero and who’s not. And I think that you and I really like it when, as least for a moment, someone besides Jesus looks like a hero.

Jesus says, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” But the woman responds, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” How do you think the woman speaks to Jesus? With righteous indignation? Softly and passively? With tears in her eyes or with fire in her belly? Does she stand up to this intolerant Jesus as a heroine of the first century or does she try to reach out to Jesus’ sense of compassion to let him become the benevolent savior? You know what? I don’t think it matters. Why not? Because this passage isn’t about heroes and heroines, tolerance and intolerance at all. We may want to find these things in the story because that’s what we talk about in our lives, but we need to hear what is actually said in the passage.

No matter how this woman said what she said, it matters much more what she said. She spoke the truth. Or to be more accurate, she confessed the truth. She didn’t demand that Jesus give into her wishes by calling him an intolerant Canaaniteaphobe and a Jewish racist. She didn’t skulk away as a wilting flower hoping that Jesus would just forget all his silly rules and promises and heal her daughter because love conquers all! She confesses the truth, “I am a dog. I am a Canaanite. I am not a Jew. And you are my Lord and master. So don’t give me the children’s food. Give me only my crumbs. That is all I deserve.” And do you know what? With Jesus around it is a good day for the dogs.

With Jesus around it is a good day for the dogs. This story is not about heroes and glory the way we’d like it to be. The woman in the story is no better or worse than you. She sins, just like you. Her children get sick just like yours do. She is not a Jew, she is a dog . . . just like you. And she knows the truth just like you. Now, knowing the truth might not seem like a big deal to you, in fact, it might even feel a bit degrading. But as Jesus says in the gospel of John, once you know the truth, the truth will set you free. But set free from what?

Well, to start off, you are set free from seeking glory from a mirror. Finding glory in yourself. You are not a Jews so you don’t have to look at what your parents and ancestors did or didn’t do to know how much God loves you. God doesn’t love you because you are white or Hispanic or Chinese or Canadian. God doesn’t love you because you were born into the right family or not. God’s love isn’t based on that.

What else are you set free from? You are set free from seeking Olympic glory. Seeking glory for what you do or how well you do it. God doesn’t need you to be a hero in order to earn his love. God doesn’t need you to win eleven gold medals to earn his love. God doesn’t need you to prove your love for him in order to earn his love. In fact, you can’t earn God’s love. God’s love for you isn’t based on that either.

What is God’s love based on? Jesus Christ. Jesus lived for you and died for you so that God’s love for you would always be based on Jesus’ choice. Who does he choose? Sinners, the undeserving, the worst of the worst, the dogs of this world . . . he chooses you. He loves you. So the next time you need a little love or healing or deliverance or compassion or salvation just confess the truth to God. “I am sick. I was wrong. I am helpless. I am a sinner. I don’t understand. I am a dog. Master, where are my crumbs.”

It is a good day for the dogs. That is good news for you and me. We are not Jews, we are Gentiles. We are dogs. Today, come to your Master’s table. Today he is handing out some crumbs at his supper. That is all you deserve and it is also, thankfully, all you need for the forgiveness of yours sins and eternal life.

Let us pray, “Dear God. We are dogs. We are sinners. We are weak, you are strong. And when you are done pouring out your unconditional love upon the Jews, your chosen people, thank you for dropping a few crumbs of love on the floor for us. For out of your abundance we are fed with the same one heavenly food. Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Our breadcrumb from heaven. Amen.”