Read:  Matthew 15:21-28

Reflect:   There are many surprises in this short passage from Matthew’s gospel.  There is the tenacity and cleverness of the woman as she seeks healing for her child.  There is the fact that Jesus and his disciples are some 30-60 miles away from their “home” near the Sea of Galilee.  (Did they take a seaside vacation?)  And of course, there is the surprising way in which Jesus debates with the woman herself.  Was Jesus testing her faith?  Was he making a point for the benefit of the disciples?  Was he experiencing some kind of broadening of his own understanding? 

We can’t know for sure the answers to some of these questions.  But we do know that the woman is considered to be an “indigenous person” in her own time and place.  As such, she was deemed “less than” by a male-dominated culture and by the ruling Roman empire. Generations of Hebrews who traced their ancestry back to Jacob were taught that Esau’s descendants (like this woman) were inferior religiously and culturally.  We don’t have to look very far to find many similarities in our own history with indigenous persons in North America.

Jesus’ personal encounter with the Canaanite woman opens up new possibilities for us to see those things we have in common in spite of our “other-ness”: concern for our children, basic human needs, and a belief in God’s abundance and willingness to provide. We catch a glimpse of how hearts and minds can be changed when we enter into a relationship with humility and respect.

Prayer:   O God, in your divine mystery you embrace difference in unity, and you call your people to live in peace with all.  We pray for an end to racial and ethnic prejudice.  Free us from the dread of difference.  Free the church from constricting traditions.  Free our society from centuries of violence against the other.  Break down the walls that separate your people by color, culture, or religion.  Call us to repentance for our sins of racism and prejudice, known and unknown.  Transform discrimination into a passion for justice.  Guide us to nurture a society that embodies reconciliation and cooperation among all, for the sake of the one who embodies your love, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.  (from All Creation Sings, p. 51.  ©2020 Augsburg Fortress, used by permission.)