Just Who is the Outsider?

Who is the Outsider?

In what may seem like a puzzling passage this week, there is a simple

message: God’s mercy is inclusive by reaching across every line to bring

people in. Our lectionary is a shorter version, but we would miss the

significance of the Canaanite woman. That movement in Matthew’s

narrative is what many will find most meaningful, even with the discomfort

of what preceded it.

Some people find talking about what comes out of the body to be

unhelpful and just not polite to talk about in Church. But this did not stop

Jesus from using this language.

This context is the background to the Canaanite woman’s story; Jesus

helps people’s needs by healing, listening, blessing and teaching. Then

he takes five loaves and two fish, blesses them and distributes them

(twelve baskets of food).

The fulfilment of the twelve tribes of Israel, the promise that a community

will gather all people to itself, is reinforced by the reading of Isaiah. All

nations will look to Jerusalem. This is part of the mission to gather the

twelve tribes of Israel. This is a fulfilment of the ministry to the lost sheep

of the country.

That walking-on-water experience demonstrates Jesus’ authority over

nature and shows more about the symbolism than the event itself. Peter’s

invitation shows us that we are too often distracted by Jesus’ presence.

The storm is in place, but the message is clear: stay focused on Jesus in

life’s storms and keep going, because more challenges await Peter next.

And so we suddenly interrupt this overarching arc of inclusion and

passion with a story about clean and unclean inclusion and exclusion.

The earthy transition is so important because it does frame what is

coming. The Pharisees could easily justify, at a time when we’ve lived

through COVID, insisting on the twenty-second washing of hands rule. In

their minds, they saw the absence of commitment to the Levitical code as

a sign that Jesus was not from God. If he were from God, he would keep

the laws and precepts. And Jesus points out that the focus is still not on

the divine.

It is not only a matter of ancient history. In Church life now, tradition or

settled procedure has all been tested without questioning its purpose. For

example, one Church might be so focused on keeping old traditions.

When rules are so much more about following them, the love, mercy, and

inclusion of the people Jesus calls to life will be missed.

When challenged by the Pharisees and scribes, Jesus’ response is harsh.

“What goes into the mouth goes into the stomach and eventually into the

sewer.” The Bible version that I’m most familiar with is the New Revised

Standard. Jesus’ argument is quite earthy. Food goes in, digestion takes

place, and waste comes out. It’s not the waste that uncleanliness comes

from, though; it’s the heart that is the issue. Then more worried about

rules for rules’ sake, but the long list that is given about adultery and all

the other vices comes from the heart.

If what comes out of the heart is represented by what comes out of the

mouth, that is very pointed back at the Pharisees. They are more

concerned with controlling people through precepts and regulations and

have lost sight of why those rules were in place. Some rules were also

applied and seem to be more important than the reasons they were put in

place.

Now Jesus goes to Tyre and Sidon. And so we lose the previous teaching

and interaction between the disciples, Jesus, and the Pharisees. Their

hearts are not in the right place. They still question what standards they

want to hold. Jesus dismisses this particular notion of clean or unclean or,

if you like, what is in and what is out. And right in front of Jesus is a

Canaanite woman calling out to Jesus to save her daughter.

The literary movement is almost like this.

From the vantage point of Isaiah 56, this may be a crucial moment in

Jesus’ life, in which a woman outside the community demonstrates the

faith he wants from the Pharisees and disciples, to the best of his ability.

Isaiah calls for justice and right. Foreigners who do join the Lord are sent

to the holy Mountain; 56 says, “My house will be a house of prayer for all

people.” The prophecy also mentions gathering others in addition to

those already there.

In the 67th Psalm, we read, God, be gracious to us and bless us that your

saving power may work among all nations. It’s not Israel alone. All nations.

God’s message must be sent to all the corners of the Earth. Your saving

power among all nations is achieved so that you may overflow.

When the storm challenged Peter, he said three words: Lord, save me.

Jesus says to the Canaanite woman: “I’ve come to gather the lost tribes of

Israel, and it’s no point in throwing their goodness to the dogs.” That’s

quite horrific.

Dogs were not pets; they were livestock. They’re outsiders.

But the woman challenges him, and even the dog eats the crumbs under

the table. So in her prayer she says, “Lord, help me.” Jesus looks at her

and admires her faith. This woman, unlike the Pharisees who were

concerned with rules, had raised her eyes to Jesus. Her daughter was

cured.

This passage shows how Jesus’s compassion goes beyond boundaries

and rules, particularly the depth of his care. So, in feminist theology, which

addresses women’s faith and their struggle for equality as followers of

faith, this is one of the moments of compassion. In this scene, an outsider

(a woman) reaches out to Jesus, and he gives genuine compassion. She

knows who he is; she knows he has the power to make change.

Let’s look again at what’s happening here. Peter:

Lord, save me;

the woman: Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David.

One prayer offered inside

the boat. One comes outside of Israel. Peter, a disciple called by Jesus, is

destined to be the rock on which the Church will be based; sinks. This

woman is a Canaanite woman. Matthew has marked her as belonging to

the ancient outside enemy category, yet she helps Peter.

The answers will be vitally important. Peter hears you with little faith, but

the woman here is a great woman of your faith. The rock has little faith.

The outsider still has great faith, but neither of these two was abandoned.

These are the cracks in the whole sequence of Matthew chapter 15. This

is about faith and compassion. Faith might be found where we least

expect it.

The woman, who calls out, challenges the idea that mercy is only for

Israel. In the process of filling the crumbs after the feeding, there is much

to share with the woman and daughter from Cana. In sharing, there is

much mercy and love from the heart of God for us to receive. God be

gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon the earth

that your way may be known on earth and your saving power among all

nations. The Psalm is clear.

Food does not make us unclean. Foreigners don’t put you beyond mercy.

Israel is rejected because the Gentiles are gathered. Gentiles have no

superiority because they have been gathered by mercy. God’s house is

our house of prayer for all people. And again we go back to the Psalm.

Let the people praise you, O God; let all the people praise you.

This isn’t just about inclusion; it’s a scandal of mercy and sharing. Jesus’

hand goes beyond borders, in an artificial landscape of greed, ideology

and prejudice.

In ‘The Merchant of Venice,’ Portia says:

‘The quality of mercy is not strain’d.

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven

upon the place beneath.

It is twice blest:

It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.

As members of Christ’s body, we are called to act in his Spirit—to stray

from what’s in order and to follow the call. We’re going to share

generously, but we’re going to know that we should respect everyone’s

dignity, regardless of background, walk of life or creed. All beings made in

God’s image are entitled to honour and respect, male and female and all

in between. All creation gives glory to God, without exception.

The woman who first calls Jesus the Son of David. David’s grandmother

was a gentile. Is there a genuine question regarding Jesus’ lineage and

outsider status? Could Jesus himself be an outsider as well, who has a

human lineage to those on the margins? Matthew points out that Jesus

connects to outsiders. Jesus’ compassion extends to those who don’t

belong. Inclusion, mercy and belonging are at the heart of Jesus’ story,

crossing boundaries from within.

Lord, save me. Lord, have mercy. These are the prayers Jesus speaks.

This week, can we find ways to love, show mercy, and practice inclusion

daily? We can open our hearts to someone who feels left out, help a

neighbour, or repair a broken relationship. When we listen deeply,

volunteer, or invite someone new, we have a way to share, give thanks,

and extend kindness in small or large ways.

God gives an increase, and our God will bless us. God will bless us, and

all the earth shall rejoice.