Living in the Spirit
August 17, 2014 

Scripture Reading: Matthew 15: (10-20), 21-28

Just 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.’ But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.’ He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ But she came and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, help me.’ He answered, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’ She said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.’ Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.’ And her daughter was healed instantly. —Matthew 15:22-28 

Ever wonder at what point in his life Jesus really knew who he was? We have the story of his first visit to the temple at the age of 12 when he said he needed to be about his Father’s work but there is little else to define his awareness of who and what he was  and what his calling was. The story in our scripture today suggests that it was later in his ministry that he realized his calling involved more than the Jewish community with which he was so very familiar. He could not turn away someone, a woman even, in great need even though she was one of the unclean. My hunch is that he had always known who he was and what his calling was but that the reality of what it meant unfolded as he grew in wisdom and in strength.

I have a friend who is a very talented natural, although now well-trained, musician who comes from a family where no one else is a musician. He knew he wanted to be a musician from his preschool years even though he probably didn’t really know what a musician was at the time. He just loved music.

Jesus just loved God. Loved God so much that he could not turn his back on any of God’s children even an unacceptable, woman from a different culture than his own or her precious child.

When the question arises, “What are we going to do with all these children flooding our southern border?” Remember this story. If we love God we will also love them and through the complications of violence and culture and distance and language barriers, we will do what it takes to let them know we love them and that we have their best interest at heart.

but Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.’–Matthew 19:14

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.