Living in the Spirit

August 19, 2023

Scripture Reading:

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

Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 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 15:21-28

 I have probably said this before, but I will say it again.  I am so glad the compilers of Matthew included this story. It first tells us that Jesus was indeed fully human. He was what sociologists call ethnocentric, inclined to regard one’s own race or social group as the center of culture, exhibiting an incapacity for viewing foreign cultures dispassionately*

Second, it illustrates that humans can change their Worldview if they open their hearts and minds to God’s view.

Prayer: Lord, help us see the way to your view of how we should love and treat one another. Amen.

*https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/ethnocentric

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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.