August 16th
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
“The Foreigner’s Faith”
There’s no getting around the fact that Jesus is harsh towards this foreigner who begs for his help. We want to explain away his initial response, (Jesus was just testing her; Jesus was just drawing out her faith; Jesus was just having a bad day) but all these attempts are not scripturally sound. The fact of the matter is Jesus – at first – rejects this person.
Back then they had not coined the phrase “America First”, but they certainly lived the motto, “Israel First.” “Sorry foreigner, but your life situation is not my concern.”
Fast forward to now and Jesus’ initial response to this foreigner becomes a problem for us. What if Jesus will not listen to me either? Is God just a huge wall in the heavens that we throw our petitions against like testing cooked spaghetti? Is God just an un-moved, un-movable force of Divine Will against which we rail until exhausted we capitulate? If Jesus doesn’t have time for the Canaanite mother, will he not have time for me?
How many times does it seem like all we get in return from our pleading is silence? Theologian Lewis Galloway muses that some (trying to make sense of Jesus’ reaction) would say that there are limits to God’s grace; that God’s grace is not for everyone, only the chosen. Those who operate out of a mentality of scarcity, fear, or suspicion will say there are limits. They act as if God’s grace is not for everyone; there is not enough to go around. People of different political views, economic conditions, ethnic background, or religious convictions are demonized and dismissed. Standing in a place of blessing, it can seem all good and fine that God seems to ignore “those” people, but what happens when it is me? What happens when I become the “foreigner”?
But understand this: The hero of today’s Gospel is not Jesus; it is the Canaanite mom, the foreigner! She is the only character in all the Gospels to best Jesus. To understand this, we must understand the honor-shame dynamic within which her exchange with Jesus took place.
Biblical scholar, John Pilch, explains in his book, “The Cultural World of Jesus,” that unlike the Western mindset which understands faith to be a conviction or knowledge of something; in the Middle Eastern mindset in which Jesus lived, faith is understood as loyalty and commitment to a person “no matter what.” Our Canaanite mom was committed to Jesus from the outset of today’s exchange. She was not put off by his initial aloofness, nor his subsequent gruffness and insult. She determined to be loyally committed to him no matter how crudely he behaved. This is the faith that Jesus marveled at; the faith that changed his mind. Jesus changed his mind!
God is not a wall! Theologian Rudolf Bultmann wrote, “Prayer is not to bring the petitioner’s will into submission to the unchanging will of God, but prayer is to move God to do something which he otherwise would not do.” Faith (loyalty to God no matter what) moves God.
I believe our scripture invites us to understand faith as Jesus understood it in his time: faith is loyalty and commitment to a person no matter what. Jesus invites each of us to place this faith in him.
But remember, faith, as understood within the Eastern Mediterranean mindset of Jesus, can be misplaced.
The Roman persecutions of Christians from the beginning resulted from various Caesars demanding “loyalty tests” of their subjects in the name of patriotism. These Caesars from their positions of worldly authority demanded loyalty because they were the most powerful people in the world. Many Christians complied becoming apostates. Many others refused becoming martyrs. These Caesars were powerful men, but when they died, they stayed dead!
Only Jesus Christ has risen from the dead.
Only Jesus Christ, as the Son of God the Father in union with God the Holy Spirit, is worthy of our faith.
Only Jesus should solicit our loyalty and commitment “no matter what”, BECAUSE ONLY JESUS SAVES.
Here is our good news today: In our pain, fear, and trials we can be the lowest of the low, like the female Canaanite foreigner was in Jesus’ time. Yet, our faith (our loyalty and commitment to Jesus no matter what) can move mountains just like the Canaanite mom’s faith moved Jesus.
Today, let your reception of Holy Communion be your public pledge of loyalty to Jesus Christ. And when our loyalty and commitment to Jesus is tested, may our faith (like the foreigner’s) prove true.