St Martin's & St Paul's
Parish Canterbury
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Today's Gospel is preceded by a very heavy critique by Jesus of people's behaviour: it is, he says, not what goes into a person that renders them defiled, but what comes out. Immediately after this dialogue he is confronted by a woman from Syro-Phoenicia who begs him to heal her daughter who is possessed by a devil.
The most famous thing about this meeting is the exchange between Jesus and the woman: he uses what was probably a common turn of phrase which to us sounds deeply offensive: why should food be taken from the children and given to the dogs? In other words, why should the ministry of God among his people be squandered on those outside the chosen? The woman's quick witted and probably desperate response "the dogs eat the crumbs the children drop from their plates" wins Jesus' admiration and respect: he is deeply impressed by her faith. The daughter is healed.
But what was wrong with her daughter and how does what happened here relate to what Jesus said earlier: that in fact we cannot be defiled by things that come into us, rather by what we say and do? Jesus was referring to food and drink, to the strict laws that rendered things unclean among the Jews. He seems to be implying that this is a mistake - that nothing made by God is unclean. It is rather the things we choose to do and say that fall into that category. This would come to be very important when the disciples encountered Gentiles who also wanted to be Christians.
What happened however was that Jesus himself seems to have been completely put on the spot by the desperate woman. Theory suddenly became practice - he had to extend God's mercy and power to her and her daughter also. He did, but not without a challenge that enabled the woman to testify to the realistic and yet profound nature of her faith. No doubt he was as impressed and moved by this encounter as was she. And we should thank her - for she was one of us.
Amen.
