Ordinary Time Week 10

Psalm: Psalm 133 or Psalm 67 
Old Testament: Genesis 45:1-15 or Isaiah 56:1, 6-8 

Gospel: Matthew 15:10-20, 21-28 
Epistle: Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32

We continue this week working through Matthew and Romans and in the Old Testament we are offered either the resolution of the Joseph Narrative in Gen. 45 or a brief passage from Isaiah.

We have been dealing the Romans readings the last few weeks and this week is perhaps the most confusing of all. But we can still understand some of the basic ideas: Israel has fallen away, God is saving a remnant like he always has, and Gentiles have been grafted into the People of God. Paul makes the point that even though most of Israel has failed to believe in the Messiah, they can still come back. And just like Israel, who were the “natural olive branches” broken off, how much more then can we Gentiles also be broken off from the tree if we fall from God. The ideas on the surface are straightforward, but in typical Pauline fashion are also very deep and theological.

The passage in Romans also has the well-known line, “for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” (11:29) We often hear this in relation to God’s calling on individual lives today. This is probably a valid interpretation, since in other parts of Scripture this statement is backed-up. However, in the context Paul is talking about the calling of Israel as the People of God and how God has dealt in faithfulness and favor towards them.

The account from Matthew is strange to say the least. Earlier in the chapter Jesus is teaching and explaining to the disciples that it is not what goes into a person, in terms of food, that defiles them, but rather what comes out, basically how they act. So, after Jesus tears down a huge portion of Jewish law and custom, a Canaanite woman comes and asks for her daughter to be healed by Jesus. This is not so unusual perhaps, in looking back in Matthew, Jesus healed a Centurion, of an identified lineage, but I would guess not Jewish. (8:5-13) He also cast out some demons into nearby pigs from two guys whose ethnicity isn’t identified, but they were hanging around a bunch of Gentiles since they were pig herders. (8:28-34) So it is not as if Jesus is opposed to healing Gentiles and does so throughout all four Gospels. Through the course of their conversation, we know that Jesus eventually does heal her daughter because she begs for even the crumbs off the table like the pet-dog that Jesus called her. Like I said, an interesting story from the life of Jesus.

I don’t understand why Jesus said what he did to her, but I think a clue might in the use of the word “Canaanite.” This is the only time the word Canaanite is used in the New Testament. In Mark she is called just a “Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin,” but even that is a clue to her Canaanite heritage. Perhaps the Old Testament understanding of the Canaanite people, who should have been exterminated, lingers. Although Jesus came to save all of humanity, from this passage it seems like first he has to deal with the Jews, healing and preaching to them, and then after his resurrection perhaps then the Gospel is universal. I am unsatisfied with this answer however because in other cases he does heal Gentiles, he includes fisherman and women in his inner circle, and he teaches about the inclusion of all who have faith in him. In the end, I am left baffled, as Jesus so often leaves me, because he doesn’t ever seem to give the answers we would give. He heals the women’s daughter, but first he has to remind her that she is a Canaanite and God came first for the Jews. But once that is clear, then he heals her. I kind of get the feeling I could read a bunch of commentaries on this passage and still be confused by it.

I just want to bring up the Isaiah passage because it is ironic, or maybe purposeful, that we read it this week because it declares that God has a plan for all the nations. Some highlights: “Also the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord…Even those I will bring to My holy mountain…For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.” (56:6-8) Even way before Jesus, Isaiah envisions a time when all the world will glorify and worship the One true God. Jesus came to fulfill these words and his salvation is for all humanity.

Sometimes, we have to just wonder what Jesus was thinking and recognize that he had a reason for what he did. Jesus has a way of making us think, confronting us where we are, but also reaching out and touching us. 

Where does this leave us? Somewhere between Jesus coming first to the Jews, Paul writing about the Gentiles being grafted onto God’s tree, and Isaiah’s vision that all people groups can come to worship God. To start we can stand on the truth that God has provided the means for all people to be saved. I guess there is no great commission or call to action this week . Sometimes, it is just enough to be grateful for the love God has shown us. So let us remember and be grateful for the salvation provided to us through Jesus Christ.

Grace and Peace.