All three of our readings this week talk about inclusion and exclusion, being on the inside vs on the outside.
The Book of Isaiah is remarkable for its championing of an inclusive view of God’s relationship with humankind. Today’s reading (Is 56:1, 6-7) is just one example among many. The opportunity offered to “all people” is emphasized over and over again throughout Isaiah. However, judging by the picture we get from the Gospels, that message got very little traction in Jesus’ time. And we know it hasn’t had much traction since, whether we look at the recurring attempts in the church (in whatever denomination you care to consider) to define itself in exclusive and exclusionary terms, or at social history in general – where political movements based on conflict between supposedly competing groups remain potent to this very moment.
Paul was a leading member of one of these exclusionary groups for many years. He was quite prepared to use violence, to the point of death, to protect the purity of his group (as we see in the killing of Steven). Even after his conversion, and his mission specifically aimed at those outside this group, he remained invested in “saving” his former soulmates. We can see this old and new Paul struggling together in the rather convoluted rationale he provides to the non-Jews in Rome explaining how his new mission was still linked to his original one (Rom 11:13-15, 29-32). He does end up in the same place as Isaiah: God’s mercy is for all.
And then we have the Gospel (Mt 15:21-28). This must be one of the stories that presents Jesus in the most unattractive light. It’s shocking even as directly portrayed. Translate it closer to our own time – imagine the same conversation between a white man and a black woman! — that may give a clearer appreciation of the sentiments exposed in a story about a Jewish man and a Canaanite woman.
What are we to make of it?
Our inclination may be to focus in on Jesus and try to figure out where he was coming from, what was in his head, what was he thinking! This is often a good perspective to take – “what is Jesus trying to tell me in this situation?” I admit I haven’t found it very fruitful in this case. A bit like the Transfiguration (that we heard about recently), sometimes we have to accept that Jesus is in a place we have a hard time connecting to.
Perhaps more useful is to consider the woman. Our initial reaction may be that we’re slightly disgusted. This woman is totally subservient, completely willing to be treated like dirt and kicked around like the dogs to which she is compared. And we know, to our shame, that we could multiply examples of such treatment beyond count in all times and places. All our modern sensibilities cry out: stand up for yourself, fight back, don’t allow yourself to be disrespected (to use the most recent battle cry). There is none of that. She is utterly pathetic, if we allow our judgment full rein.
But in the eyes of God, she is not pathetic at all. As described by Jesus she is an example of towering strength. God’s ways do not operate on our human wavelength. Sometimes a human perspective, even the best intentioned, will confuse us.
It is our faith that determines our value, not how we are treated by other people. Those who are treated worst and somehow survive, whether it be through concentration camps or sexual abuse, however broken they may be in our eyes – they are the shining examples of God’s power in our world. A world in which ALL people are called to His holy mountain, and the last will be first.