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August 14, 2005: Sermon by The Rev. Miles Brandon
“Have Mercy on Me, Lord”
Matthew 15: 21-28
Proper 15, Year A
Prayer: Come Holy Spirit, come. Take my lips and speak with them, take our minds and think with them, take our hearts and set them on fire with love for you. In Christ’s name, we ask it. Amen.
The Right Honorable and Most Reverend George Carey was the 103rd Archbishop of Canterbury. As I am sure most of you know, the Archbishop of Canterbury is the Spiritual head of the world wide Anglican Communion of which the Episcopal Church in the United States is a part. In August of 2002, Dr. Carey retired from his episcopacy and the leadership of the 70,000,000 member Anglican Communion. In July of 2002, one month before retiring, Dr. Carey made a historic visit to the Diocese of Texas. It was the first and only official visit any Archbishop of Canterbury has ever made to this Diocese. I had the pleasure of sitting in on a presentation that Dr. Carey made to the youth of our diocese at Episcopal High School in Houston. Showing his great sensibility and wisdom, both necessary characteristics of an Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Carey began his remarks by saying that the state of Texas was the 86th nation he had visited during his many years as Archbishop.
He went on to tell a story about an experience he had as a young priest at St. Nicholas Parish in Durham, England, years before his decade plus service as Archbishop. One Sunday morning, as Dr. Carey was serving communion, a college student knelt at the altar rail to receive the bread and wine of Eucharist. As Dr. Carey leaned over to put the bread in the student’s hand, a woman, who was a long time, established member of the church, pointed accusingly and loudly said, “Don't give him communion. He does not believe. He is mocking us.” Stunned, the then Father Carey asked the student for his response. The student looked up and said, “I am confirmed. I am here because I want to follow.” Dr. Carey served him communion.
Why do you think this woman reacted so violently? Since taking the position of a college chaplain, I have countless times had parents who have a child here at UT ask me if I have ever seen their child darken the door of All Saint’s Episcopal Church. Well, I’ll tell you what. When I can honestly say that their child came to church even just once all year, the parents are usually elated and often pleasantly surprised. In fact, wouldn’t you agree that we all typically celebrate when a young person who’s seeking meaning in their life wanders into church as a place that might provide some answers? However, in Dr. Carey’s story, the woman seems far from joyful at the presence of this college student. In fact, she seems down right offended.
Now before we dismiss this woman as an old embittered, curmudgeon, I think it’s important to note that, in fact, the disciples in today’s gospel lesson tend to exhibit the same attitude. They act incredibly cranky and terribly thoughtless as they encounter the Canaanite woman.
Matthew tells us that as soon as Jesus and his followers enter the district of Tyre and Sidon a woman immediately approaches them and cries out, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” Well, Jesus does not reply at all, and the disciples seem to sense from his silence that he is blowing her off. So, ramping up their excitement and nastiness, they call out, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” It's like the disciples are saying, “Hey, lady! Enough enthusiasm! Can’t you tell Jesus doesn’t want to have anything to do with you and for that matter neither do we!”
The disciples are demonstrating their own sort of perverse enthusiasm. You see these 12 see themselves as the chosen few, the cream of the crop, the entitled elite, the devoted dozen, the Lord’s own Dream Team. They are without a doubt passionate about Jesus. However, apparently they don’t have much interest in sharing their teacher with those, who like this woman, they consider the unenlightened masses. When Jesus makes the comment that his ministry is directed only to “the house of Israel,” the disciples, most likely feeling justified, must be thinking, “Exactly.” They are, after all, the insiders. They are a part of God’s chosen people—and, moreover, they’re disciples of the long anticipated Messiah, Jesus, who God has anointed to be King of the Jews. Who does this woman think she is accosting them of all people? Well, despite the fact that this woman is an outsider, she is compelled to come to Jesus and in the end she receives that which she seeks—her daughter’s healing.
I feel certain that the woman in Dr. Carey’s story must have been suffering from the same misguided notion of spiritual elitism that imprisons the disciples in our Gospel lesson. Here was a young man who probably hadn’t been to church in years, who most certainly hadn’t given a dime to the church’s stewardship campaign, and undoubtedly he hadn’t volunteered in some church program ever. And nonetheless, here he is feeling like he can just waltz into church worship for an hour and receive the Holy Sacrament. This boy doesn’t deserve the gifts of God. He’s an outsider. He’s done nothing to earn his right or demonstrate his worthiness to receive God’s gift of grace in bread and wine. If that boy receives communion, then the church might as well just let anybody receive. Well, despite the fact that this young man is an outsider, he is compelled to come to the altar and in the end he receives that which he seeks—the free gift of grace found in the sacrament of bread and wine.
So, how does Jesus take a person who feels like an outsider and turn her into an insider? Well first, he isn't afraid to bend or even change tradition. When he says, “It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs”—meaning that it isn't right to take the spiritual nourishment meant for the Jews and toss it to the Gentiles—he is describing his tradition quite accurately. First century pharisaical Judaism is elitist. But when the Canaanite woman replies that “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table,” Jesus gives her credit for thinking outside the box. “Good answer, woman!” Jesus seems to be thinking. There is a place for honoring tradition, but not when it stands in the way of offering people the healing and love they so desperately need. Sometimes traditions are meant to be bent—even broken.
Jesus sees what others cannot see. The Canaanite woman doesn't have much, but she does have something—and in greater measure than the disciples themselves: faith. “Woman, great is your faith!” Jesus announces. Because the woman’s unpolished but powerful faith is so great, Jesus says, “Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter is healed…instantly.
It's not easy to shed the “This-is-the-way-it's-always-been-done” attitude. Like the woman in Dr. Carey’s story and the disciples in our Gospel lesson, it's easy to cherish the enthusiasm we have for our traditions, our patterns, rituals and programs. The challenge is to curb this kind of passion, to be willing to bend, and even break, those patterns that keep people away from the healing love our faith offers. When leaders talk about making changes to the church to make us more accessible, too often, they get accused of taking good spiritual food and throwing it to the dogs.
We can't afford to come across like the first disciples, insiders who were certainly excited about their faith, but also cranky and basically uninterested in sharing their discoveries with the outsiders around them. It's important to be willing to bend and even break our patterns, and to learn from the culture around us as we seek to improve our communication techniques. After all, didn't Jesus learn a little something from the Canaanite woman, when she expanded his awareness of the fact that even the dogs under the table needed to eat?
That's a powerful image, when you think about it: Jesus Christ, the Son of God, learning a life-changing lesson from a common Canaanite woman. She challenged him and stretched him and pushed him to see a new possibility for ministry to the Gentiles. There are people all around us who can do the very same thing, even in a culture that is often seen as “going to the dogs.” We are challenged to perceive the faith of our neighbors, even if their trust is raw and unrefined. True believers are found not only in groups like the 12 disciples, insiders who are convinced that they have a corner on spirituality. Sincere faith is also found among Canaanite women, recovering drug and alcohol addicts, recent immigrants, people living in alternative life-styles and all the other people we tend to label as outsiders. Authentic trust is found among twenty-something’s who have never darkened a church door and who scratch their heads when confronted with organized religion. We miss an important connection point if we fail to sense the presence of faith in these lives.
Just like our Lord, we have to find fresh ways to welcome people who feel like outsiders. Find ways to welcome them and share our traditions with them gracefully. We need to think outside the box and explore the streams of faith that run through the experiences of our neighbors. When outsiders find a home among us, like in our Gospel lesson, healing happens. Amen.
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