Twentieth Sunday ordinary

Twentieth Sunday Ordinary
August 14, 2005

"... for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples (Isaiah 51:6-7) "It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters." (Matthew 15:21-28)

Jesus is in Canaanite territory, the land of ancient enemies of Israel whom pious Jews regarded as idolatrous pagans excluded from God's blessings. A persistent woman begs him to intercede on behalf of her daughter. The disciples typically want to send her away and at first even Jesus is reluctant to hear her urgent request. They engage in this somewhat strange conversation in which he compares her to a dog undeserving of God's attention. Instead of taking offense, she accepts this and cleverly takes it a step farther, commenting that even dogs have a right to scraps from the table. She doesn't seem to be the slightest bit offended by this. Her confidence in Jesus earns his praise for her faith, "greater than any in Israel".

This conversation reflects our Jewish and Christian belief that we have a special right to God's blessings, not available to uninitiated foreigners, and "unbelievers". Again, those closest to the promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob miss what is right in front of them, but it is not lost on those outside the promise. This occurs far too often in the Gospels to be ignored. The prophet's passage underscores Jesus' perspective: all are welcome at God's table and holy presence. Our history is full of examples of the kind of attitude displayed by the disciples who wanted to send the woman away After so many centuries of listening to the Gospels we should know better. Jesus says repeatedly in word and action that no one is excluded from God's table.

This is as true for us as individuals. I wonder how often we regard other people as "dogs", undeserving of our respect. How much untold spiritual and psychological damage has been done to people whom we regard as dogs to be sent away from our tables. If the truth were known, no doubt most of us deserve nothing more than the scraps. God promises that those we exclude will be heard and welcomed regardless of their religious traditions and theology. All that seems to be required is the desire for and dependence upon the mercy of the Most High. The scraps, like the loaves and fishes, multiply into a feast of heavenly abundance. There should be enough love, truth and beauty for all of us created by God. There is plenty of room at the table.