Matthew 15:(10-20), 21-28 (NRSV)
Read Matthew 15:(10-20), 21-28 on biblegateway.com
Verse 10Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, "Listen and understand: Verse 11it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles." Verse 12Then the disciples approached and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?" Verse 13He answered, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Verse 14Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit." Verse 15But Peter said to him, "Explain this parable to us." Verse 16Then he said, "Are you also still without understanding? Verse 17Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? Verse 18But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. Verse 19For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. Verse 20These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile."
Verse 21Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Verse 22Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon." Verse 23But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, "Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us." Verse 24He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Verse 25But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." Verse 26He answered, "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." Verse 27She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Verse 28Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed instantly.
Devotion
Why in the world would this Canaanite woman ever receive God’s mercy? Even Jesus dismisses her. This person who comes from generations of enemies ethnically and religiously, not to mention who is a female, dares to call on the Lord, Son of David, for mercy!
In this direct encounter, this woman’s faith in God’s mercy expands even Jesus’ understanding of the people to whom he was sent. The myopic perspective of the disciples and Jesus, rooted in their religious and ethnic upbringing, is shattered by the persistent actions demonstrating the truth this woman knew.
In this encounter, that God’s mercy is for all becomes substantially more than a catch phrase. “All are welcome” is more than a nice platitude in the process of “wanting to grow the congregation” or “needing more young people.”
For the foreigner and the eunuch, the one already in the community and the newcomer, the nations and the enemies, even the ones we would never consider worthy or possible of experiencing it, God’s mercy is for all.
Prayer
Great is your mercy, O God, greater than our myopic perspectives. May we bear witness to your mercy for all. Amen.
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