Still Stretching

Matthew 15:10-28

Rev. Dr. Mary Alice Mulligan

As many of you notice, the sermon text most weeks is recommended from the Lectionary, which is a 3-year cycle of biblical readings. Lots of congregations follow the lectionary, so some of your Methodist, Lutheran, Catholic, and Presbyterian neighbors will hear the same passages you hear in worship each week. The lectionary churches are in Year A, which focuses on the Gospel of Matthew for the entire liturgical year. Each week the lectionary suggests not only a Gospel passage, but also something from one of the New Testament letters, a passage from the First Testament, plus a Psalm. So, four possible texts to preach from. I usually preach from the Gospel, but happily unpack one of the other passages from time to time. Back in June, I completed my third year at St. Andrew, which means on Father’s Day, you got back to the same place in the lectionary where you were when I arrived, which is fine, except these are passages I’ve preached at St. Andrew before. Three years ago, I preached from Matthew 15 in mid-August. Ordinarily then, rather than preach from a text I’ve used before, I might shift to preach from the First Testament lection or the Epistle, but I love this passage from Matthew 15, and I think it has more to teach than one sermon, three years ago, could offer, so you might think of this as part 2 of a sermon started 3 years ago. For those who weren’t here (or couldn’t remember any of it if their life depended on it), not to worry. I’ll bring you up to speed.

Matthew carefully crafts this section of his Gospel, inviting us to hear Jesus teach a parable, and then, no surprise, Mathew shows that parable “enacted.” From the 15th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, listen for the word of God.  

Matthew 15:10-28                

Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.” But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” Then he said, “Are you also still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”

Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just 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.” But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.           

So, here’s a little sketch of part one of the sermon.

God’s law (God’s teaching), what in Hebrew is called torah, was studied and carefully followed by Jewish people in the first century. Torah determined not only religious behavior like when and how to pray, but many daily behaviors like what food to eat. So when Jesus starts teaching that dietary laws don’t matter – not what goes in a person, but what comes out of their mouth is what makes them defiled or pure – the religious leaders are offended. In essence, Jesus says our faithfulness is shown by what we say, not whether we eat shellfish. When we behave out of hatred or lust, we show we are unclean. Those who are listening know the rules and Jesus is turning the law on its head. This was quite upsetting.

Then Jesus moves into Gentile territory and is accosted by a woman, a Canaanite, with a demon possessed child – making her triply unclean. Then she enacts the parable he just told. Just watch. She shouts for mercy. He ignores her. She is undeterred. He turns to her, blurting out: “I came only for Israel’s lost sheep.” His job is calling Jews back into right relation with God. She is clearly not Jewish. But she is desperate. She hears of a mystical healer, perhaps after all other avenues have turned into dead ends. So, she kneels in front of him, which is a bit like lying down in front of his motorcade, crying “Lord, help me,” which we heard Peter say last Sunday when he began to sink. “Lord, save me.” Jesus reached out to Peter, but here Jesus seems stuck on rules. “The children of Israel get my saving, my nourishment, my help. Not Gentile dogs.” Really, Jesus calls her a dog. But she turns his teaching back on him; she enacts his parable. She reminds him that nothing God makes is unclean; the motivation for actions shows whether one is defiled. “God feeds even dogs. My daughter needs your help. Throw her a saving scrap.”

Amazingly, Jesus is changed. He realizes God’s mercy is not limited. It’s not like when a waiter spills a glass of water on you by mistake. God’s grace is like being picked up and hurled into a swimming pool – completely immersed in joyous, healing, holy love. No restrictions. Mercy is for everyone! So, Jesus learns. – Last year in summary.

So, a few new words for this year.

Most of us are pretty sure we have the world figured out. Our opinions are quite firmly in place because we have thought through the difficult issues; we know where we stand. Things like our views on food regulations. We think regulations are good because salmonella is bad. After serious observations, we come to other conclusions. Some of us think Biden is good and Trump is bad. Others of us think DeSantis is good and Newsome is bad. But we are each firm in our decisions. Some of us who support green energy have tried unsuccessfully to talk with supporters of fossil fuels; while those of us who are for a slower move away from fossil fuels experience a similar lack of success in trying to discuss the topic with supporters of an immediate cessation. One thing we seem able to agree on is, we cannot have a civil conversation with those who disagree with us.

The same frustration crops up when talking about theological differences. People can point out biblical passages predicting punishment following people’s bad behavior. Others love to point out the passages confirming unconditional, unmerited grace for all. Such set opinions have caused stalemates in some congregations and splits in others. When we get our opinions so firmly set, we have once again formed an “us vs. them” mindset, which makes true conversation impossible. When we get adversarial, certain we are right and they are wrong, we erase any possibility of even hearing the other side. Like when Jesus refused even to acknowledge the woman’s existence when she cries out for mercy over and over. She’s not Jewish, so her concerns are moot. When she makes her appeal more firmly, kneeling down in front of him, his response becomes harsher, calling her a dog. How many of us are like that when the person in front of us is trying to convince us of something we have already decided against? We don’t want to change our mind, so we double down and actually get ruder in our response, thinking that those who oppose our position are deluded or perhaps just simple-minded. We like the positions we have.

But we may need to grow. Our views probably benefit from alteration. If Jesus can change his understanding of something as foundational as who he came to save, we might need to be open to new ideas, too. Apparently even Jesus had to expand his vision of God, to see divine mercy should be extended not just to Jews, but to the world. If God’s love is grander than Jesus could first imagine, then no matter how vast we imagine God’s love, our understanding is not complete.

Let’s think of some of the amazing changes the church made over the centuries, starting with the inclusion of Gentiles and not requiring them to become Jews first. It would have been shocking. Then for about 1700 years, almost no women served in sacramental leadership of the Christian church. The early Holiness movement was an exception, but then others allowed the Spirit to stretch them. One of the most dramatic moments was when eleven women in the American Episcopal Church were ordained in 1974 by four bishops amidst a congregation of 2000 worshippers. How could the church respond? They couldn’t deny their ordination, so they decided to call their ordination valid, but irregular. Call it whatever they want, but the dye was cast. People’s understanding of whom God called to ministry was permanently altered. And of course, when biblical scholars used their new understanding of God to view scripture, they discovered all kinds of women in early church leadership, including the first witness to the resurrection whom Jesus consecrated as an apostle as soon as he said, “Go tell.”

We are aware that the United Church of Christ ordained the first openly gay person as a minister in 1972. Other churches followed through the years, and in many ways the church helped lead the way to marriage equality and more acceptance in society. We know such changes in attitude were not easy for many people, yet the Spirit was working.

So, what’s next? We UCC folk believe God is still speaking, which means we must be ready to stretch once again. Jesus could not have guessed that he would be taught inclusion by a Gentile woman, so we may not have a clue where God will stretch us next. But we need to be ready. The center of our faith is not some creed, but rather the center is Jesus, our teacher and the resurrected Christ, our savior. Obviously this two-fold center requires a dramatic balance. Our faith cannot be static, but rather always expanding, always maturing, by the power of the gift of the Holy Spirit. So, each of us and all of us together need to keep watch, because the power of God is at work among us, so who knows what will crack open for us to see and believe next?