Matthew 15:21-28         As you wish

Following an altercation with the religious leaders Jesus ‘left that place’ and went to the area of Tyre and Sidon.  The geography in today’s text is important because these areas were a no-go for a respectable Jew.  Canaanites were despised by the people of Israel.  They were exiled so that Israelites could take control of the land.  Relations between these two groups were extremely hostile.  By approaching Jesus, the Canaanite woman in the Gospel crosses the boundary of ethnicity as well as gender.  This is a narrative on the extreme margins, in unfamiliar territory.  The Canaanite women is the first woman to speak in Matthews Gospel. She not only speaks, she shouts at Jesus: “Lord help me!”

The response of Jesus that follows has disturbed biblical scholars forever. Was he joking? Was it the test of a good teacher to see how the disciples and this woman would react? We just don’t know. But ‘is it possible that Jesus learned from this encounter with this remarkable woman and gained a larger vision of his calling?’ What we do know is that this incident is of huge importance for the community that Matthews writes for as it concerns the expansion of Jesus’ mission to the Gentiles.  The circle is broadened from this point onward, reaching out beyond the boundaries set by the ‘House of Israel’.  The disciples want to ‘send her away’. The woman is an inconvenience to them, and they are unable to handle her.  But she will not be silenced.  This brave woman claims her place at the table.  This dialogue between Jesus and the woman is one that can only happen in a space of honesty and acceptance.  Through her persistence she stands up for all those who are dismissed, and in doing so is praised for her ‘great faith’, and her daughter is healed. Copyright © Triona Doherty &Jane Mellett 2022. The Deep End. A Journey with the Sunday Gospels in the Year of Matthew.

“My voice, my debate with Jesus shapes a new tradition. The release of my daughter from bondage symbolizes the release of our daughters’ daughters down through the ages from all that binds them, physically, socially, culturally, psychologically, racially, and religiously       – Elaine Wainwright.