The Syrophoenician Woman
by
The Rev. Steven S. Bryant
“And Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of Tyre
and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman came out from that region, and
began to cry out, saying, ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my
daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.” But He did not answer her a word.
And His disciples came to Him and kept asking Him, saying ‘Send her
away, for she is shouting out after us.” But He answered and said, ‘I
was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came
and began to bow down before Him, saying, ‘Lord, help me!” And He
answered and said, ‘It is not good to take the children’s bread and
throw it to the dogs.” Matthew 15:21-26
What words describe your initial reaction to this verbal exchange? Shock.
Embarrassment. Disbelief. Bewilderment. Describe you feelings the first time
you read this text.
Even more shocking than Jesus’ exchange with the Syrophoenician woman, is
the way some people have interpreted this passage. Some have gone so far as
to suggest that Jesus was at worst an insensitive bigot, or at best too
narrowminded at this stage of His ministry. It has even been suggested that
this woman entered Jesus’ life in order to broaden His evangelistic vision
and teach Him a lesson on creating a more inclusive and tolerant world.
That’s what we call a very poor Christology.
Granted, this is one difficult passage! But remember what was stated earlier
in this series of studies.
We must approach all of the Bible with a deep sense of humility and
reverence. When we encounter a ‘problematic” text, we must remember
that our sinful nature limits our ability to grasp the perfect truth God
is trying to communicate to us. The ‘problem” is not with the text, and
certainly not with God, but within us.
So, what do we make of this disturbing encounter?
Some of life’s most teachable moments seem rather harsh at first.
A young child reaches up toward the red hot stove top, only to be
‘popped” on the hand by the parent who says, ‘Don’t you touch that
stove!”
A little boy is jerked backwards by the collar only moments before he
steps in front of a car racing down the street.
Harsh and violent? Perhaps. But sometimes love must be tough. I’ll never
forget the Sunday morning service at First Presbyterian Church of Greenwood,
Mississippi when I learned how to stand reverently. The pastor invited all
who were able to stand for the singing of a morning hymn. Most of the
congregation stood, as was their custom. I, as a little boy who thought the
customs didn’t apply to me yet, remained seated to continue drawing a
religious masterpiece on the front of the bulletin. Momma stood, holding the
old maroon hymnal with both hands. By big brother stood, leaning on the pew
in front of him. Somewhere near the middle of the second stanza, as I was
sitting there filling in the picture of the steeple on the front of the
bulletin with a stubby yellow pencil, suddenly I felt a sharp pain on the
top of my head. Within an instant I was mysteriously lifted to my feet by a
handful of hair! I stood there too terrified to turn around and see who it
was that just jerked me out of my seat. To this very day, I don’t know who
it was. I know it wasn’t Momma because she held the hymnal with both hands.
And it wasn’t my brother because although he punched me on a regular basis,
he never once pulled my hair. I don’t know who it was, but if I did, I’d
thank them for teaching me a very important lesson. And to be perfectly
honest with you, for years I have entertained the notion that it was the
hand of the Almighty God. If He didn’t do it, He should have!
Worship with me any Sunday, and I guarantee you, I’ll be the first to stand.
Yes, it was a mighty harsh lesson, but I learned it. Thanks be to God.
What lesson needed to be learned that day 2000 years ago?
*A Lesson for the Disciples:*
If anyone in the story harbored prejudice, it would certainly be the
disciples, not Jesus. They were ordinary people who grew up believing that
anyone outside their little worlds belonged on the outside. They grew up
despising Samaritans and looking down on Canaanites. But Jesus knew that
_’God so loved the world,”_ (not just a certain segment of it, but the
whole world,) _’that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes
in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”_ Jesus knew that the
‘whosoever” meant that it doesn’t matter any longer, what side of the
tracks a person lives, or what language they speak, or what color happens to
be their skin, or upon whose family tree they’re grafted. ‘Whosoever” means
just that – whosoever. But the disciples had yet to grasp that great truth.
Evidence of their lack of understanding is found just a few verses back.
Jesus asked, _’Are you still lacking in understanding?”_ Matthew 15:16 That
was intended to be a rhetorical question, whose answer is ‘yes.”
Right on the heels of that question, Jesus encounters a woman whom the
disciples would categorize as an unclean outsider. They harbored a prejudice
against her that would have been handed down for generations. And they could
in no way have imagined at this stage in the ministry, that one day they
would be charged to go forward into the whole world, to carry the Good News
to people like this Syrophoenician woman, and to lowly Samaritans, and to
Ethiopian Eunuchs, and to untouchable lepers, and ultimately to people like
you and me!
Have you ever noticed how prejudice sounds much uglier when it falls from
someone else’s lips? Again, just look a few verses back. Jesus said, _’But
what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a man.
For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication,
theft, false witness, slander.” _(Matthew 15:18-19) We can safely add the
word ‘prejudice” to His list. It always seem more evil when it comes from
someone else’s heart, especially when it comes from someone you admire and
respect. But when we harbor it….well, that’s another matter.
This wonderful unnamed woman approaches Jesus with a critical need. She has
been following them for a while, crying out on behalf of her tormented
daughter. As she approaches, all eyes are fixed on her, and in that very
moment, she becomes the human curriculum through which Jesus will teach His
disciples a very important lesson.
_’Have mercy on me, Lord….”_ she cries.
Jesus is silent to her initial cry for help. No doubt, this is exactly how
the disciples would have responded if she had bowed before them with a need.
But something doesn’t quite feel right when Jesus stands there coldly
silent. They had never seen Jesus treat someone like that. In fact, he never
had treated anyone like that. It was very unlike Jesus and the disciples
took notice. The best thing you and I can do at this point is to put
ourselves into the minds of the disciples. Can you read there minds?
_I wouldn’t answer her either….but gosh, when Jesus airs her off, it
seems so harsh, so unlike Him.’ _
The disciples don’t like the awkwardness and the tension this woman brought
upon them. She keeps crying out. They urge Jesus to send her away (verse
23). That kind of prejudice doesn’t seem to bother them that much.
Finally, Jesus breaks the silence. _’I was sent only to the lost sheep of
the house of Israel.”_ Can you hear the disciple’s thoughts?
_I guess I would have said the same thing. We’re not supposed to have
anything to do with these filthy people, but couldn’t He have phrased it
a bit more politely? I mean after all, she is kind of having a tough
time _Lord, help me!” she cries out.
_’It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
_Can you hear the disciples thinking?
_Whoa, I can’t believe what I’m hearing! Yes, I’ve called people like
her ‘dog” many times. That’s what we call people who are not like us,
but never to their face. This is so unlike Him!’ _
Again, I ask you the question: Have you ever noticed how prejudice sounds
much uglier when it falls from someone else’s lips? It may have been a harsh
lesson, but they learned it! The lesson was this: The most unchristian thing
we can do is to look upon another human being as beyond God’s compassion,
and unworthy of our love. It took Jesus saying what they had all been
thinking in order to learn their much needed lesson. Have we learned yet?
In his autobiography, Mahatma Gandhi wrote that during his student days he
read the Gospels seriously and considered converting to Christianity. He
believed that in the teachings of Jesus he could find the solution to the
caste system that was dividing the people of India. So one Sunday he decided
to attend services at a nearby church and talk to the minister about
becoming a Christian. When he entered the sanctuary, however, the usher
refused to give him a seat and suggested that he go worship with his own
people. Gandhi left the church and never returned. “If Christians have caste
differences also,” he said, “I might as well remain a Hindu.” That usher’s
prejudice not only betrayed Jesus but also turned a person away from
trusting Him as Savior. (From Our Daily Bread, March 6, 1994)
*A Lesson for the Syrophoenician *
I write this lesson on Martin Luther King, Jr.,’s birthday and a song keeps
buzzing around in my head, lyrics by James Taylor from the song _’Shed a
Little Light”:_
_’Let us turn our thoughts today to Martin Luther King _
_ And recognize that there are ties between us _
_ All men and women, living on the earth _
_ Ties of hope and love, sister and brotherhood _
_ That we are bound together _
_ With a desire to see the world become _
_ A place in which our children can grow free and strong _
_ We are bound together by the task that stands before us _
_ And the road that lies ahead, we are bound_
_ … and we are bound”_
And there is no greater bond than the reality that we are all children of
God, loved by Him more than we can imagine. The problem, however, is that
while we are still very young children, something dark inside, moves us to
divide and separate and choose sides. You can see it happening on
playgrounds every day. Innocently enough, we prepare to play a game by
division. Do you remember the game ‘Red Rover?” ‘Red rover, red rover, let
Jenny come over.” And Jenny runs as fast as she can to the other side in
hopes of breaking through the wall of children clenching their hands
together.
Do you remember how we used to choose sides? First, two captains step
forward, usually the same two every time. And then, a classroom of children
goes through a process of natural selection. Chosen first are the strongest,
the fastest. Next come the prettiest and the most popular. Finally, there is
one skinny little uncoordinated kid who is always picked last. It could have
been you. It could have been me. (Isn’t if funny how those are the very kids
who go on to become the bosses of all the rest!) The children play their
games and then begin the process of growing up, and as they do, each child
is forming a perspective on God. Far too often, our understanding of God is
based less on Jesus and more on those childhood games. Children grow up to
believe that God is something akin to a heavenly Charles Darwin, who chooses
the best, the brightest, the strongest, and the prettiest. And the world
does everything it can to confirm this bold face lie.
The fact of the matter, though, is that when God picks His team, He starts
with the scrawny, uncoordinated ‘never hit a ball in his life” kind of kid.
He picks the outcasts and the outsiders, the sinners and the
Syrophoenicians. And all of us who think we deserve to be picked, or that we
have earned a spot on His team, are left slack-jawed and dumbfounded. The
first are last and the last are first, and those least likely to belong,
belong to Him.
_She said, ‘Yes Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from
the master’s table.” Then Jesus answered her, ‘O woman, great is your
faith! Be it done for you as your desire.” And her daughter was healed
instantly. _(Matthew 15:27-28)
Here’s an interesting piece of New Testament trivia. There are only two
people in the Gospel story to whom Jesus said, _’Your faith is great.”_ A
Centurion, and a Syrophoenician.
The Syrophoenician discovered that day, that Jesus really did care about
her. Jesus cared about her daughter’s torment. She learned a great lesson
about not giving up or giving in when the world says ‘go away, you don’t
belong.” She discovered the great reality that her true Master wanted to
give her not crumbs that fall from the table, but the choice gift – the new
life that can only come through Jesus. She discovered that she was not an
outcast, but one who belonged.
Isn’t that what you want most of all? A sense of belonging? The assurance
that God really does love you? You have it in the Cross.
*Closing prayer:*
Lord, forgive us for harboring the prejudice that would exclude others, only
to wonder why we sometimes feel so distant from you. Forgive us for being so
quick to choose sides. Forgive us for being so selective in our company.
Forgive us for elevating ourselves and putting down others. Forgive us for
not making room in ‘our” pew. Help us all to learn the lesson of disciples.
Give us hearts like yours – that strive to love unconditionally. Give us
eyes like Jesus, to see every person as a child of God, an heir of grace, a
sister or a brother by virtue of our One Holy Father. Bestow a very special
blessing this day on all who feel as though they do not belong. Touch the
many people in our community who think they are unworthy to enter into our
place of worship. Use us to show them that they belong. In Jesus name we
pray, Amen.