16 August 2026 12th Sunday after Pentecost

Genesis 45.1-15   Psalm 133   Romans 11.13-32   Matthew 15.21-28

Our gospel this morning is not a nice story to hear.  It brings with it a whole heap of questions.  Questions like, how could Jesus be so rude, why did he not just heal the daughter from the outset.  And Matthew tells this story slightly differently to how Mark does but the essence remains unchanged, so too are the insults.  Matthew links it with a previous discussion that Jesus was having with the Jewish authorities about dietary laws.   About his eating without washing his hands (therefore with undefiled hands); about the fact that what goes into the mouth does not defile you, it is what comes out of your mouth that defiles.  It is what is in your heart that defiles.

So why does Jesus use such insulting language when speaking to this woman.  Jesus and his disciples are travelling through Sidon and Tye, which is Gentile territory not Jewish territory.  And when this woman approaches, she knows exactly who and what Jesus is.  But he ignores her.  And when she persists, the disciples want Jesus to ‘send her away’.  Sound familiar?  I think this is becoming a ‘go-to phrase’ for the disciples.  Anyway, she continues to ask, and Jesus eventually replies, but he does so with words that send shivers through my mind.  Did he really call her a dog?  Even if the word we translate as dog is more accurately ‘puppy’, it doesn’t remove the horror of the statement.  But this woman is not to be put off.  And she challenges Jesus to examine why he is not responding to her.  If this man, who was friend of sinners; who dined with  tax-collectors and all other ‘fringe dwellers’; who championed women, the marginalised, the sick, the disabled, and welcomed them into his circle of friends; why is he not willing to extend that hospitality, or even just healing, to this woman who is one of those ‘outsiders’.  And Jesus responds to her challenge and heals her daughter.  And Jesus’ statement to the woman about her great faith does not speak about her belief in quantitative terms, he is commending her for who she is.  Her faith reflects the person she is, not her belief systems.  She approached a Jewish man without fear; she asked this man to help her daughter; she persisted when ignored; she persisted when insulted and rebuffed; she challenged Jesus to examine his own boundaries, priorities and actions; which prompted him to change his mind, change his own life trajectory.

And that is our challenge too.  When we talk of faith, what are we meaning.  Do we simply talk about our ‘belief systems’ as if they were something we could ‘measure’ and ‘compare’ to others, or are we talking about how we act; which allows others, and ourselves, to see ‘who we are’.  This woman demonstrates what faith ’looks like in action’ not what it reveals of a belief system.

It is difficult for us to consider that a mere woman can prompt Jesus to ‘change his mind’, after all Jesus is incarnate, he is Messiah, he is supposed to ‘know all’, he is not supposed to do ‘wrong’ things, so why or how did an ‘outsider’ prompt Jesus to change his mind.  But there are lots of instances in our Scriptures where God ‘changed God’s mind’ and did something different.  God did not bring destruction to the people of Ninevah when they repented; God did not destroy the people of Israel when Moses asked for a ‘second chance’ when he was up the mountain receiving the 10 commandments and the people below were out of control; and we can find numerous other occasions when God relented from ‘sentence of death or destruction’ because of the repentance of the people.  So yes, God can change God’s mind, Jesus can change his mind without it meaning he has ‘wronged’, even though this woman has not repented, she has just challenged.

This woman challenged Jesus to look further than just the house of Israel and expand his teaching so it also included those on the margins and even those beyond the margins.  She asks for ‘the crumbs’, she asks for access to the edges of God’s message and witness to the House of Israel, to be included ‘at the table’.  She is not asking for what belongs to others, just to be included in what others have access to.

What about us.  Do we look to only share our faith with those like us; do we only show ‘who’ we are to those ‘within our desired boundaries’ or are we able to break free of stereotypes and share God’s love for all, with all. To allow the world to know and see ‘who’ we are, not just ‘what’ we are.  This woman challenged, enhanced and stretched Jesus’ own sense of God’s kingdom.   He may, at that time, have genuinely thought his mission was only for the people of Israel, but this woman persuades him to accept that something bigger is at stake.  For her, the life of her daughter was at stake; for the Centurion, the life of his servant was at stake; for the woman in the crowd, her own life was at stake.  And Jesus learns this reality and responds to it, he changes his mind, he heals the daughter, and he commends the woman.  We see God’s purpose unfolding throughout Jesus’ life and ministry, and it continues to unfold in our lives and experiences. 

So one of the questions this story raises is, if Jesus can learn, can we also learn.  The question our communities are constantly asking, or thinking is, ‘where are the young’, ‘how do we encourage the young to see this as somewhere they want to be’.  At St George, we asked those questions recently, and we have developed a response to that question.  And I am hopeful our response shows some fruit in the long run.  But in the meantime, maybe we could get the ‘low down’ on the question and actually ask those ‘out there’.  I wonder, would you be willing, would you be able to ‘ask’ someone who is not here but who you think could be here why they do not come.  It is a confronting question to ask, and it will take a deal of courage on your part.  Ask them, what are they looking for that they think we do not or cannot offer them.  What would they like to see in us that isn’t currently here.  It is a scary thought, asking a stranger, a friend, a companion, a daughter or son, why they are not interested in joining us, but the important part of asking is our readiness to listen.  Listening with open ears and closed mouths; not responding by ‘defending’ what we do or who we are, but being willing to just listen and hear what the other has to say.  Jesus was willing to listen, he heard the request from the woman, he heard her angst, he heard her pain, and he responded.  Yes, he did make that horrible comment about her being a ‘dog’, but he also kept listening after that and heard her ‘as a person’, heard her genuine, personal, pain.  He learned from her and he changed. Can we?