What’s A Mother To Do?

 

(With thanks and gratitude for the insights of Amy Jill Levine into this pivotal story)

Once again, the themes of perseverance and have faith in yourself persist in Matthew’s Gospel [15:21-28]. Keep in mind, just before this scene of a mother desperate to find help for her daughter, Jesus is debating the Purity Squad, saying it is not what you eat, what you put into your mouth, that defiles a person. Rather, he says,  it is what comes out of your mouth that defiles you. Then, inexplicably, he turns around and calls this Canaanite mother, her daughter, and all of “her people,” a dog.

 

I could not help but think of this Canaanite woman, perhaps one of the most important figures in the Bible, while hearing Tamika Palmer and Bianca Austin pleading with the authorities in Louisville for healing for themselves and the community, and for justice for Breonna Taylor: they are her mother and aunt respectively. They spoke of bridging the gap between the police and the community and making a world where there will be no more Breonna Taylors, George Floyds, or Eric Garners.

 

 She is yet another unnamed woman in the Gospels, much like the Samaritan Woman at the well, has a transformational encounter with Jesus – only this time he is the one who is transformed. It’s a story that invites us all to be transformed, and to let go of long held beliefs that hinder and fracture relations between communities of people.

 

Jesus is heading toward gentile territory, the very same area to which God sent Elijah to a widow who feeds him, after which he heals her son. Jesus needs a well-deserved rest when suddenly this woman shouts out, “Have mercy on me, Lord, haShem, Adonai, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” Actually, the Greek text tells us she “screams out,” giving us a deeper understanding of just how painful it is to watch her daughter suffer; we feel her desperation. Note, she, a gentile, calling Jesus Kyrios, “Lord,” is the same as calling him haShem, the Jewish circumlocution for God. And “Son of David” acknowledges him as Messiah, God’s anointed. This stranger, an outsider, knows more about who Jesus really is than the insiders like his disciples, as we find out in the following scene in Caesarea Philippi: Who do you say that I am?

 

For starters, Jesus ignores her. This alone seems cruel. Then the disciples beg him to dismiss her or release her “because she is screaming after us!” Jesus ignores their plea, but says, “I have been sent to find the lost sheep of Israel.” Not a promising sign for this gentile woman. But now she places herself on her knees in front of him – blocking his advance on the road to rest. “HaShem, help me!” she cries. This is when what comes out of his mouth sounds defiling. “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” The children being the Israelites he believes are his one and only concern; she, her daughter and gentiles are “dogs”. This is at least the second time he makes this point in Storyteller Matthew’s account, for earlier he tells his disciples to stay away from gentile territory. As she is blocking his way, he is forced to address her.

 

We may as well admit, many of us would either give up at his insult, or get angry. But this mother is strong, and is desperate to find relief for her daughter. Once again, she addresses him as Lord, as haShem, as God. “Yes, but haShem, even the dogs are eating the crumbs from the table.” Any of us who have raised children know this to be true! But, to have the presence of mind to talk back to the One – haShem, The Lord! This takes moxie, determination, presence of mind, and a commitment to securing your daughter’s future, her very life.

 

It is this Canaanite Woman who not only has stopped Jesus in his tracks, but helps him to see the bigger picture, the greater mission that lies ahead of him: to rescue gentiles as well as Israelites! A vision long ago advanced by prophets like Isaiah. There are to be no “her people” and “our people.” Because of her persistence, Jesus lets go of long held biases and beliefs that had hindered relations between his people and hers. He now knows that we are all one people. He will declare this broader mission to all people to his disciples after he rises from the dead! He recognizes her faith and dispels the demons that possess her daughter. It is new life for her daughter now free from the demons. More importantly for all of us gentiles, it’s a new life for Jesus as well, and for us!

 

Unlike Peter who loses faith in himself and begins to sink into the surf, Jesus recognizes this woman has faith in herself and the God of Israel. And once again, perseverance furthers! From that moment on, Jesus is changed even more significantly than anyone else in the story.

 

All because this unnamed Canaanite Woman recognizes that her future, and her daughter’s, is with the God of Israel. Note also, she retains her Canaanite and gentile identity. She does not need to ‘convert.’ She joins herself to the God of Israel, but remains forever a Canaanite. She also proves herself more faithful than the insiders, the disciples, and especially Peter! She takes to the street to do whatever she needs to do to secure relief and safety for her family, even physically making herself an obstacle Jesus needs to get past; forcing him to address her directly. She changes the future direction of our Lord’s mission from being a parochial affair to a universal mission to all people everywhere! Jesus recognizes her as a model for us all – faithfulness is not what we say, or what we believe, but what we do on behalf of others – all others, no matter who they are or where they come from. Screaming, blocking the way in the road, and keeping the conversation going are the signs of her faithfulness.

 

Her daughter was healed from that very hour. Isn’t that what we all want? To be freed from the demons that beset us and our society? Isn’t that all that people like Tamika Palmer and Bianca Austin are asking for? They stand with other women like Rahab, Ruth, Rosa Parks, Ruby Bridges, Malal Yousafzai, and countless others who like this Canaanite Woman urge us to  live out the vision Isaiah 56 proclaimed some 600 years before Jesus:

Thus says the Lord: Maintain justice, and do what is right, for soon my salvation will come, and my deliverance be revealed. And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord…these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer. And to this we say, Amen; it is Truth; it is so!

Better Times Will Come, Janis Ian