RCL Proper 23B
8 September 2024
Anglican Church of the Epiphany
Surrey BC
One of the privileges I had as a member of the faculty of Vancouver School of Theology was becoming a colleague of Sallie McFague. Sallie was a theologian of breadth, of wisdom and of clarity. She was a pioneer in applying theological insights to the environmental crisis we face as well as a perceptive observer of how Christians can lose sight of the sacredness of the world in which we live.
One of her frequent sayings was this: “Be careful how you look at the world because that’s the way it is.” If we look at the world as a place where the rich and the powerful have unlimited control over us, then we are likely to live into that expectation. If we only listen to the voices that agree with us, then we are likely not to hear the voices of those experiences and wisdom might actually enrich our understanding of the world.
When the Syro-Phoenician woman approaches Jesus, he only sees a foreign woman who is not a member of the people of Israel. She is not among those to whom Jesus feels called to minister. She has crossed the boundary of proper first-century Mediterranean etiquette by daring to speak to a Jewish teacher, to the rising star from Nazareth.
Her request is not an unusual one. It’s a request that Jesus has heard more than once over the months of his ministry. It’s not a request beyond his ability to act. What offends him is the identity of the person who is asking for his compassion, for him to extend God’s healing beyond the boundaries of Israel.
We have to acknowledge that what Jesus says to her is not a joke but an insult. What he says to her is not a test of her faith but an attempt to put her in her place. What he says to her says that she’s not a member of the ‘in-group’ but an unwelcome outsider. In his eyes she and the rest of her community have no part in the mission he has undertaken.
After such an insult most of us would have turned away in disappointment. But not this woman. She is having none of Jesus’ snobbery and narrow-mindedness. She has as much a legitimate call upon his healing power as any Israelite. The world that she sees is wider and more inclusive than the one that Jesus sees.
More importantly, she is willing to take the risk of ridicule and scandal too make that world happen. Jesus may think that he’s very clever in comparing her to a dog, but he has met his match in this mother of a daughter in need. She sees more clearly than Jesus does that God’s saving work extends far beyond the limits of a small Jewish enclave surrounded by peoples of many nations, many languages and many needs. She sees the kingdom of God and she expects it to include her.
At this moment in time, our Parish is looking at the world around us. This world is shaped by the history of ministry in this place over the last fifty years and more. It is a world that has seen moments of great hopefulness and moments of disappointments. We have seen changes not only in the neighbourhood that surrounds us but in the people who gather in this place to hear the Word of God, to lift up our voices in prayer and to receive the bread and wine of the eucharist.
Now we look to the future. We’ve taken the first steps towards the re-development of our property, but we cannot see the entirety of the path that lies before us. We’ve begun to craft the story we wish to tell in order to aid in calling a new rector.
In the midst of all this, I still hear Sallie McFague’s voice. How are we looking at the world around us? Are we companions of the Syro-Phoenician woman who saw the kingdom of God opening wide before her – despite the narrower vision expressed by Jesus? Can we be bold in challenging the limits of our fears with a vision of a renewed community rising up to be the body of Christ in this neighbourhood?
Yes, I believe we can. It hasn’t been easy thus far and it may not be easy in the months ahead. But we have another world in view and it’s one that worth the risks.
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