“Even dogs eat crumbs from the table”

Matthew 15.21-28

Pastor Tom Johnson, August 14, 2011

Three years ago, I heard a sermon on the same reading from Matthew. The pastor said that this story is evidence that Jesus was a racist. In other words, Jesus was fully human—so much so that even he could not escape the prejudice that human beings have toward one another.

It seems pretty clear cut, doesn’t it? I mean, the Canaanite woman just wanted her daughter to be healed and delivered from an oppressive spirit. She could not have been more polite and gracious toward Jesus. She calls him, “Lord, Son of David.” By the way she talks to him, she is affirming his royal lineage and spotless bloodline. He is a direct descendent of King David. He is an heir to the throne. He has royal blood. She acknowledges this. She respects and honors his heritage, culture, and ethnicity.

Jesus disciples aren’t so kind. They tell Jesus to send her away. She was shouting. “Don’t raise your voice at the rabbi, woman! Who do you think you are?!” Well the truth is that they are treating her this way because she is a Canaanite woman. She is not an Israelite. Her blood is mixed with various bloodlines.

Jesus seems quick to treat her with contempt. He uses a common epithet for these “half-breeds”—the racial slur he used is “dog.” After his disciples tell the woman to put a muzzle on it, he tells her that he only came for citizens of Israel, not the foreigner. When she persisted. Jesus says, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” Now, I admit this is a bit alarming. Jesus seems awfully politically incorrect here. But that’s just the thing, he was simply saying out loud what society thought about such women.

I believe Jesus is so human here that his full humanity is put on display. I don’t mean human prejudice, bigotry, and racism. I mean another human trait: sarcasm. Jesus is being ironic. He is throwing a curve ball at the woman. And he knows that she will hit it out of the park. He’s rattling her cage. He calls her and her people “dogs” so that he can unmask what is contrary to the Gospel. Jesus knows and we know that he did not come just for one ethnic group in one geographic location. He came for sinners. He came not only for the lost sheep of Israel but the lost sheep in Canaan, Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas—even the remotest corner of the earth.

Jesus rattles her cage so that they both can rattle the cages of his disciples and anyone else who has such a narrow view of God’s love and plan for the world. Jesus throws her a curve ball that he has no interest outside of Israel. “It’s not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” And she hits his curve ball out of the park. “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” She had a larger vision of what God is doing in the world. She looked beyond the exclusive table and could imagine a place for people like her also benefiting from the healing power of Jesus.

“Great is your faith!” Jesus says. And her daughter was healed immediately. And this is why I believe Jesus never meant the words he spoke; he praises her for believing the truth about God’s love. And this is the truth: that his love is for everyone.

The Canaanite woman had no bragging rights. She knew she and her daughter did not have the right DNA to be in the club. She knew that she and her daughter were not royalty. And she was even willing to look beyond the name-calling and believe that a good and loving God will not only love his Children but all creatures—even the dogs. Even dogs are part of God’s beloved creation. Even the dogs eat table scraps. How could it be possible for God to overlook human beings if he is even concerned about the dogs.

Just one chapter later, in the same Gospel as our reading today, Jesus says, “Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

Look at the dogs! Some of them are short and pudgy, some sleek and tall, some gray, some brown, some hairless, some tailless. And the dog owners love them. They are part of the family. They eat from the table even though you’re not supposed to do it. We name them. We coddle them. We treat them as our own children.

If we human beings can love these four-legged friends in such great variety, how much more does God love his two-legged friends, human beings—with all of our variety, brokenness, quirks, and sin. And here is the amazing thing: the Canaanite woman and her daughter did not just receive crumbs from the table—they received the very best—full and instantaneous healing. They were brought to the table. They are invited to the feast.

And that is how we are all invited to his table—not because of our blood lines, ethnicity, or breed—but because of the grace and love of our heavenly Father. Here Jesus gives us his true Body and Blood with the bread and the wine. He fills us. He strengthens us. He accepts us. He forgives us. There is no one sitting at the head of this table except Christ himself.

As Psalm 23 so beautifully puts it, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Yes, even you.