Who said what?

There is a Gospel story that I have always found a bit problematic. Our Gospel lesson for this Sunday is Matthew 15:21-28, often referred to as the story of the Canaanite woman. If the details have slipped your mind, a Canaanite woman asks Jesus to free her daughter from the torments of a demon. Jesus does not respond. She asks again and Jesus tells her he was sent to the “lost sheep” of Israel. She asks again and Jesus replies with, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She replies that even dogs eat crumbs from the table. Jesus tells her she has great faith and he heals her daughter.

I was struggling with the interpretations of this story, the ones I have heard repeatedly, and found them even more unsatisfying than usual. I was led to the work of a scholar named Dr. Amy-Jill Levine through the Dr. Diana Butler Bass’ excellent Substack, the Cottage. Dr. Levine worked through the passage in a way I had not considered and the sermon is my attempt to communicate what she said. Click here to read it.

I don’t want for a moment to suggest I am not influenced by what I read, of course I am. Often I have no idea where the influence arose . . . this time I do and I am very grateful to both Dr. Levine and Dr. Bass for their work. As always, let me know what you think as you are inclined and able.

“Who said what?” St. Mark’s Presbyterian (to download, right-click and select “Save Link As . . .”)

Blessings,