Christ-Centered Humility

“Christ-Centered Humility”

Matthew 15:(10-20), 21-28

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 15, Year A, August 16, 2020

First Presbyterian Church, Sandpoint, Idaho

Andy Kennaly, Pastor

          Meditating on scripture, and this passage in particular from Matthew, tends to reveal things that a surface level, initial reading may miss.  Sitting with the text, pondering it as the story mingles with our own daily experience, may reveal, for example, the cascading affect throughout this passage, and energy flowing in and out like waves on the ocean.  This passage starts big, as Jesus initiates the flow, calling the crowds to him, and they come and gather around him as he shares a teaching.

Then the conversation narrows as it’s the disciples, those choosing to follow Jesus that come to him on their initiative.  If there’s positive energy in the first part as Jesus teaches, the disciples have a different energy as they approach; more fear-based and worried as they come to Jesus with concern about how the Pharisees, the religious elite who pride themselves on obeying every aspect of God’s law; the disciples are concerned about how the Pharisees are receiving all of this teaching.  So that’s the third cascade, a group that is talked about from a distance, and this group is what would be considered the insiders, the ones who ought to know when it comes to spiritual matters.  Yet Jesus calls the Pharisees blind, and as they lead the blind, they simply fall into a pit.

We move from this detached assessment, after Jesus says, “Let them alone” into a yet smaller pool as Peter is mentioned and Jesus talks with him directly with more detail in a teaching that challenges conventional thinking and religious tradition while showing the power of inner experience.  So here we have what starts big, now drilling down into the heart, mind, and soul.

But the cascade affect and waves of energy continue, becoming even more distant and dynamic as Jesus goes away, into a foreign land, the region of the despised cities of Tyre and Sidon, which are port cities, very wealthy, with an urban flair to them, even as the citizens cheat inland farmers out of crops to feed the city population.  There’s classism and ethnic tensions here, political corruption and issues of economic, social justice are woven into the fabric of this scene.  Just as we thought we were on the edge, cascaded down to a fine point, the energy flow flips as an unnamed woman approaches, and  the disciples, who don’t want to deal with her, ask Jesus to make her go away, then the dueling conversation begins as Jesus and the woman discuss race, the importance of terminology when it comes to ethnicity, politics, economics, religion, faith, mindfulness, and healthcare, all in a few short lines.  Sounds like familiar conversations as we live in our own context!

If you read this passage slowly, repeatedly, you may notice a spectrum of images: Pharisees taking offense, described as blind as they do not recognize through their understanding – Canaanite woman kneeling as she has great faith and trusts in her heart as her heart perceives the mercy of God in Jesus.

She, too, has a cascading dynamic, moving from broad images of shouting, “Have mercy on me,” to the closer, more intimate kneeling posture, saying, “Lord, help me.”  Jesus uses some harsh words, even some name calling.  But who is helping who?  Is Jesus drawing her out, intentionally resisting with a false front, or is she helping Jesus overcome systemic racism as he experiences the breadth of God’s love for the world?  Either way, Matthew’s community who first read this Gospel needs to hear both messages: that God is in covenant relationship with the chosen people even though life seems defiled, and that this blessing extends in new ways to include the larger world; that Wisdom is deeper and broader than understanding, that the unfolding of creation builds upon, but is not restricted by, the Tradition.  They are taught to trust their inner experience of the Divine in Christ.

In the first section, Jesus tells the crowds that what you eat is not the source of what defiles you.  He then teaches the disciples that it is the heart that defiles, listing a whole slew of ailments and social ills.  He is teaching them the importance of spiritual transformation as an inside job.  The woman, from the margins, is able to critique the system.  She allows Jesus to practice what he preaches, as what he says earlier clashes with what he tells her, yet his action finally comes into alignment with the earlier teaching, showing the loving, inclusive nature of his heart.  We also see the powerful, life-giving message of true conversion, which involves humbling oneself and inviting God to work in your life, not just externally, but on the inside, to change your heart, transform your mind, and deepen awareness of your soul.

In the Bonner County Daily Bee, one of our local newspapers, I wrote an article for last Friday’s Faith Page that highlighted the importance in examining not only what we see, but how we see.  We are invited to allow God to help us unpack how we know what we know, to let go of ego-centric, self-imposed definitions of ourselves and our world, and deepen faith beyond externalized lists of do’s and don’ts, so God can transform our heart and help us develop spiritually.  Through conversion of the heart, a desire to desire deeper Wisdom, God invites us to trust inner experience like those in the early church, to discover unbounded grace and love that is not confined by our limitations.

When I preach a sermon, sometimes people tell me, “that was a good sermon.”  But in terms of being good or not, that’s really not up to me.  I’m sharing what’s here to share; how it’s received is what determines if it’s good or not.  That’s another dynamic Jesus experiences in this passage, moving from a crowd that really doesn’t say anything, to the spiritual proud who simply complain and are offended (because they’re living from their ego and basing life on externals), to the disciples who mean well enough but remind us that life involves constant learning and new perspectives invite us to self-critique, to the unnamed woman who takes what Jesus gives her and even in the midst of a complicated context showing us the raw, human condition, her heart is revealed.  The shock of this passage is that those who claim to see are called blind, while the one who despised and considered and outsider in so many ways, she’s the one who sees.  God’s Perennial Wisdom finds expression in the least expected way in the life of this faithful person who trusts the larger Mercy of God.  Jesus is simply saying what he knows, and the people receive it as they are able.  With all of them, Jesus holds space; he sometimes invites, sometimes creates distance, sometimes confronts, but he never engages in violence and he allows God’s covenant to include them all.

So in the spirit of this passage that shows God at work in the world, let’s remember there is no secular, no context, place, or people beyond the sustaining, loving Presence of God.  Let’s examine our experience and move beyond even our own thoughts, to broaden our soul and deepen faith in the mystery of God.  Notice that last piece of the cascading dynamic: the little girl is healed from a distance.  Jesus never sees her, doesn’t need to touch her, and it’s blurry as to who heals her.  It doesn’t say Jesus healed her, and it doesn’t say the woman does.  It’s in a mutual meeting, as Jesus, whose asked people all along this story, “Do you not see?” recognizes this woman’s heart, and all he says is, “Woman, great is your faith!  Let it be done for you as you wish.”  The woman wished for unity over division, healing over brokenness, mutuality over arrogance, and love that holds all things together.  Her daughter is healed instantly, from a distance, yet from within the heart, as divine presence meets Divine Presence.

This is important for Matthew’s community, wondering if Jesus is there for them.  Looking around, one would question.  Looking within, with trust, faith, and humility, Jesus is revealed as the cascading energy flows into heart space, and through life and living, flows out to bless the world.

Thanks be to God for calling us, and for being there when we seek; for mercy that holds us but is not limited by us; and for Christ-centered humility that keeps us grounded in the loving care of God, who guides us on our journey with life’s ebbs and flows and invites awareness of the calm center living within our soul.  Thanks be to God for stories that are more than words, as the Spirit teaches our heart to receive spiritual food that nurtures and regenerates life abundant.  Thanks be to God for humble, vulnerable love, shared in Christ, both NOW, and forever.  Amen.