This is at once one of the most disturbing and hopeful portraits of Jesus found in the Gospels. Jesus’ initial response to the Canaanite woman is, to put it mildly, unkind. Why does he feel the need to put this woman in her place? Perhaps it is so that she is then in a position to put him in his. Jesus responds to her retort, not with further insult or by ignoring her and moving on. Instead, he recognizes both her dignity and her faith.
This story stands in sharp contradiction to all those who would suggest that Christians have nothing to learn from other religions. If Jesus himself was willing to be taught by a Canaanite, how much more should we be humble enough to recognize and accept those teachers who come to us from outside our own faith tradition? I have a fantasy of this woman standing beside Jesus on the Last Day, judging our faith. Fortunately, we have every reason to believe that she too will be merciful.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment