The following homily was shared at our Sunday Evening Eucharist service 8/16/26.

Scripture Reading:

At that time, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out,
"Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!
My daughter is tormented by a demon."
But Jesus did not say a word in answer to her.
Jesus' disciples came and asked him,
"Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us."
He said in reply,
"I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
But the woman came and did Jesus homage, saying, "Lord, help me."
He said in reply,
"It is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs."
She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps
that fall from the table of their masters."
Then Jesus said to her in reply,
"O woman, great is your faith!
Let it be done for you as you wish."
And the woman's daughter was healed from that hour. (Matthew 15:21-28)

Honestly, I had a pretty hard time with this one. Lots of directions to go in, lots of potential to go into a deep dive into theology that I couldn’t get out of. But I felt called to start with what was familiar. In the Matthew passage, the Canaanite woman starts off with the phrase familiar to some of us, “Have mercy on me, O Lord.” Known as the Jesus Prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” it has a few other Biblical origins. A blind beggar called it out in Mark 10, and lepers in Luke 17. A few Psalms have similar phrases, including Psalm 51, which we will be praying shortly. The most direct comparison can be found in Luke 18:13, in the parable of the Pharisee praying his arrogant and obnoxious prayer, while the tax collector simply cries, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” “A sinner” is not added to any of the other verses, but it is implied. At least, there is an implied need for mercy. Whether from sickness or sin, there is a recognition that they do not deserve it, but they humble themselves and ask anyway.

But there is something different about this request. When this woman cries out to Jesus, he initially refuses. This is the only instance I know of that Jesus specifically does not grant healing when asked. He may ask some hard questions, may ask them to do something a little odd, like washing their eyes with mud, but the outright dismissal just seems harsh. He did not even answer her a word. And when he does engage her, it seems only because of pestering, and then he apparently only grants her request after she gives a clever answer. It makes me wonder what would happen if I had been there, because I could not come up with that on the fly.

Every time I have encountered this passage, it leaves me a bit unsettled. I know that as Jesus says, he was sent to the house of Israel first, but are we really dogs just getting crumbs from the table? But there are a couple of other key things to note about this encounter. First, in her initial plea, she recognizes Jesus for who he is, the Son of David. This is a recognition of Jesus as a rightful king, and it’s kind of crazy that a foreign woman would name him in such an Israelite way. The disciples themselves had recognized him as the Son of God only a chapter before, and it won’t be until the next chapter that Peter outright declares Jesus as the Messiah. But this outsider, she knew him from the start. Second, while Jesus would not say a word at first, he does not send her away as his disciples begged.

There are two things to draw from this. First, the Messiah is not just for the house of Israel, they were simply first. And second, it was also a teaching in humility. This woman had to kneel before Jesus, and took the analogy of a dog, because that still gave her a place in the household of God. She recognized that crumbs were enough. Because even if we weren’t chosen first, isn’t it enough to have any mercy at all? I certainly have an easy time forgetting that salvation is a gift, a gift we don’t deserve. It wouldn’t be mercy otherwise. And thankfully, the difference between Jews and Gentiles has gotten a lot simpler since then. Ephesians 3:6 says, “This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” Jesus did die for us, whether we are dogs or not. And whether dogs or not, we are a part of the household of God. But thankfully, we have been lifted up to have a seat at the table, with a full portion of the meal. When we cry out, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” that plea is answered as a son or daughter crying out to their father. In a moment, when you come across that plea right at the beginning of Psalm 51, come to God with humility, kneeling before the God who had mercy on us sinners and Gentiles.

Amen.

Crumbs Were Enough: CJ Robbins

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