Day 320. Amos 7, Psalm 113, Matthew 15
Matthew's feeding of the 4000 in Matthew 15 and the companion feeding of the 5,000, which by the way is the only miracle of Jesus that appears in all four Gospels, proclaims Jesus' ability to feed us even in the midst of a desert where there is no possibility of acquiring nourishment. It is more than just sharing the little that each has, although frequently in our daily lives miracles abound, when a compassionate heart acts with kindness. This is more of a condition, a constant leaning of our hearts which compel us to hear the cries of hurt, suffering, hopelessness & pain that surround us.
As is true in all passages of scripture, it is the context of this particular passage that adds power. Matthew 15 begins with a question about which food is and is not clean to which Jesus replies the it is the heart that makes all things clean or unclean.
Then Jesus turns to the Canaanite woman, a woman with whom any respectable Jew would not dare to engage in conversation and vice versa. But, she persists. She has heard that Jesus has the power to heal and she is desperate, as desperate as anyone could possibly be. The story has begun with a theological discussion on clean and unclean food and has quickly switched to a human tragedy that is laid before his feet.
It is surprising to us at first that Jesus seems to affirm His exclusive mission to the Jews to the exclusion of a Canaanite woman's desperate cries for help. She is unrelenting in pursuing Jesus and continuously pleads for help since there is no other who can help her demon posed daughter. Her cries leap from the page and we are captivated and absorbed by her pleas for help from this Jewish rabbi...a rabbi...a rabbi...God forgive her! But, she is unashamed in crossing the forbidden societal barriers for her cause is just in acquiring freedom of her daughter who lives daily with the ravages of demons!
Jesus stops to take her pleas seriously because the heart always dictates what is clean or unclean. The woman, first perceived by all of Jesus' companions, turns out to be clean much to their astonishment. Jesus teaches by example that the heart of compassion and grace absorbed in Him will always reveal the difference between what is clean or unclean.
This lesson is played out among us on a daily basis. During the recent disruptions over the implementation of the ACA, aka OBamaCare, there seemed to be about 15 million across the country who discovered much to their surprise that their 2014 medical insurance policies were being canceled. This was an unexpected tragedy because what was promised was quite the opposite. There is, of course, much to be debated about this reality and I am hopeful that these and other injustices will be remedied.
What struck me during the early debate, however, was a perceived callousness on the part of the administration toward these 15 million people simply because they only represented 5% of the total population. What seemed to be lost in the early moments was compassion for what so many individuals and families were going through and the hardship and, for some, the added expense they would incur. Like the Canaanite woman who was so easily dismissed as "unclean", so too were 15 million treated as invisible or as possessing little worth.
Well, as we all know, the tide quickly turned and the 15 million have regained their dignity. I would like to believe that hearts of compassion and grace prevailed to remedy a critical predicament on behalf of the voiceless. But, I do realize that given human nature's desire for self preservation perhaps the politics of fear played a part. Regardless of which is most at play, what was perceived as unclean has now been viewed as "clean" and in the process perhaps the demons which plagued the 15 million people might be driven away!
Matthew's feeding of the 4000 in Matthew 15 and the companion feeding of the 5,000, which by the way is the only miracle of Jesus that appears in all four Gospels, proclaims Jesus' ability to feed us even in the midst of a desert where there is no possibility of acquiring nourishment. It is more than just sharing the little that each has, although frequently in our daily lives miracles abound, when a compassionate heart acts with kindness. This is more of a condition, a constant leaning of our hearts which compel us to hear the cries of hurt, suffering, hopelessness & pain that surround us.
As is true in all passages of scripture, it is the context of this particular passage that adds power. Matthew 15 begins with a question about which food is and is not clean to which Jesus replies the it is the heart that makes all things clean or unclean.
Then Jesus turns to the Canaanite woman, a woman with whom any respectable Jew would not dare to engage in conversation and vice versa. But, she persists. She has heard that Jesus has the power to heal and she is desperate, as desperate as anyone could possibly be. The story has begun with a theological discussion on clean and unclean food and has quickly switched to a human tragedy that is laid before his feet.
It is surprising to us at first that Jesus seems to affirm His exclusive mission to the Jews to the exclusion of a Canaanite woman's desperate cries for help. She is unrelenting in pursuing Jesus and continuously pleads for help since there is no other who can help her demon posed daughter. Her cries leap from the page and we are captivated and absorbed by her pleas for help from this Jewish rabbi...a rabbi...a rabbi...God forgive her! But, she is unashamed in crossing the forbidden societal barriers for her cause is just in acquiring freedom of her daughter who lives daily with the ravages of demons!
Jesus stops to take her pleas seriously because the heart always dictates what is clean or unclean. The woman, first perceived by all of Jesus' companions, turns out to be clean much to their astonishment. Jesus teaches by example that the heart of compassion and grace absorbed in Him will always reveal the difference between what is clean or unclean.
This lesson is played out among us on a daily basis. During the recent disruptions over the implementation of the ACA, aka OBamaCare, there seemed to be about 15 million across the country who discovered much to their surprise that their 2014 medical insurance policies were being canceled. This was an unexpected tragedy because what was promised was quite the opposite. There is, of course, much to be debated about this reality and I am hopeful that these and other injustices will be remedied.
What struck me during the early debate, however, was a perceived callousness on the part of the administration toward these 15 million people simply because they only represented 5% of the total population. What seemed to be lost in the early moments was compassion for what so many individuals and families were going through and the hardship and, for some, the added expense they would incur. Like the Canaanite woman who was so easily dismissed as "unclean", so too were 15 million treated as invisible or as possessing little worth.
Well, as we all know, the tide quickly turned and the 15 million have regained their dignity. I would like to believe that hearts of compassion and grace prevailed to remedy a critical predicament on behalf of the voiceless. But, I do realize that given human nature's desire for self preservation perhaps the politics of fear played a part. Regardless of which is most at play, what was perceived as unclean has now been viewed as "clean" and in the process perhaps the demons which plagued the 15 million people might be driven away!
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