When Jesus Was Wrong

Isaiah 56:1, 6-8

Matthew 15:10-28

Psalm 67

When God first gathered a people to become his holy ones, being holy meant being set apart from what is not godly and good. It didn’t catch on, as they became quite assimilated into their neighboring idol worshipers. Moses was appointed to straighten them out and get them to refocus and recommit through the Ten Commandments. Over time, the Commandments became many laws to spell out exactly how, when, where and why to be holy, set apart from the others. At the top of the list was what is called “the Purity Codes” defining what is clean, what is not, and the penalties of being “unclean.” 

Jesus had a problem with the Pharisees’ obsession with purity codes at the expense of moral behavior.  In today’s portion of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus pointed out the hypocrisy of rituals for what one eats as a marker of righteousness while what one speaks goes unchallenged. “Out of the heart come evil intentions ... These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.” (Matthew 15:20) Jesus didn’t come to abolish the law but to show God’s people the importance of the spirit as well as the letter of the law. Traditions are to serve as a foundation, not as a barrier to holiness. 

The next thing in the Gospel that happens is a stunning challenge for Jesus to live what he just preached. A Canaanite woman – who, to Jews, represents an ancient and godless foe – boldly begs him for help. It threw him “off his game”, so to speak. His dark side emerged as he tried to dismiss her, even using a racial slur comparing her lack of value to scavenger dogs. Why did Jesus change his mind? Maybe Isaiah’s words (paraphrased) came to him, “Maintain justice, and do what is right … the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord – I will gather them with the others and make them joyful in my house of prayer for all people.”  (Isaiah 56:6-8).  Matthew tells us it was the woman’s persistent faith that changed Jesus’ heart. Nobody who came to Jesus in the Gospels with this thing called “faith” ever left disappointed. Nobody. 

One of the startling aspects of this story is that even Jesus, the holiest of humans, thinking he was following God’s will by rejecting this outsider, was wrong.  He almost blew a pivotal opportunity out of his certainty he was right, sticking with the rules. When his heart stopped spewing disdain and he listened deeply, he opened himself to his better self within, where Divine Love dwells, and expanded the direction of his ministry for good.

I wonder how often we find ourselves so sure of what is the right thing to do that we mistakenly think our way is God’s way. Are we open to risking our certainty by continually seeking God’s will beyond our own expectations or wishes? How might our relationships be blessed as we let God change a stance from certainty at all costs to more openness and inclusion as Jesus demonstrated with this Canaanite Woman?

“May God give us all his blessings – even the outsiders – so that all the ends of the earth stand in awe of God … Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.” (Psalm 67)

Amen.