Genealogy

Faith in Christ Jesus is what makes each of you equal with each other. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave or free, woman or man. Gal 3:28

Our small group is reading Kenneth Bailey’s book Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes. The first chapter of the book touches on Jesus’ birth, the manger scene, the genealogy of Christ, etc. Which seems fitting for the time of the year, but truthfully, I thought it was a mite humdrum. This again. Particularly since he dedicated a whole five pages of small font to the genealogy. C’mon. Let’s get to the meat.

But actually, as I’ve sat on his thoughts over the last week, I’ve come to realize the smashing importance of Matthew’s first introduction to Jesus.

Galatians 3:28 is a particularly meaningful verse to me- the idea that God does not see my gender or my socioeconomic status or my race- He sees who I am and accepts me and wants to use me as a leader for good based on my faith and not anything else. But this is but one verse and I didn’t quite see how it explicitly tied into everything else, to Jesus’ life or messages. He didn’t exactly come from a colorblind/genderblind/economicblind society.

Which makes Matthew’s genealogy outrageous and eye-popping. He includes women in the genealogy. He includes gentiles in the genealogy. He includes kings and prostitutes and shepherds in the genealogy. In the Middle East, genealogies are supposed to be lists of the famous men in a man’s history. But Matthew did it differently. He did it differently because the essence of Jesus’ message is different than the message of his culture (and of our culture). Jesus’ values are fundamentally different.

And this difference continues throughout the story of the birth of Jesus. The angel of the Lord appears to both the woman Mary and the man Joseph. Both the poor, Jewish shepherds and the wealthy, gentile wise men are invited to worship Jesus on the day of birth.

Maybe as you read this reflection you think, eh, c’mon, let’s head towards the meat of the story. But in truth, this Christmas was different for me because I was so clearly reminded of the consistency of Jesus’ message. From his birth to his death, He has invited me to be involved- to worship at his feet, to experience visions, and to offer gifts (as meagre as they are). This Christmas I felt humbled that he would invite me and I felt emboldened because he HAS invited me.

Holy God, thank you for inviting me and accepting me and loving me and knowing me and still loving me. Let my whole life be an act of worship.

Food for Dogs

She came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s bread and throw it to little dogs.” Matt 15:21-28

This story about the Canaanite woman asking Jesus to help her is troubling, embarrassing. He seems so cold. At first Jesus doesn’t even answer the woman, and then he says this heartless speech about not giving food to dogs- insinuating that this woman is a dog. It’s confusing. It’s inconsistent with the other messages Jesus has taught.

So I tried to step back- to look at the bigger picture of what is going on. Jesus just came from giving his inaugural speech in Nazareth where he uses two gentiles as examples of what it is to love. He talks about not judging others until we have taken the pikes out of our own eyes. And then here he is now, surrounded by his disciples, with a person- a woman and a gentile- who is asking for help. This seems like a teaching moment, a moment where he requires his disciples to take a look at the logs in their eyes while also choosing to give the woman a critical test- one that she passes with grace and humility.

In those days, self-respecting rabbis NEVER spoke to women. To give you a taste of the mindset of the era, a Jerusalem scholar Ben Sirach wrote a book of proverbs, which includes this gem: A man’s spite is preferable to a woman’s kindness; women give rise to shame and reproach (Sir 42:14).

To the disciples, Jesus ignoring the woman was a culturally appropriate response- it is consistent with the worldview with which the disciples were comfortable. You can just see their red-faced embarrassment. Send her away, for she is crying after us. They catch each other’s eyes and jog each other’s ribs- doesn’t she know this is wholly improper and unacceptable?

Jesus wants to address these ingrained prejudices. He JUST finished speaking about it and yet the disciples STILL didn’t get the clue. Rather than giving the disciples a lecture, he says out loud what they are thinking- he carries their mixed-up theology to it’s ultimate conclusion- this woman should be thrown out because you think she is no better than a scroungy dog.

It’s acutely humiliating to hear your deepest prejudices voiced. You’re forced to look at it- to see it oozing and unkind out in the open. That’s what Jesus did- because until the ugly is taken into the light, it cannot be healed.

And what about that woman? With all humility she lowers herself to the place of a dog. She doesn’t try to argue herself to a better social standing or try to justify herself as human deserving dignity and respect. She is unwaveringly confident in the goodness of Jesus- the One Who Brings Salvation to All. And He is impressed. And He is full of love. And He grants what she desires.

I feel without words. My insides ache, because I see that I am more like the disciples in this situation- I have ideas of How Things Should Be and my ugly is out there- oozing.

Holy God, heal me. Help me to have faith in your in your goodness- to trust that your love extends out to all, including to me. Let your spirit of peace rest on me.