It is not right…

It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.

“Outsider”, the dictionary defines it as someone who is “excluded from or does not belong to” a particular group.  Outsiders do not have the same advantages that insiders do.  We see an outsider desperate to gain access to the privileges of the ultimate insider group.  The Gentile woman, frantic for her daughter to be set free from a demon, falls on her knees before Jesus and begs him to help her.  She asks him to treat her the same way he treats the Israelites, God’s chosen people.

Jesus’ response may sound cruel to us, but let us look at two reasons why he might have said that children (Israelites) should be fed before the dogs (Gentiles).  First, Jesus understood that his primary mission was to Israel.  He was the Messiah that the Jews were hoping for, and they were his own chosen people.

Second, notice that Jesus did not refuse to heal this woman’s daughter.  Instead, he taught his apostles – and us – that people on the “outside” can receive mercy too!  In fact, the Gospels offer only two stories of Jesus healing from a distance, and in both cases, it i s a Gentile who is healed; a centurion’s servant and this Syrophoenician woman.  bot of these people were outsiders, but Jesus offered them special treatment.  Not only did he reveal his power in a remarkable way through these two, but he also did it quickly, without making them wait for him to arrive.  He stopped their suffering right away –  that is how much he loved them!

You may have people in your family who feel isolated or excluded. Reach out to them.  Think about that terminally ill uncle who never make it to family gatherings or that aunt in a nursing home whom nobody visits.  Think about your grandson or nephew who is not going to church anymore and just moved in with his girlfriend.  Go and visit them.  Spend time with them if you can; or reach across the distance, and send them an email.  Jesus wants to touch them. You can make the difference!

-word among us