The Gospel and Boundaries
Fr. George Smiga
August 16 – 17, 2008
Matthew 15: 21 - 28
There are many ways to explain what it means to be a Christian, many paths by which we might describe how to follow Christ. But today’s Scriptures present us with a very practical description: a Christian is one who reaches across boundaries. We live in a world of boundaries. We are divided, time and again, one against another. Our planet is divided into different countries separated by distinct languages and customs. Our city is divided into neighborhoods. Some of us are white, others are black or yellow. Some of us are gay, others are straight. Some of us are rich, others are poor. Some of us are male, others are female. Sometimes the argument is made that these divisions are healthy and that we will be most happy and most safe when we remain separated from one another. When this viewpoint is translated into social policies, it gives rise to segregation, apartheid, or designing the master race. It is a sad fact of history that a society divided does not lead to peace but rather to violence, war, ethnic cleansing, genocide, or holocaust.
People of faith should be the first ones to recognize the fallacy of accepting divisions among us, because our Scriptures present to us with a vision of unity. In the first pages of the Bible creation is described as a gift from God in which all that is made is good. All humanity, male and female, are made in the image and likeness of God. The Hebrew prophets look forward to a day when all people will be one. Today’s first reading from Isaiah describes a day when all people will worship together on God’s holy mountain. So both in our origins and in our future the scriptures describe a unified world. But today’s world is one of many boundaries. And overcoming those boundaries is a real challenge.
In today’s Gospel Jesus struggles with boundaries. He withdraws from Israel to Canaanite country, and a Canaanite woman comes and asks him to heal her daughter. The Canaanites were not Jews. They were pagans who worshipped many gods. Their sacrifices were seen by Jews as abominations. Most Jews of the time would withdraw from Canaanites. They would not interact with them. Jesus seems at first to follow this approach. He does not respond to the woman. And when she presses her case, he insults her, calling her a dog. But the woman’s persistence, cleverness and faith win out in the end. Jesus heals her daughter. Jesus reaches across the boundary of religion, race, and gender and gives the woman an example of God’s love.
You and I, as followers of Christ, must imitate his example. To be a Christian, it is not sufficient simply to live peacefully in our own subdivision of the world. We must remember the intention of creation and the promise of that future day when all will be one. We must work to build God’s kingdom which is a kingdom of unity. We must do what we can to tear down the walls which divide us.
Parents here hold an essential responsibility. They are called to explain to their children the ways in which the world is divided and how it is God’s intention that those intentions cease. Young people returning to school – particularly high school and college—will enter an environment with much more diversity. Their faith calls them not simply to remain in the comfort of their own clique but to reach out to someone who is different, to try to build understanding and perhaps even friendship. All of us in our neighborhoods and in our jobs must remember the vision of Christ to treat those who are different from us not only with toleration but as children of God. In this political year, when we exercise our right to shape our government, our decisions should be guided by the gospel. Those candidates who call for inclusion and solidarity merit our support. Those who base their platforms on exclusion and fear do not reflect God’s vision for the world.
We live in a world marked by boundaries, but as Christians we understand that those divisions are not according to God’s will. We are called to build God’s kingdom, a kingdom where people can be one. To do this we must first identify who in our life is the stranger, the foreigner, the Canaanite. Then, following the example of Christ, we should reach across that boundary and offer an example of God’s love.
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