I quite frankly do not remember if it was the Yuengling family of Yuengling beer fame or the Busch family of Budweiser fame (or some other brew master family), but what I do remember is the family tradition. It goes something like this: as soon as a baby is born into the family, the patriarch of the family gathers everyone around the bed where the mother and baby are resting, dips his finger into some of the family beer, and puts it into the baby’s mouth so that the first taste the baby has is not mother’s milk, but family tradition.
This is who the family is. This is what the family does. This family consists of generations of proud brew masters, and with an introduction like that into the family pride and the family business, it most certainly will continue. This whole hospital bedside event is an initiation into an identity.
Christians have a similar sort of identity-shaping and identity conferring event that occurs to every new Christian whether they be infants or adults; it is baptism. As the waters run down the forehead and drip into the font, the Christian community gathers around knowing that it has just witnessed the birth of a new Christian.
In the waters we are given forgiveness of sins. In the waters we are given the promise of eternal life. And, in the waters we are given a new family, the family of God. We are made part of the body of Christ.
Just as a taste of beer confers the identity of a brew master upon the child of the legacy beer family, the waters confers the identity of Jesus Christ upon us.
After the waters, we are a people who have been forgiven and we are a people who forgive.
After the waters, we are a people who have eternal life and who seek to give life to others through acts of love.
After the waters, we are a people who are the hands of feet of Jesus Christ, and we have the heart of Jesus Christ.
That heart part is the most important thing, because in the end, we are not who we are because of the ritual things we do externally. We are not God’s people because we tasted beer as a child, or refused to eat pork as the Jewish people, or inhaled as certain type of smoke as a tribal member. Even the waters for us is an external sign and symbol which is an external promise from God that we will never be unloved or forgotten by God.
But, as Jesus proclaimed, it is not what comes from the outside of the body that makes someone evil or righteous, rather, it is what comes from the heart that shows the person’s true colors.
No one feels belittled because I eat or drink some bread or some wine, or because I dip in the baptismal waters. But, someone can most certainly feel belittled by the words of hate that can spew from my mouth.
“Do you not see,” Jesus says, ‘that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile."
So, in the context of a week of Nazis and KKK members feeling as if they can sway the masses with their hate-filled rhetoric, may I clearly state what you already know. For Jesus, it is not what is on the outside that is important. The color of one’s skin is not what is important. What someone does or does not eat is not what is important. As you already know, there is no test of color, or blood, or culture that defines who is in or who is out of God’s kingdom. Jesus died for all. And, that all is a big all.
So, that is why it is puzzling that Jesus refuses to heal the Canaanite’s woman’s daughter. If the kingdom of God is for all, why did she have to fight so hard to get it?
It maybe was no surprise that the disciples tried to shoo her away when she sought healing for her daughter. The disciples are always getting this kingdom stuff wrong, but for Jesus to get it wrong, that is big.
Is the kingdom for all, except the Canaanite’s? Is there an exception to the rule?
If you could exclude some vile person from the kingdom who would you choose? Maybe, there is an exception. Maybe, you can rightfully exclude someone from the kingdom. Maybe, Jesus’ words are only for “us” and not for “them.” Maybe, being a Canaanite is a deal breaker. Maybe, “they” really are dogs who deserve no food handed to them from the table.
“Yet, even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." The Canaanite woman’s words echo clearly.
Even the family pet gets food. Even the family pet is shown mercy. Even the family pet is loved.
Maybe, just maybe, someone like her can receive mercy too. Maybe, just maybe, someone like her can be loved. Maybe, just maybe, someone like you can be acceptable even though someone may have told you that you are unlovable. Maybe, just maybe.
Jesus changes his mind.
God does that you know. God changes God’s mind all the time in order to show mercy. God changes God’s mind with Adam and Eve and lets them live. God does the same with God’s complaining people wandering around in the wilderness after the exodus. It happens.
I do not know if Jesus' change of heart toward the Canaanite woman was an act for the disciples to witness, or if it really was a change of heart that Jesus actually had to go through, but it does not matter, the message is clear. Even a Canaanite deserves love. Even a Canaanite deserves mercy. “Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.’ And her daughter was healed instantly.”
Jesus is not worried about saving face here. Jesus is not worried about needing to be right and needing to double down on a bad idea in order to prove everyone else wrong. Jesus, in the end, is only worried about showing mercy.
Therefore, if Jesus changes his mind about excluding people from the kingdom, then maybe his disciples should also. Students are not greater than their masters after-all. They simply do as the master does.
If a brew master finds a better way to manage the yeast so the beer tastes better, he will not double down and continue with his horrible tasting old ways! Rather, he will teach that new way to his children.
So, it is with Jesus. If Jesus discovers that no one is to be viewed as lesser than, then we too will be taught that lesson.
Once again, Jesus died for the whole world, not just for the believers and not just for those who look like us.
Let us look again at the water. It does not distinguish between the good and the bad. It does not care about the color of skin or the culture to which you belong. It simply washes clean. And, it provides life to anyone who dares takes a sip. The water shows the heart of God, who is loving to all who are touched by the love of Jesus Christ our Lord. And, in case I have not been clear enough, that includes the entire world.
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