Judged and Labeled by God

 

Sermon 8-16-20 

Grace and peace to you from God our creator and from our risen Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Though Ryan won’t remember much of anything that happened on her baptism day, I still sort of feel like I still ought to apologize for Jesus here. I’m just afraid that he might not be making a good first impression. This is considered one of Jesus’ many “hard sayings.” It goes right along with Jesus’ teaching on plucking out our right eye if causes us to sin… saying he wants us to hate our parents for the sake of the Gospel… saying he came “not bringing peace but a sword,” … saying “the camel going through the eye of a needle” will have a better chance of being saved than a rich person. Yup, these are all Jesus’ words.

And here, we have a couple of whoppers like the blind leading the blind, what comes from the heart is what ruins a person, and finally, Jesus seeming to ignore this woman clearly in need, and then calling her a dog. Yikes, Jesus. Not a good look.

So much ink has been spilled over the centuries to explain, soften, or justify what Jesus says and does to this woman, and I don’t think any of them are completely satisfying. Maybe we need to look for a crumb, or rather, a trail of crumbs, that just might lead us to a destination that makes sense to us.

Every woman in every time and place who has spoken up and spoken out has always been judged harshly - and this Canaanite woman is no exception. She was, after all, judged and labeled as an outsider in nearly every possible way – Canaanite, poor, single mother of an ill child, who was a girl, and she was loud and demanding.  

While this woman was labeled and judged by the world, she judged rightly the correct label for Jesus.  She called him Lord and Son of David while the religious leaders of Jesus’ own people despised and rejected him. She knelt before him and engaged in spirited dialogue with him, while his own disciples seem to almost constantly wander about with their mouths hanging open in surprise.

She knew what Jesus was capable of, and was not afraid to fight to get it, for her daughter’s sake. Even if it meant facing a tired and judg-y savior. She knew that in the end, he would not and could not go against his nature. She knew he would do the right thing – that he would “throw her a bone,” so to speak. And she was right. And I think that’s why he called her faith great.

I wonder if Jesus ever thought about this woman and her great faith again. I especially wonder if he thought about her on that dark Passover night, as he prepared to face his passion and death.

I wonder if Jesus remembered her words about the crumbs and the dogs as he blessed the bread and broke it, and watched the crumbs from the broken pieces fall from the table.

I wonder if Jesus remembered and missed her persistent faith and intelligent repartee as he looked at the confused and surprised faces of his disciples, who would soon abandon, deny, and betray him, sitting at the table with him instead.

During his ministry on earth, Jesus began the work of breaking down boundaries and destroying the labels we give one another. In his death, Jesus is our Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. And in his resurrection, we all are reborn and relabeled as children of God. We, as gentiles and foreigners in God’s original promises, are not left to be satisfied with the crumbs from the table. We have been adopted as children in the waters of baptism, and given a place at the table forever.

And God is continually adding extenders to the family table. And just when we think that the table is full and can’t possibly be stretched out any farther without completely collapsing, God keeps pushing.

Sometimes we are pushing outward WITH God, participating in the mission we share as baptized children of God, bearing God’s creative and redeeming word of love to ALL the world. Other times, we find ourselves pushing the other way, telling God that the table has gone far enough and surely there is no room at the table for THOSE people we label as “unworthy.”

Hanging above the dining room table at my grandma’s house is a poem copied out in fancy calligraphy letters by my uncle when he was a kid. It’s hung there as long as I can remember, and to this day it’s still my grandma’s favorite poem. It goes like this:

I dreamt death came the other night and Heaven’s gate swung wide.

An angel with a halo bright ushered me inside.

And there! To my astonishment stood folks I’d judged and labeled

As “quite unfit”, “of little worth”, and “spiritually disabled”.

Indignant words rose to my lips but never were set free,

For every face showed stunned surprise --Not one expected me!

Imagine, if you will, your own arrival at the so-called Pearly Gates, waiting in line to get checked in by one of the saints. You take a glance around and are astonished at the diversity of people with you in line. You strike up a conversation with some people around you, and when they ask you what congregation you belonged to back on earth, you proudly respond “Family of God Lutheran Church in Buckingham PA”!

What do you expect their reaction to be? Will their face light up, having heard about how we prioritized the community, and went above and beyond for the people around us in need, sharing our assets to benefit and to help one another, even in a pandemic?

 Or will they remember a congregation that paid more attention to our weeds… but didn’t seek to weed out racism? Will they remember a church that is literally on the doorstep of New Hope… and yet, are reluctant to consider becoming Reconciling in Christ? … Will then remember a church that would privilege “rent” and budget bottom lines over existing relationships with community groups who use our building?

What if, on that day, someone from AA or from the Classical Conversations group showed stunned surprised that members of our congregation somehow made “it into heaven”?

The good news is, Jesus DOES expects you at the table. And he also expects all “those people” we judge and label as “quite unfit and of little worth” to be there too. Jesus really, really meant it when he gave his disciples his marching orders at the very end of Matthew’s gospel: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of ALL NATIONS, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

And that’s exactly what we are going to do today. Ryan Elizabeth will be labeled as a child of God, welcomed with open arms into this community of faith, where No Label has barred her from being gathered into the body of Christ – not gender identity or sexual orientation or nationality or economic status or anything else that threatens to divide us. This is an exciting day, and we of course are eager to welcome her as a new member of this congregation. But… are we the type of congregation that she will take pride in being a part of as she grows up? Or will she feel like she will have to apologize for the actions and inactions of this congregation in the face of a world that is in desperate need for a crumb of hope right now? Will she have to remind her congregation of their identity - just as this Canaanite woman reminded Jesus of his? 

Ryan will be marked by the same sign of the cross that we all have – labeled as loved and belonging to God, and called to share signs of that love with the whole world. In the economy of God, there is always enough to go around. Let’s make sure that THIS – the body of Christ -  is the label that we will be remembered for. Together, as Christ’s body here on earth, even though we are dispersed, let’s show the world more than a crumb. Let’s show them Jesus. Amen.