Read: Matthew 15:21-28
[Jesus] answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table” (Matthew 15:26-27, NRSV).
Carol: It’s been a hard week. I really need someone to talk to, and for some reason, I can’t get this passage from Matthew out of my mind.
Dog: Hey. I’m there for you. I know I’m only an analogy in this story, but even analogical dogs can be your best friend.
Carol: Thanks. So, in this story a Canaanite woman starts shouting at Jesus, begging him to heal her daughter.
Dog: Right. So, we know right away that she’s at a disadvantage, since she’s both a foreigner and a woman. That would have been two strikes against her in those days.
Carol: Don’t kid yourself. It’s still a disadvantage these days. I don’t suppose you’ve been following the news.
Dog: If you’re talking about the recent supreme court decision overturning Roe v. Wade—yes, I did catch something about that. All of us biblical analogies have been talking about it.
Carol: So, you’ll understand why I’m obsessing about this Bible story. The woman cries out to Jesus for help, but he ignores her. Then the disciples (all men) urge him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.”
Dog: I can see why that might give you déjà vu. But keep reading. She persists!
Carol: She does—and I love that about her. One of the commentators I read praises her for her “humility,” but I think this woman has real chutzpah.
Dog: I often find that chutzpah comes in handy when I’m begging. Humility gets me nowhere.
Carol: Exactly. Then Jesus explains that he “was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” On the one hand, that’s better than just sending her packing with no explanation, but it’s still a long way from granting her request. And it seems a bit—well—condescending.
Dog: One never likes to think of Jesus as condescending.
Carol: But it gets worse! After she kneels down and begs, “Lord, help me!” he follows up with how it’s “not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” I mean, send her away, Jesus, but don’t call her a dog….
Dog: Ahem. I’ll overlook that.
Carol. Oh, sorry. Present company excepted. But let’s be honest. That would have been an even bigger insult in the ancient world. Dogs weren’t often kept as pets.
Dog: Point—and apology—taken. But look at what happens next. That chutzpah streak comes to the surface again….
Carol: Yes! She argues with him, saying, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
Dog: I love that part. Although I still dream of the day when I don’t have to settle for crumbs.
Carol: My point exactly. I mean, I’m glad Jesus changes his mind (!), affirms her faith, and heals her daughter. But I’d be happier if she hadn’t had to beg and scrape for it. And I’d be happier still if Jesus hadn’t felt the need to insult her.
Dog: I know what you mean. It’s not how I like to think of Jesus. I like to think of him as always having a kind word for—well—the underdog.
Carol: He usually does. Oh, well. Maybe I just need to celebrate the fact that he does honor her request in the end.
Dog: That’s worth celebrating. But I also think you can take some lessons from her in chutzpah—especially in the face of so many men saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.”
Carol: Very true. I, for one, intend to persist.
Dog: I’m so glad to hear it. I’d advise you to make an absolute nuisance of yourself. In my experience, it often pays off.
Ponder: What do you hear this story saying to you—and to women—in this moment?
Pray: Teach us to pray and to act with holy chutzpah, O God.