This passage reveals a shockingly human Jesus. When approached by a Canaanite woman who desperately seeks healing for her daughter, he first ignores her and then tells her "You're not my concern" before he gives in to her persuasive pleadings and heals her daughter. Biblical scholars through the generations have tried to explain away Jesus' uncharacteristic words and inaction. But I suggest that this story is a mirror into the human heart. When we reverse the roles, putting ourselves in the place of Jesus and Jesus as the one who beseeches us to do the healing, we can't help but see the truth about how we respond to need -- and how Christ calls us to be his hands and his feet in a hurting world.
Please join us for worship this Sunday, August 14, at 10 am, First Congregational Church of Stoughton, an Open and Affirming congregation of the United Church of Christ, 76 Pierce Street, Stoughton. Weather permitting, we will worship in our outdoor chapel.
