In the name of the Father, Son and Holy spirit. Amen.
Over the past few weeks we have spoken about the positive aspects of being sown and planting seed within life, and as I read this week’s Gospel, I wanted to just think about one other aspect, one which perhaps we don’t often like to consider, even though we see it at work so much in life. So let me start by asking you a question, have you ever been offended?
I would hazard a guess that everyone is now saying yes in their heads.
Something will have happened, and our heckles will be up because of it. We almost always immediately react and deal with the situation, likely in a negative way, instinct kicks in and before we know it the situation begins to be inflamed. Reason and calm will have been the last things on our mind,
But what does this have to do with seed, well as I was reading around this week’s scripture, I can across something which struck me as incredibly relevant today, even though it was written many years ago.
The theologian suggested that Offence is a spiritual seed, and that There are four ways those seeds get sown into us:
1. What others said to us - All some people ever hear in their lives are cutting and abrasive words. Sarcastic speeches that pierces like a sword. Sarcastic people can cut you to pieces with their tongue.
2. What others did not say to us - You could be offended because you don’t feel appreciated. No one ever says thank you to you or compliments your effort.
3. What others did to us (negative actions and reactions) – Selfish Actions and humiliating experiences can cause the seed of offence to germinate in our hearts.
4. What people didn’t do for us (a favour or assistance we did not receive)
I found this insight profound and relevant not only to our Gospel, but also to how many in society react to things today, and with the advent of social media, I now would want to add a fifth
5. What the keyboard warriors say – negative appraisals of what someone has done, which you completely disagree with, and before you know it you have engaged in an argument which does nothing but offend and hurt you even more.
I could give you a number of instances which are relevant right now, but I am sure that you can all think of many examples. Instead I want to come back to the Gospel. We hear that the Pharisees are offended because Christ had just spoken about food not being the thing that defiles a person, but rather what come out of the mouth.
This on its own would have been bad enough, but then Christ deals a second blow, by not only naming a wide and varied list of things that cause harm or offence, the things which detract us from our faith, he also suggests that what one person does can cause another to also blindly follow without taking the time to think about the consequences of what they are doing.
The Pharisees were offended because not only did this teaching go against their legalistic rules, but Christ was also suggesting that they were encouraging people into following them blindly.
Of course, as with all of Christs teachings, there are deeper issues here, and they speak to us more than they do to the Pharisees. As we read scripture, we see many examples of where he doesn’t pull his punches, there are times when the blunt nature of his words gives us pause for thought, and perhaps ask ourselves, why did he approach that situation in that way?
Being blunt, speaking frankly, not beating about the bush, speaking plainly, whichever phrase you prefer, they all mean the same thing. They all cut through niceties and get straight to the point, even when it won’t be comfortable for people to hear.
Much of the time we will soften the blow when we talk with people, help them to come to an understanding of what’s going on, but there are times when that simply isn’t going to work. It is shrugged off as something less important, and perhaps they even project it back onto another person as their issue.
However, we know that Christ was without sin, so if His words offend us, then its time to take a long hard look in the mirror and ask, why am I offended, what aspect of our life is He speaking into which needs more attention.
We could leave our exploration of this passage here, but to do so would mean that we miss the opportunity to learn an important lesson. If you have been watching the midweek services, then this passage will be familiar as it was used a few weeks ago.
If we put this into the context of what has just happened with the Pharisees, we see a very different response to Christ words.
In many ways the Canaanite woman has as much, if not more reason to be offended with Christ likening her to a dog when he says, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’
I think that if any of us had approached Christ to ask Him to help us, and received the response that he gave, then it would have floored us. This woman had a lot on her mind her child was in desperate need of His help, and He had shunned her request.
It is likely that if any of us had been presented with the same situation, deep offense would have set in and we would have probably stormed off in disgust. But not this woman, instead she thought about His words and replied, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.’
It’s one of those pure moments of clarity where you inhale deeply in awe of what’s just happened. The woman wasn’t offended, she wasn’t hurt by what had been said, and she remained focussed on what she needed to do. Her thoughts weren’t about nursing a bruised ego, or feeing hurt by Christ’s blunt dismissal, her faith told her that she needed His help, her daughter needed his healing and nothing was going to get in the way of this happening.
No doubt for some this event will resonate with the story in Genesis where Jacob wrestles with God and refuses to let him go until he receives his blessing, which God grants and Jacob from that time is known as Israel. Both events speak of a deep enduring faith, a faith which isn’t shaken by any obstacles which are thrown into their path.
In respect of the woman Christ heals her daughter because he is so moved by her absolute faith in him, which is even more remarkable when you consider that she is not a Hebrew, but rather a Canaanite, a race regarded as second-class citizens.
The two aspects of our Gospel are diametrically opposed. The Pharisees immediately saw the insult, took it to heart and were offended by the fact that they were challenged. The woman, considered the situation and entered into a reasoned conversation with Christ.
These two stories move us deliberately out of our comfort zone, and force us to look deep within and say how do we react to the situations around us. Are we like the Pharisees and immediately go on the defensive, or are we like the woman, who considers the situation before reacting?
Up to this point in the Gospel Christ’s mission was solely to the house of Israel, to help them to understand that he was messiah. Here in this scripture we see the beginning of Him opening himself up to everyone, Christ demonstrates how we can all receive his grace in our lives.
As Christ’s mission was to bring salvation to everyone, he opened up his church, his body to anyone who calls upon him. No one is beyond redemption and as grace renews us, we are reminded that whenever we may feel offended because of the way someone has acted towards us, our first response shouldn’t be to condemn them, but rather to ask ourselves…
why are we offended?
