Thursday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

I have often reflected on this story about Jesus and the Syrophoenician woman. Is it possible the Savior was rude?

Scripture scholars say the story reflects the tensions of the early Christian community, torn between its Jewish roots and its gentile destiny. It seems that the Jewish disciples of Jesus “targeted” the Jewish neighborhoods of every major city. Naturally they expected to attract their co-religionists with the story of the long-awaited Jewish Messiah. But they soon discovered that gentiles around the edge of the crowd were moving in as the Jews moved out. The disciples had obeyed Jesus’ missionary instruction, “Let the children be fed first.” but they could not withhold the gospel from enthusiastic gentiles.

Acts 13:46 also shows the priority of the Jews:

Then both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, ‘It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you reject it and judge yourselves to be unworthy of eternal life, we are now turning to the Gentiles.

Scholars have found innumerable passages in the New Testament attesting to this thorny question. They believe it was the Church’s first and most soul-wrenching crisis.

But I am fascinated by another interpretation: Jesus was born in a Jewish family among Jewish neighbors. He learned as any child learns, and certain -- shall we say? -- prejudices came with the territory. I don’t think of prejudices as sinful. I consider them normal understandings that, with experience, are sometimes proven demonstrably wrong.

For instance, I have always believed that water runs downhill. Perhaps you believe that too. I think Jesus believed it! But the theory of relativity explains the phenomenon quite differently. It has nothing to do with up or down, and everything to do with the space-time continuum -- and don’t ask me what that is! Did Jesus know about that?  I bet he didn’t.

So we all have certain ideas, understandings and assumptions that, until proven wrong, explain a lot of everyday experience. It’s hard to say what Jesus thought of this Syrophoenician woman but he seems to have been following the script he was given -- until he met her face to face; or more precisely, until she met his bon mot with one of her own.

This woman was not going to be dismissed or put off. She knew what she wanted and she knew who could give it to her. She knew how to deal with men and how to remind men she was as good as any of them.

One reason God became human was to learn what it means to be human. And to be human entails:

1. learning from experience,
2. admitting you’re wrong,
3. admitting you were taught wrong, and
4. doing things you never expected to do, including the right thing.

Our wonderful, humble, good God learned from this noisy, persistent gentile woman what it means to be human and what it means to be the Messiah. If he thought he knew already, she told him he had much to learn! 


In the same manner he teaches us.