Aug 21, 2023·edited Aug 21, 2023Liked by Ben Crosby
A big thank you for putting eloquent words to thoughts that have been swirling through my mind. I’m currently in an episcopal seminary and the book “What Jesus Learned from Women” gets a fair amount of air time. While I am always curious and open to engage with different lenses, this one seems to lead to - as you mention - Jesus sinning through misogyny or prejudice, which is distressing to say the least. I like your image of the “do better” Jesus, because that’s exactly what this is - a Jesus who grows from imperfection and eventually reaches Godliness. The implication, therefore, is that we can reach godliness if we just “do better”, too! Blech. That is not Good News at all - it’s simply a formula for a lot of psychotherapy bills as we try to “do better”.
Oh, that's really well-said, yes! Luther has this nice line where he says that while we of course should see Jesus as an example, we have to first see him as a gift. First he is God for us, freely given - and then, precisely because of that, we can follow him without crushing guilt.
This is very much the approach I took when I preached this passage on Sunday. I bookended the sermon with Prayer of Humble Access and put the woman’s repeated plea into the canonical context of the saints and psalmists who cry to God repeatedly, “How Long?” God responds in a timeframe that makes sense to God (sometimes not to us) and God wants to receive all our deepest, most heartfelt laments and petitions voiced faithfully in prayer.
Thank you for this Ben. It can be isolating hearing this sermon tragically preached like a child thoughtfully yet carelessly drawing outside the lines of a coloring book. I appreciate you addressing this head on and with necessary caveats.
I also used Humble Access in my sermon yesterday and specifically pointed out that Jesus was not a racist jerk because he is the Word-made-flesh. I like your exploration of why preachers who think of themselves as fundamentally orthodox, however, could arrive at the Jesus-was-a-racist sermon.
I guess I always see it through the lens of the quote, "I was sent only to the last sheep of Israel." Jesus wasn't being a racist jerk, he simply had a mission that he was focused on and this woman was distracting him from that. But she humbled herself to the point of him being willing to turn aside from his mission momentarily to heal her daughter. Jesus therefore remains sinless and focused on his mission, and the syrophoenecian woman becomes a model for us who are grafted into God's people (a la Prayer of humble access).
Modern day examples are always helpful for me, so I think of it as being akin to a wealthy/privileged white lady seeking for her own purposes the attention of someone whose mission and purpose is to serve an underserved community. Of course the first reaction is going to be, "I'm not here for you." But she persisted with enough humility that he relented.
But was not Jesus also growing and changing given that he began his incarnate life as a newborn? It is not a sin to have a limited cultural perspective, it is human, yes?
If we believe that there is such a thing as systemic sin, then perhaps we shouldn't let such attitudes off the hook so quickly. Racism goes unquestioned in some communities, but it's still wrong, there as anywhere else. We need Jesus as the one who has the power to deliver us from all such things.
Jesus certainly grew and changed as he grew up, yes (Luke 2:52) - no question there. And it seems likely to me that in non-sinful ways he had (has) a particular cultural perspective.
But I think that's a very different claim from saying that Jesus was racially or ethnically prejudiced or that he misunderstood his mission. If wrong desires and thoughts are sinful, as Jesus teaches us, I don't think you can say that someone is so prejudiced without it being sinful, whether that prejudice is the product of a limited cultural perspective or no. And similarly, for Jesus to so dramatically misunderstand his mission is incompatible with how his relationship to the Father is described in the Gospels.
In other words, we know that however Jesus grew or changed and however he inhabited a particular cultural perspective, he did so in a way that was not sinful and involved constant perfect communion with his Father. And this, it seems to me, rules out certain interpretations of his interaction with the Syrophoenician woman. That's my suggestion, anyway.
I didn't preach this passage this Sunday, but did notice the connection when we said the Prayer of Humble Access! A parishioner asked me after the service about Jesus's statement "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." He was thankfully very clear on Jesus's moral perfection—but he wondered whether this statement was more of a question. Perhaps there is some irony in what Jesus says here.
Two words that I think are often overlooked in the passage but teach a massive lesson on grace - “yes, lord…” when Jesus says it is not right to heal her daughter she agrees. It is not right that the Son should die on the cross in our place. It is not right that we should even receive the crumbs of forgiveness. Acknowledging this, the widow presumed not on her rights but her petition was founded solely on the grace of God.
A big thank you for putting eloquent words to thoughts that have been swirling through my mind. I’m currently in an episcopal seminary and the book “What Jesus Learned from Women” gets a fair amount of air time. While I am always curious and open to engage with different lenses, this one seems to lead to - as you mention - Jesus sinning through misogyny or prejudice, which is distressing to say the least. I like your image of the “do better” Jesus, because that’s exactly what this is - a Jesus who grows from imperfection and eventually reaches Godliness. The implication, therefore, is that we can reach godliness if we just “do better”, too! Blech. That is not Good News at all - it’s simply a formula for a lot of psychotherapy bills as we try to “do better”.
Oh, that's really well-said, yes! Luther has this nice line where he says that while we of course should see Jesus as an example, we have to first see him as a gift. First he is God for us, freely given - and then, precisely because of that, we can follow him without crushing guilt.
Justification precedes sanctification.
Precisely!
This is very much the approach I took when I preached this passage on Sunday. I bookended the sermon with Prayer of Humble Access and put the woman’s repeated plea into the canonical context of the saints and psalmists who cry to God repeatedly, “How Long?” God responds in a timeframe that makes sense to God (sometimes not to us) and God wants to receive all our deepest, most heartfelt laments and petitions voiced faithfully in prayer.
Out: Jesus was the Sinless One
In: Jesus was the One Who Did Not Have To Do Better
lolol amazing
The One Better than which cannot be done
Thank you for this Ben. It can be isolating hearing this sermon tragically preached like a child thoughtfully yet carelessly drawing outside the lines of a coloring book. I appreciate you addressing this head on and with necessary caveats.
I also used Humble Access in my sermon yesterday and specifically pointed out that Jesus was not a racist jerk because he is the Word-made-flesh. I like your exploration of why preachers who think of themselves as fundamentally orthodox, however, could arrive at the Jesus-was-a-racist sermon.
I guess I always see it through the lens of the quote, "I was sent only to the last sheep of Israel." Jesus wasn't being a racist jerk, he simply had a mission that he was focused on and this woman was distracting him from that. But she humbled herself to the point of him being willing to turn aside from his mission momentarily to heal her daughter. Jesus therefore remains sinless and focused on his mission, and the syrophoenecian woman becomes a model for us who are grafted into God's people (a la Prayer of humble access).
Modern day examples are always helpful for me, so I think of it as being akin to a wealthy/privileged white lady seeking for her own purposes the attention of someone whose mission and purpose is to serve an underserved community. Of course the first reaction is going to be, "I'm not here for you." But she persisted with enough humility that he relented.
Thanks Ben, I am on holidays so didn’t preach yesterday but the next time our Syrophoenician friend comes up I will remember your words
Blessings, Michael Peterson
But was not Jesus also growing and changing given that he began his incarnate life as a newborn? It is not a sin to have a limited cultural perspective, it is human, yes?
If we believe that there is such a thing as systemic sin, then perhaps we shouldn't let such attitudes off the hook so quickly. Racism goes unquestioned in some communities, but it's still wrong, there as anywhere else. We need Jesus as the one who has the power to deliver us from all such things.
Jesus certainly grew and changed as he grew up, yes (Luke 2:52) - no question there. And it seems likely to me that in non-sinful ways he had (has) a particular cultural perspective.
But I think that's a very different claim from saying that Jesus was racially or ethnically prejudiced or that he misunderstood his mission. If wrong desires and thoughts are sinful, as Jesus teaches us, I don't think you can say that someone is so prejudiced without it being sinful, whether that prejudice is the product of a limited cultural perspective or no. And similarly, for Jesus to so dramatically misunderstand his mission is incompatible with how his relationship to the Father is described in the Gospels.
In other words, we know that however Jesus grew or changed and however he inhabited a particular cultural perspective, he did so in a way that was not sinful and involved constant perfect communion with his Father. And this, it seems to me, rules out certain interpretations of his interaction with the Syrophoenician woman. That's my suggestion, anyway.
I didn't preach this passage this Sunday, but did notice the connection when we said the Prayer of Humble Access! A parishioner asked me after the service about Jesus's statement "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." He was thankfully very clear on Jesus's moral perfection—but he wondered whether this statement was more of a question. Perhaps there is some irony in what Jesus says here.
Two words that I think are often overlooked in the passage but teach a massive lesson on grace - “yes, lord…” when Jesus says it is not right to heal her daughter she agrees. It is not right that the Son should die on the cross in our place. It is not right that we should even receive the crumbs of forgiveness. Acknowledging this, the widow presumed not on her rights but her petition was founded solely on the grace of God.
When explaining this passage to my fellow Episcopalians who have misunderstood it, I too went directly to the Prayer of Humble Access.