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Showing posts from August, 2020

The Other

The Other Matthew 15:10-28 Christian Community Presbyterian Church, Bowie, Maryland 16 August 2020 Let’s be blunt from the outset. Today’s gospel reading offends hearers. The first part offended the Pharisees. While the Pharisees seethe, we cheer because Jesus puts them – the bad guys – in their place by his actions or words. Then we get shocked at Jesus’ attitude and language toward the Canaanite woman and the Pharisees say, “Aha!” as nice Jesus gets dressed down by the Canaanite woman and is taught a lesson about inclusiveness and love.     In a passage in Romans 11, which I will use later as the call to congregational confession, Paul goes after his own people for their obstinacy and disobedience. He says that God has benched them while the second team – the Gentiles – get their chance to play God’s game of gracious life.     In the same vein, Isaiah, years before either Jesus or Paul, in the words we used as this morning’s call to worship, says that maintaining justice and doing ri