Weekly Liturgy : August 10-16
- Matt
- Aug 10
- 4 min read
Matthew 15:10-28
NLT
10-11 Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand. It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.”
12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?”
13-14 Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.”
15 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Explain to us the parable that says people aren’t defiled by what they eat.”
16-20 “Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked. “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.”
21-22 Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Gentile woman who lived there came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.”
23 But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.”
24 Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.”
25 But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, “Lord, help me!”
26 Jesus responded, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”
27 She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.”
28 “Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed.
REFLECTION
from Matt
Jesus often offended the Pharisees, letter-of-the-law religious leaders who were more concerned with outward appearance than inward formation. In their context, the way a person ate food was a measure of their spiritual condition. A rabbi famously referred to eating with unwashed hands "as great a sin as adultery" (Talmud Tractate Sotah 4b). I'm really glad no one judges my eating habits like that!
Jesus' offense was nothing new — and his followers still offend those who refuse to look past facades to see the beauty and potential inside of people.
Then Jesus heads out of town and is met by a mother advocating for her daughter. At first, he ignores her, seemingly testing his disciples. How would they respond to this outsider, a Gentile? Their reply: "Tell her to go away; she is bothering us..." Interestingly, Jesus doesn't answer the disciples directly. They had already demonstrated that they didn't get it. He speaks to the woman, using the kind of ethnocentric language that would have been all too familiar to those listening in. "I didn't come for you." Imagine the disciples huddled around with their arms crossed, nodding to each other with smug approval as Jesus reinforced their exclusive claim on him.
But Jesus isn't done. He doesn't shoo away this interruptive, bothersome, persistent outsider. Instead, he listens, engages, and heals. Now imagine arms uncrossing and hearts beginning to open up.
May we, like Jesus, live in such a way that there are no more outsiders.
PRACTICE:
Outward Mindset Application
Are there any groups of people you are less comfortable serving than others? Do you treat them differently? Why do you think this is?
Non-Violent Communication Question of the Week
Name what you observe without adding judgment. Replace “you always / never” with a specific example.
Pathway Toward Center
Intellection (Loving God by pursuing knowledge):
Learn more about cultural understandings of dirtiness as experienced in Lagos, Nigeria:
Questions for Reflection
Take some time to work on your inward formation. In what ways would you like to grow in becoming a better human?
“Liturgy” refers to the habits and practices humans use to form community around shared values and meaning. At Church at the Park, we desire to be a community of practice, becoming people who see the world through the eyes of the marginalized, making meaning through the lens of pain and suffering, and committing ourselves to non-violence in a wounded world. This weekly email is intended to provide pathways of practice for becoming the type of people who embody these values.
Many of our reflections on each week's text come from other sources. If you're interested in reading more of what inspires us, here our our two favorite reflections.
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