Isaiah 56:6-8 and Matthew 15:25-28

Chelsea Page

Our theme today is “traveling between worlds.” We learn from the gospel that people who know how to travel between worlds, like so many in this congregation and our so many of our ancestors, are people who can change the world. In our Christian calling to change the world, it is important that we win, but we don’t have to worry about winning; we will win. God promises it, and hate cannot stand against God’s eternal reality of love for long. In Isaiah, God promises to “bring foreigners to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house, a house of prayer for all peoples. I will gather others to the outcasts of Israel besides those already gathered.” Jesus made these words of Isaiah begin to come true in his time and place by the way he learned to love, serve, and be served by people who were not just Jews. Jesus healed the Arab woman’s daughter, and he was also healed in return; healed of his limited thinking and fear of not playing by the rules. When you’re healed like that, you can play the game–trying to make the world better–without fear of losing. I don’t mean losing in the long run, as I said; God’s success is guaranteed. I mean losing in the short-term, making mistakes, falling and having to get back up. This is what happens when you’re trying to function outside of your own culture’s comfort zone – you make mistakes; you accidentally say offensive things; you “step in it,” as they say in racial justice training. Maybe Jesus didn’t mean to be so offensive by calling the woman a dog. Maybe he was just trying to make a joke or fall back on a cliché, and ended up with his foot in his mouth. This happens to me all the time when I’m talking with people of color, especially about racism, which I have such an ignorant perspective on as a privileged white American. I’ve learned not to fear this, because it’s going to happen, and if I’m afraid of losing the game, I will never play. I’ve learned to listen, say I’m sorry, and keep trying. Now those are my fears; your fears may surely be different, but I’m guessing you have some. Traveling between worlds puts us in a vulnerable spot. But we can all do this, replace hate with love. It may require making space apart from our regular duties, venturing beyond our comfort zones, and changing our minds like Jesus did, but seriously, what wouldn’t you do for God, if you knew you might fail here and there, but could not lose?