Clean hearts, clean words, clean love

August 14, 2011
“Clean Hearts, Clean Words, Clean Love”
Romans 11:1-2a; 29-32
Matthew 15:10-28
9th Sunday after Pentecost
Year A






The lesson of race from south Africa

There are a lot of lessons that I bring home from my trip to South Africa. I am still processing a lot of those lessons. The one thing that I struggled with throughout my whole trip – was the definition of race and the meaning of racism. I learned that the definition of race that I grew up with as an black person in America, does not necessarily apply in South Africa. Most of the people that I met, were very proud to day that their identity was as an South African, regardless of what their culture was. I met black people, Indians, whites, and colored (those of mixed race), and even though they were deeply concerned about their heritage, they would always insist that they were South African.
This is the second time that I have attended the world Methodist conference, and it is a conversation that I feel that I have to be a part of. As an African American, oppression, predjudice, racism is so much a part of my – our story. But it is a story that is repeated everywhere, in all parts of the country. I still ask God, why is predjudice and racism so much a part of the human story.

Bishop Chacour’s talk
One of the most compelling speakers of the week – was Bishop Elias Chacour. Bishop Chacour is a Palestinian Christian. He told of a story of why he could hate the jews for what they did to his family – and why he cant afford to hate them. He told a story of how racism is alive and well in his world. And in spite of it he is a faithful Christian. He told us that in many ways he was just like Jesus – being born in the same land.


Jesus is just a person
Interestingingly enough – Matthew 15 tells a story of how He and jesus are not brothers. They may look alike, they may have been born in the same land. But one of them was born a jew and the other a Palestinian. Jesus makes it very clear that his mission is to the lost sheep of the house of isreal and no one else. If you read the entire book of matthew, you will find that of all of the miracles that he does to transform lives, there are only 3 times that he reaches out to those who are not jewish. Of those three – one takes place after his resurrection when he finally tells the disciples to make disciples of all nations.

The Canaanite woman’s wit
The story of the cannannite woman might seem a little strange to us as Jesus tells her that he cant give the food to the children to the dogs. Is he really calling her a dog? The jews thought of all gentiles (anyone who was not like them as dogs). This was not just any gentile, but a gentile. Hebrew scriptures particularly tell Jews, not to associate with cannonites. They were to claim the promisland and to totally destroy all cannonaites. Not to get to know them, not try to understand them, not to relate to them. But to kill them without question. Just as they do to the Palestinians today. So it was the least he could do to call her a dog. Jewish religion is concerned with being clean. The only person capable of true cleaniliness are jews. Everyone else is dirty – thus dogs.
The woman made a simple request of Jesus – he had saved others, please save her daughter. She even acknowledges him as he son of david. And he refuses her request, and calls her a dog.


Was Jesus a racist
Was Jesus a racist? Is the new testament really saying that a personal predjudice okay? Or is it helping us to understand that Jesus was born in a particular time, place and situation. The story of the messiah comes out of the human story. And no matter where any of us are born – we cant escape the story of human predjudice. There is a place in all of our hearts where our predjudice begins and ends. Being a person of faith means being aware of where our faith begins and where it ends, and who is not included in our definitions of us and them.



We are all born baby
Bishop chacour himself said that many people find it hard to believe that he could be Palestinian and Christian. And yet he is proud of his heritage. As a matter of fact, the canannites would have been dogs to the jews, but they became some of the most loyal and faithful Christians in history. Since most Palestinians are muslim, bishop chacour said that many people ask him if he was born Christian. He explains to them that no, he was not born a Christian – he was born a baby. A newborn baby – fresh and innocent from heaven. He has to be taught how to walk, how to talk and how to be a Christian. Just like any other baby born anywhere in the world.
In the eyes of God we are not classified as jewish, or muslim or Christian. God doesn’t care if we are Methodist, or Baptist. All God cares about is whether we are faithful.
Matthew 15 is not a story of Jesus’ Jewishness – it is a story of what it means to be faithful. In America we tend to intellectualize faith as something that you learn, and that you commit to as long as you are being served. In the middle east – where our faith began – faith is a decision. A decision to be loyal no matter what. A decision to remain steadfast no matter what the circumstance. A decision to never take no for answer, to stay on course, to be always be loyal to the promises of God.

Stay faithful to the God that stays faithful to us
God never abandons us – faith is making a decision to never abandon God. All throughout the new testament Jesus outwits any who question him. In this story he meets his match – He says that he cant take the food for the children and feed it to the dogs – she comes back and says even the dogs get the crumbs from the table. In other words I might be a dog, I might be unclean, I might not fit into your in corwd, but I am still a child of god – worthy of salvation. What else could jesus say to that but great is your faith? Her daughter was healed.

She understood the messiah better than the disciples
The disciples didn’t understand anything that jesus was talking about, the learned Pharisees couldn’t make sense of him, the crowd did not know him – but this outsider had enough faith to know that he and he alone had the power to save her. He was the messiah – her messiah, the messiah of the jews and the messiah of all. I saw a sign yesterday which said that Jesus is capable of saving anybody from anything. If we just have the faith that it will be so.

Bishop Swanson’s story of standing firm
Last Friday – we attended evangelistic services at the churches throughout the area. I visited Kwamushu church, in a township. The church is so full of young people, that they cant fit them all in once church. Our preacher for the service was bishop james swanson – the bishop of dallas. His sermon was on faith – and how important it is for us to stand fast. He told a story of how he graduated in the top of his class and always believed that he would go to college. But because he was black, his counselor never even told him to go to college. He thought it was like high school. When it was time for school to start, you showed up, registered and showed up for class. So on the first day of school, he kissed him mother goodbye, took the bus and got in line to register for classes. When the clerk told him that he had not been accepted, the he could not register, he refused to get out of line. He had told his mother he was going to college, and he was determined not to disappoint her. He told the clerk that he was not getting out of line until she registered him. Finally he talked to someone in the admission office. It took him a year to take the ACT, send in his application and do all of the other things he needed to so. But he did get into school, and he was given all the scholarships he needed to pay for it. He went from a unknowing black student in the south – to a bishop of the united Methodist church. All because he had a need, patience, persistence and faith. Faith is a commitment to stay loyal to the promises of God no matter what, no matter how, no matter who.
God never gives up on you – so why should you ever give up on God? Jesus can save anybody from anything. But we have to remember that God wants to save anybody.

The limits of our faith
If Jesus was a product of a time, place and situation. If he can call someone a dog, then so can we. We might not call others dogs, but we all have an opinion. Our faith has limits. There are some people who we think are only worthy of God’s crumbs – while we deserve the whole meal. If God loves me, then he can’t possibly love them. If I am right, then there is someone in our world who must be wrong. If I am an insider, then you must be an outsider. Jesus proves that our faith has limits. Just as Jesus, we have to be aware of where those limits our. So that God can give us the power to overcome them.
Romans – we are all sinners
Romans 11 tells us that even the children of God aren’t worthy of sitting at God’s table. God made sure that at some point we would sin. No matter where we are in life, no matter what country, what culture, we are sinners. Sinners, so that we could learn the lesson of God’s mercy. God’s mercy is the source of our faithful loyalty.

A jews decision to remain faithful
Elie Weisel is a jew, a chosen of God who went through the holocaust. He tells the world of the horrible things that he went through in the holocaust. He tells of his anger at God at who could a God of love allow such things tohappen to him, when others are seemingly living a very good life. He tells of he moment when he ask himself why he should believe in God. And finally he realizes why not. Faith is not about what happens in life, faith is a choice, a decision. Faith is a decision to remain loyal to God no matter what, no matter where, no matter who. Faith is a choice that I will remain steadfast. Faith is belief in a God who remains faithful to me, even when I am faithful to God. Amen.