The Human Side of Jesus

The Human Side of Jesus

In reading Matthew 15:21-28, we run across a Jesus who is very Jewish, very tribal, in fact, very human.  He is approached by a Canaanite woman looking for a favor, looking for healing, looking for the Lord to act on her behalf.  “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David, my daughter is tormented by a demon, please heal her.”  Instead of the answer we might expect from the one sent into the world so that “the whole world might be saved,” we get “I am sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.”

 At this point, the woman kneels before Jesus and pleads, “Lord Help me,” to which Jesus replies, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”  For goodness sakes, the Lord of Heaven and Earth is comparing a distraught mother and her child to dogs.  Calmly she replies, “Yes Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master’s table.  Convicted of his human blindness (in my humble opinion) Jesus responds, “Woman, great is your faith, let it be done to you as you wish.” As scripture then tells us, “her daughter was healed instantly.

This is such an important passage in our Scriptures, because we often get so wrapped up in the Godness of Jesus that we forget his Humanity.  The fact is that if Jesus is not human, then nothing he does would matter:  relationships, suffering, death.  If Jesus were only God, suffering would not really be suffering and death would not be a big deal.  After all he will be back soon.  If Jesus were only God, human relationships would be irrelevant since I believe one has to be human to understand what they could mean and how complicated they can sometimes be. 

As a Human Being, Jesus was not born (again in my opinion) knowing all that humans have to learn over a life time by trial and error.  He would not have needed his vision expanded or his boundaries enlarged.  As it is, the Canaanite woman was able to draw Jesus into an experience in which his view of the world was expanded and his blindness to God’s overall plan for Him was taken away.  The human side of Jesus had a limited vision of his mission: only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.  Through this woman, Jesus was able to see the larger vision of his mission, ministry and life.  Her faith and vision helped Jesus be open to and find his larger vision.

If Jesus’ mission and vision can evolve and grow, surely ours can too.  Our interactions with other people can open our eyes to see more and better.  To recognize who my neighbor is and who my family is.  We can ask ourselves questions such as, are Central American children coming to the United States Illegal Aliens or Refugees?  Are they children of God and neighbors who need our help to escape hunger, slavery and war, or are they thieves intent on stealing our birthright?  These are simple questions with complicated answers.  Did Jesus come only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel, or did he come that “the whole world might be saved?”

To answer these questions it is important that we as human beings keep ourselves informed, which includes listening to the opinions of those with whom we disagree.  It is also crucial that we, the Church, remember that the world contains “all sorts and conditions of people,” and that, for better or worse, they/we are all Children of God.

If Jesus can learn from a person a Jewish man should never listen to, a foreign woman, from whom can we learn?  If Jesus, our Lord can change his mind about who to heal and love, about what can we change our minds?  If Jesus came that we might have life in all its abundance, can we live in a manner that others may have this life as well?

“Can we seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves?”