Today’s Gospel reading issues an invitation: be opened.
It’s what Jesus says while unstopping the ears and tongue of the deaf man brought to him. In this laying on of hands, the man’s ears and tongue are opened, and he can speak plainly. Through this act, the man can relate to the world in a new way, more fully participating in the community.
In what is perhaps a surprising twist, the other person invited to be opened in this set of stories is Jesus. In his encounter with the pleading mother - a gentile, a foreigner, a woman - we watch and listen as Jesus is opened to a new understanding of who, exactly, the kingdom of God is for.
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| Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on Unsplash |
We may feel compelled to shield Jesus from criticism, making excuses for his behavior and finding alternative explanations for why he is so unkind here. “Let the children be fed first,” Jesus says, “for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”
I don’t know about you, but I am always taken aback by this reliance on tired ethnic stereotypes. Calling a woman a dog was certainly not a compliment, even then. We may wonder why Jesus tries so hard to separate himself from the need in front of him - a desperate mother and a sick child.
The woman, however, will not be brushed aside. “Sir,” she replies, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” In her bold and defiant response to Jesus, we hear the invitation to be opened, the invitation, or perhaps challenge, to expand his vision and understanding. God’s power and mercy are not just for the children, but also for the outsiders - the gentiles, the foreigners, the women, the children, the ones tormented by demons, the ones who are left with only crumbs.
Being opened to a new way of seeing and hearing and understanding often takes place with great resistance. We cling tightly to our beliefs and perspectives, finding that the worldview that has been instilled in us since birth is stubborn. Facts don’t change our minds, we simply pick out the statistics that support what we already believe. Coercion doesn’t change our minds, we just dig in harder to our closely-held convictions.
What can change our minds? What can coax us open? Relationships, and stories. We begin to be opened when what was formerly an issue suddenly has a face attached to it, and it becomes personal, instead of abstract and far off. When we begin to open to new perspectives, we start to see complexity and nuance, shades of gray instead of stark black and white. Facts don’t usually elicit compassion, but stories do.
Allowing ourselves to be opened is risky, and uncomfortable. It requires humility, and vulnerability, and holding things loosely. To be opened means that new things will flow in, and that old things will flow out.
How might the Holy Spirit be inviting us to be opened? How might our vision and perspective be expanded to be more welcoming, more compassionate, more attentive to the need in front of us?
Perhaps we might be opened to stories about who can be welcomed within our borders. Perhaps we might be opened to think differently about situations where access to abortion is both heartbreaking and necessary. Perhaps we might be opened to new understandings about poverty and justice and safety and how to address them. Perhaps we might be opened to the new things the Holy Spirit is doing in the church, even when those things feel strange and uncomfortable.
This is my prayer - that we trust God to hold us in the midst of our discomfort and uncertainty as we are pried and pulled and coaxed open.
God, help us be opened to new stories.
Help us be opened to learning from unlikely sources.
Help us be opened to the risk of hope.
Help us be opened to mystery and uncertainty.
Help us be opened to being led on a different path than the one we had planned to journey.
Help us be opened to receiving forgiveness, so shame and regret can dissipate.
Help us be opened to the assurance that we are loved.
Open our hearts to your amazing grace. Amen.
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As a bonus, here's a version of a song that goes along perfectly with this theme, which was included in worship in the sanctuary this morning - Spirit, Open My Heart.
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