All welcome.
All welcome is different from 'you are welcome' or 'the Scottish Episcopal Church welcomes you'; these are personal invitations - come and see, try us out!
No, All welcome, is different; it suggests that everyone, yes, even those who are different from us in whatever way, are welcome. It suggests hospitality for all.
The Canaanite woman in this morning's gospel is different, yet, at the end of their conversation Jesus describes her as having 'great faith'.
What is so special about her?
Matthews audience would have been aware of the enmity that had existed between the Jews and the Canaanites right back to Noah - they would have known the verse in Genesis that cursed Canaan, son of Ham, to be the lowest of the slaves to his brother and, in later verses, the promise given by God to Abraham to give him, and all offspring after him, all the lands of Canaan. So what was this Canaanite woman doing coming and shouting to Jesus, asking him for help?
She, being a pagan would have no knowledge or faith in the Jew's God, yet she put her trust in Jesus, trusting that he would heal her sick daughter. In crossing the rift to approach him she was taking a risk - moving out of her tradition and culture.
Perhaps she had tried everything else and this was her last hope. Perhaps she had heard reports of Jesus' healing miracles; whatever the reason she is not prepared to be ignored - what parent would where a child's health is concerned?
She is not prepared to be ignored; she stands her ground, even when Jesus tells her that he has been sent only to 'the lost sheep of Israel' - Gods chosen people. No, she goes back again - 'Lord, help me' and once again Jesus replies that he cannot change his calling for her. Yet such is her faith that something can be done that she agrees with him but placing herself in the same category as the dogs, a derogatory term reserved for the outsider and inferior, she reminds Jesus that dogs eat the crumbs from under the table. Surely there is a place for gentiles at the banquet of God.
That pushing back of the boundaries, looking beyond Easter, did it. This would be something the disciples would have no comprehension of, but we do, we know of their mission, of the mission they were commissioned for prior to Jesus' ascension - to go and make disciples of all nations. This Canaanite woman was looking forward to the time ahead when All would be welcome.
We hear Jesus say 'great is your faith. Let it be done for as you wish'. This too being a call to Matthew's audience to reach out and bring more non-Jews into the Church
This woman's faith came from within, from her heart - she had no bargaining power. This is the 'within' that Matthew talks about earlier in the reading when his is addressing his disciples about the purity laws.
Jesus knows that God is looking for his Kingdom to include those who are pure not only on the surface but on the inside also - their hearts - their personality - what Tom Wright talks of as 'thoughts and words which come bubbling up from the depths of the personality'.
This is what came from within the Canaanite woman - her faith - that is what Jesus recognised and responded to.
All welcome - today our society is more inclusive than ever before - we have legislation and policies in place to ensure that discrimination should not be practiced. This legislation and all that supports it does not just appear on the statute books - it is hard fought for by individuals and groups who have special reasons to 'get it there'. They like the Canaanite woman in Matthew's gospel will not be ignored; no, like her, their courage and determination drives them onward often facing much opposition along the way. Florence Nightingale whose anniversary of death fell this week was one such person.
But what about us, you and me, do we just accept the status quo - the 'eye bin' reasoning or do we, when we feel very strongly about issue or a cause, feel so moved, as the Canaanite woman and Florence Nightingale did, to step outside our comfort zones and not be prepared to be ignored. Do we feel that call from God and have the faith to pursue 'the cause'. There is an article in this weeks Church Times entitled 'Too much caution makes us soft' - does it? The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States Katherine Jefferts Schori talks of the gifts and talents that we have all been given in huge abundance, but they are not for us alone - we are meant to invest them, even risk them for the good of all and the rewards, as the Canaanite woman found, will be abundant.
I recently returned to work at Elmwood after a break of almost four weeks - a bit traumatic initially but this last week I would not have missed out on.
This week Elmwood hosted the first summer school for 'Art with a passion'; a Fife Council project to support people with learning disabilities to access visual arts. Twenty artists and their supporters along with professional artists spent the week being creative and the artists were tutored in workshops designed to encourage working together and foster inspiration.
On Friday afternoon, at the end of this summer school, they held a reception and exhibition of their work. Not only were their creations amazing, perhaps more importantly, the atmosphere was electric.
This project had taken three years to come to fruition with the usual struggle for funding but the rewards for all involved were abundant. Those I spoke to who had been involved on the 'staff' side had been visibly changed by the week, from the heart not just the pay cheque and the artists and their friends and families talked, laughed and cried. An amazing experience, especially when one remembers that not so long ago these artists would have been the outsiders, but here they were inviting everyone in to share their work.
All Welcome.
Sermon by: Christine Barclay