The Twelfth Sunday After Pentecost 2023

In this week’s reading from Matthew’s gospel (15:10-28), Jesus demonstrates the limitless love and grace of God by venturing out beyond the region of Galilee, beyond the ritually pure community of his own people, to the Gentile land of Tyre and Sidon.  The location is significant, because in these two coastal cities Jesus finds himself at some distance from Galilee and Jerusalem, where the religiously acceptable people live.  In so doing, he’s demonstrating that faithfulness and holiness are not determined by how closely we adhere to religious practices and traditions.  Rather, holiness and faithfulness are defined by how well we love – especially our most vulnerable neighbors.  Jesus’ presence among the Gentiles in Tyre and Sidon is a reminder that God’s grace is far more expansive and encompassing than we can imagine, and that God’s concern for people is larger than the limits we often place on God and God’s love.  While there, Jesus meets a woman - a gentile and an outsider.  The rules of religion define her as unworthy and unwelcome.  Through the lens of God’s love, Jesus defines her as a person of “great faith.”