Friday, August 15, 2008

Did Jesus change his mind?


In the Gospel lesson for Sunday, Jesus is approached by a Canaanite woman from the region of Tyre and Sidon - in other words, a non-Jewish woman. She begs Jesus to heal her daughter but Jesus refuses, saying, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

When she persists, Jesus' callousness increases. He says, "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs."

Then, when the woman takes his comparison and uses it in her plea, he relents. She says, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." And Jesus says, "Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done as you wish." And her daughter is healed.

Did the Canaanite woman change Jesus' mind? One line of thought says, "No, he was just testing her, even pushing her, to express her faith. He knew beforehand how it would turn out, and he didn't change his mind. Jesus is divine and never erred."

Another line of thought says that she did indeed make him change his xenophobic position. Like all Jews, he was brought up to ignore foreigners like this woman because they were beneath him. Only when she confronted him and challenged his thinking did he relent and change his mind. As a fully human being, Jesus grew in his understanding as he went through life.

What do you think? Did Jesus change his mind? One position emphasizes Jesus' divinity; the other position emphasizes his humanness. How do you see it?

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