Context - it matters!
I haven't written specifically about my lenten Bible study much recently though I have found connections with thoughts I have had in this blog and what I have been reading. But tonight I wanted to share a bit of what he said, because it really helped me understand the story better...
The Bible story is one that always seemed weird to me.
Matthew 15:21-28
Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.”
Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”
“Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
N.T. Wright, the author of my devotion explained some of the context of this that I never realized before. Jesus was traveling through an area of gentiles. This woman was not Jewish and Jesus knew it would hurt his ministry with the Jews if he healed her daughter because he would be seen as a traitor to them. Apparently some Jews called non-Jews dogs, which helps me understand what Jesus said to her. Usually in these stories it seems that the Pharisees are the ones with the snarky comments and Jesus has the perfect comeback, but this time it is the woman with the perfect comeback about even the dogs getting the crumbs. And Jesus tells the woman that she has great faith and her daughter is healed.
This was a great perspective on a story that never made much sense to me. In fact, it always kind of bothered me that Jesus essentially called this woman a dog. And this serves as a reminder that sometimes the context matters - a lot. Especially when something seems offensive. In reading this story, I would find myself getting offended for the woman - offended by Jesus! But in knowing the context, I now understand where Jesus was coming from.
And how often in life do we get offended by something without knowing the context? Instead of being so quick to be offended, maybe we need to do some research into the motives of that person - and maybe we will find that what we are so offended by isn't really what was meant by the comments at all. It reminds me of this verse in James...
James 1:19 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,
Be quick to listen: Sometimes we forget the listening step - we hear, but we don't listen to what's beneath the words. We don't take time to understand.
Be slow to speak: We tend to react pretty quickly to what people say. And when we do that, we don't have time to truly process - or to consider if we might need more information.
Be slow to become angry: In other words, don't get offended so easily, don't get up on your high horse until you know it's something worth getting angry about.
I don't know about you, but these are definitely some lessons I need to learn. I don't generally become angry - but I am often too quick to speak because I want to share my thoughts, and I also tend to stop really listening if I think I know what someone is going to say - particularly if I don't think I'll agree with them.
Listening is hard because it's not about us... but if we do a better job listening, we'll understand people a whole lot better. And that, I think, is worth it.
The Bible story is one that always seemed weird to me.
Matthew 15:21-28
Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.”
Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”
“Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
N.T. Wright, the author of my devotion explained some of the context of this that I never realized before. Jesus was traveling through an area of gentiles. This woman was not Jewish and Jesus knew it would hurt his ministry with the Jews if he healed her daughter because he would be seen as a traitor to them. Apparently some Jews called non-Jews dogs, which helps me understand what Jesus said to her. Usually in these stories it seems that the Pharisees are the ones with the snarky comments and Jesus has the perfect comeback, but this time it is the woman with the perfect comeback about even the dogs getting the crumbs. And Jesus tells the woman that she has great faith and her daughter is healed.
This was a great perspective on a story that never made much sense to me. In fact, it always kind of bothered me that Jesus essentially called this woman a dog. And this serves as a reminder that sometimes the context matters - a lot. Especially when something seems offensive. In reading this story, I would find myself getting offended for the woman - offended by Jesus! But in knowing the context, I now understand where Jesus was coming from.
And how often in life do we get offended by something without knowing the context? Instead of being so quick to be offended, maybe we need to do some research into the motives of that person - and maybe we will find that what we are so offended by isn't really what was meant by the comments at all. It reminds me of this verse in James...
James 1:19 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,
Be quick to listen: Sometimes we forget the listening step - we hear, but we don't listen to what's beneath the words. We don't take time to understand.
Be slow to speak: We tend to react pretty quickly to what people say. And when we do that, we don't have time to truly process - or to consider if we might need more information.
Be slow to become angry: In other words, don't get offended so easily, don't get up on your high horse until you know it's something worth getting angry about.
I don't know about you, but these are definitely some lessons I need to learn. I don't generally become angry - but I am often too quick to speak because I want to share my thoughts, and I also tend to stop really listening if I think I know what someone is going to say - particularly if I don't think I'll agree with them.
Listening is hard because it's not about us... but if we do a better job listening, we'll understand people a whole lot better. And that, I think, is worth it.
Comments
Post a Comment