Once again, it is a great joy to be able to welcome you for your daughter’s baptism today.
And it’s very interesting that because we’re celebrating the baptism today and we have these readings, I need to use a dirty word. Now, I know you’re shocked that I would use a dirty word in front of this baby, but the dirty word is change for how many of us is the word change? A six letter, dirty word. Ah, but in fact, we’re here today to witness to a great change, and as a matter of fact, to witness to two great changes.
And our readings today are all about the change that is going to take place, because in a few moments in, this is going to be baptized in water and the Holy Spirit is going to be given the new life of grace and made a member of our church. What an extraordinary set of changes that is. And a few minutes after that, we as a community of faith are going to witness the change when bread and wine will become for us the body and blood of Christ, whole and entire, completely changed.
So how can we in faith say the changes are dirty work for us? This little baby? And I have to say, she is a very cute little baby is going to be incredibly changed. And each and every one of us who receive the body and blood of Christ are going to be change for the better. And yet, at the same time that I say that, I’ve got to tell literally in this and my mother’s name was in this, so I have a funny feeling she’s going to give me trouble for the rest of my life because my mother certainly did.
But there are going to be times when she is going to feel like she is caught between a rock and a hard place in terms of faith, because after all, don’t. Sometimes we all feel caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to faith. And in today’s gospel, we discovered that all of the major characters the Lord, the Canaanite woman and the disciples are all caught between that rock and a hard place over change forged example Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior of all people, right?
We want the Jesus that invites everyone to his side and welcomes everyone. Yet in today’s gospel we encounter Jesus, who says, Wait a minute, I was sent to save the lost tribes of Israel. It makes it sound enough gospel, a little bit like insiders and outsiders. But today, as we baptize in this, we celebrate that there are no outsiders in our faith.
There were only insiders. So isn’t Jesus caught between a rock and a hard place? Is he Lord and Savior for everybody or only for the lost tribes of Israel? Now we have the Canaanite woman. She truly is made to feel like she’s an outsider. Actually, Jesus calls her a dirty word. Not change, but a B word that is translated as we the master doesn’t throw food to the dogs.
Kind of insulting is Jesus insulting this Canaanite woman? But on the other hand, he says woman of great faith. Oh, it seems that the Canaanite woman just copy between a rock and a hard place is shipped outsider I Canaanite woman, or is she an insider, a woman of great faith? Interesting. And then there are the disciples who say to the Lord, get rid of her.
She’s an outsider. But then again Jesus says to the disciples, No, I’m not sending her away. They’re caught between a rock and a hard place, their attitude and the attitude of the Lord, Well, who’s right? Tough question, isn’t it? Well, in the end, notice what the Lord says. WOMAN Great faith. Your faith has saved you. He heals the daughter.
Jesus invites us to change because actually it isn’t the Lord who changes at all. It’s the disciples and the Canaanite woman who realize that the Lord comes to heal and save everyone, and that there are no insiders or outsiders. There are only those who look to Jesus.