A Crisis

Matthew 15:24 - He answered, "I have been sent only to the lost sheep of Israel."

This is one of the most intriguing passages in the New Testament to me. Here is Jesus, whom we see from our perspective as savior of the world, ignoring someone asking for help he could easily provide and in fact has provided others. Saying only that he is not allowed to help her. How many times have we used a similar excuse when confronted with pain that we were able to alleviate? Answering for myself, too many times. So, this passage makes Jesus very human. He is undecided - or rather decided but not in the way we have come to expect. it is, or should be, jarring to us. This Jesus is someone we can relate to, not some ultra perfect ideal that we are expected to somehow live up to.

It gives us pause and hopefully also gives us a moment of grace. Jesus was human and thought like a human being. If even Jesus can ignore someone's need, we can be forgiven for being less than thoughtful. Yet, we must remember always, that Jesus is about to change his mind. He had been interpreting his call very narrowly. Now, it seems God is calling him to broaden his call, broaden his ministry to others. This is a Jesus who must decide whether to follow his original call or change course to follow his new call. We are also called to discern whether we are still following God's direction. Jesus demonstrates the possibility of growth - growth in empathy and growth in grace and faith. He has come to a crossroads, a crisis of faith.
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