To God there are no strangers. He is welcoming and compassionate to those who’ve been estranged from Him. Today’s readings emphasize that. They place non-Jews within the circle of God’s love and saving grace. Now, that may not sound remarkable, but to Jews in biblical times it was a radical concept. Ordinarily, the Jewish people -- especially those who cherished their heritage and took their religion seriously, those who concerned themselves with God and with His regard for them – considered non-Jews to be spiritually benighted, outsiders, aliens, untouchables, unsuitable for God’s salvation, even enemies of the faith, of God and His people. That is, of course, unless those Gentiles became Proselytes and adopted Jewish Law and customs, first, and even then they were suspect.

Jewish folks were convinced that they were God’s chosen ones, and so they were, but chosen for what? They may have entertained a vague notion that their mission was to serve as a channel of God’s ways for all people, but they were usually far more occupied with their own purity and blessing. Instead of reaching out to others, they isolated themselves from those who were different. They saw association with outsiders as only the beginning of a slippery slope that could cause them to lose God’s favor. They were afraid of spiritual contagion -- afraid if they associated with those who were different that they might become different, and lose what made them special – their relationship with God, and God’s blessings. That’s what made Jewish community often such a closed, defensive culture – to ward off, like a virus, cultural and religious differences that might cause them to lose their unique position with God.

As best I can determine, though, God wanted His people to serve as channels of His ways and blessings to those who were different and to maintain their distinctiveness as His people in the process, not to cut themselves off from others out of prejudice. Andre Gide wrote, “Prejudices are the props of culture.” God is not in the business of propping up a culture, but of creating an ever-expanding community of people who live in harmony with Him.

You see God looks at people differently. God doesn’t judge people by external features, but inwardly. He no more judges people by differences of gender, language, race, culture, tribe, custom, nationality, or appearance than an astute reader would judge the quality of a piece of literature by its type setting. God regards the heart and the spirit of a person. God is not prejudiced or, if He is, His bias is to accept, love, and redeem whoever is receptive to His grace.

There’s a story about a judge who oversaw the seating of a jury. He glared at one prospective juror who claimed that he shouldn’t be on the jury. “And just why is it that you don’t think you ought to serve on this jury?” the judge asked. “Well, Judge, I’m biased.” Then pointing to the person who sat behind the table, he added, “Just one look at that man convinced me that he’s guilty.” The judge scowled and said, “He’s not the defendant. He’s the District Attorney.” It was a case of mistaken identity based on outward appearances.

Something similar to that happened in the gospel story today. Jesus and His entourage traveled north from Galilee to the eastern coast of the Mediterranean – to two beautiful cities near the sea – Tyre and Sidon. They were so-called “free cities” within the Roman Empire. That meant that they were free from the jurisdiction of any kingdom or province. The diverse peoples of Tyre and Sidon lived independently within the district of Phoenicia. Canaanites, Phoenicians, Syrians, Greeks, Romans and Jews made their homes there. Jesus went, according to his own words, because he was “sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” He was clear about His mission and it was specific -- God sent Him to minister the gospel of God’s Kingdom to Jews who had slipped away, including so-called Hellenistic Jews, who were immersed in Greco-Roman culture and had become rather lax and syncretistic. That’s why He took His disciples there.

Jesus was focused in His mission. So when one of the Canaanites who lived there -- the mother of a possessed daughter -- followed Him around, shouting, “Have mercy, Son of David.” He ignored her. That troubles me a bit, but teaches me about the importance of focus and flexibility. The apostles, on the other hand, were neither. They simply felt annoyed and embarrassed by such public displays and so they suggested that He send her packing. Jesus responded by explaining to the woman that His mission was only to lost Jews and that it wasn’t fair to offer to others what He’d been sent to offer them. That’s when the woman said something that prompted Jesus to reconsider. He might have mistaken her identity. He might have mistaken what God was calling Him to do in that instant. She said, “Lord, even dogs get to eat the crumbs that fall from the family table.” In other words, “Lord, what about collateral grace? What about God’s grace intended for one person also helping others simply because they’re in the right place at the right time and need it?” That’s when Jesus realized that God was working in someone who was different from those He was sent to help. Yes, Jesus was focused, but He also spontaneously responded to God’s guidance in the moment. The woman wasn’t just desperate and trying something that might work for her daughter. God had given faith to that Palestinian woman and, therefore, Jesus expanded the limits of His mission to honor God’s grace -- even though she was different from what He had in mind. You see God regards faith, not pedigree -- not strangers.

We Americans, we American Christians, we Episcopalians, are just as prone to cultural protectionism – to cultural purity -- as the ancient Jews. We can be just as xenophobic, as exclusive, as discriminatory, and as hostile to foreigners, to aliens in our country, even to those among us who come from different cultural backgrounds as ancient Jews were toward Gentiles or as modern Israelis are toward Palestinians. Consider the recent stories about how the Ku Klux Klan has expanded its antagonisms beyond Blacks and Jews to include Latinos and Arabs. Consider the ways Christians of different stripes distrust and reject each other simply because they use different language or styles to worship God. Consider how homogeneous and tribal we tend to be in our churches, which is why they say that the most segregated time of the week is Sunday mornings.

We humans, like other species, tend to respond to others according to differences and similarities. When we see people of our own age, appearance, style, and demeanor, inwardly, we are drawn to them and feel impelled to be open and friendly. When we see people who appear different from us, we are impelled to feel cautious, suspicious, withdrawn, even hostile -- we inwardly close down. This is not the way God sees people or treats them. The Spirit of God is given, among other things, to help us rise above these more primitive, tribal impulses of the animal kingdom and to act, instead, with the impulses of God’s Kingdom.

God looks inside, not at the external differences. He wants us to take after Him. God created us all, with all our differences. God inspired the Prophet Isaiah to say, “Do not let the foreigner say, ‘The Lord will surely separate me from His people.’” God inspired Jesus to see through differences to the Canaanite woman’s faith and to treat her with compassion. God wants us to see and to treat each and every person -- not according to our insecurities, our biases, or our personal preferences, but as He does. He sees us with inner discernment. He regards us with compassion. He treats us with outgoing love and means us to do the same. We’re called to be a people, who take after God, Himself -- to serve as a channel of God’s grace and God’s ways to all peoples, different or not.