A Message From Father Bryant

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I think my calendar did not get the word. As I look at the first fifteen days of my retirement,
I will have been home four days. At least next week looks better. I knew I would not simply stop.
It’s not my nature. Here it is Sunday afternoon, and I am already looking at next Sunday’s
lessons. While I have not written the sermon yet, I think I have an inkling of where it might go.
The gospel from Matthew is Jesus telling the Canaanite woman, who is seeking healing for her
daughter, that it is not fair to give the children’s (the Israelites) food to the dogs. There are
several ways to understand the event. Mark, the first gospel to tell the story calls her a Syro-
Phoenician rather than a Canaanite, but either way, she clearly was not a Hebrew. One might be
that Jesus truly believed he was sent only to the lost children of Israel and anyone who was not
was a lesser human being. Another common interpretation is that he knew he would heal her but
wanted to test her faith. Some say he was simply toying with her because the connotation of the
Greek word used was that of a pet dog, some suggest meaning a puppy. And yet, I find it all
troubling. We actually read Mark’s version in last Sunday’s Inquirer’s study. As such
discussions go, we traveled to the question of the pre-knowledge of Jesus. Does God know each
little event that will happen? Is everything predestined? I have to accept Leslie Weatherhead’s
explanation in his book, “The Will of God” where he makes a distinction between the “ultimate
will of God” and the “will of God”. I must be truthful, it has been decades since I read his book,
so I may be misinterpreting him or simplifying his thoughts too much, but what I remember as
his explanation is God ultimately knows what will happen, but he does not micromanage the
world nor us in it.
Where I must face this most clearly is with Jesus and Judas. Many say Jesus knew when he
chose Judas that the disciple would betray him. I cannot accept this for if Jesus did, I can only
comprehend him setting Judas up. Yes, I believe he came to see that it might happen, but unlike
the explanation given in the Gospel of Judas, it was not a plan hatched out between the two of
them. At the last supper, when Jesus said to Judas, “Do quickly what you are going to do”, he
still had the chance to not betray Jesus. I do not accept that some are predestined for heaven
regardless of how they live their lives and others, due to double predestination are reprobates
destined for hell even if they live good and holy lives. I have to believe the most likely way to
understand the story of the Canaanite woman is that Jesus saw his ministry to the Jews, but
seeing her faith, he realized his message was not exclusive to them but to all who would accept
him. I will probably look at it another way by Sunday, but that is one of the things I love about
the Holy Scriptures, Our lives are not static, we are moving and changing and the scriptures can
meet us where we are and transfigure us into seeing God in a new light each day. They give me
hope.
Peace,
Bryant+