Racism is a Sin

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

The easiest way to disarm your sparring partner in any intellectual argument would be to rain down ad-hominem labels on him. Call him a racist, a chauvinist, a fascist, a homophobe, and you can unilaterally declare yourself the victor. Such labels do not attempt to get to the bottom of the truth, but merely seeks to delegitimise and invalidate your opponent’s arguments. The frightening trend is that many frequently use this method to silence other opinions and viewpoints. Recently in America, Jesus has fallen victim to this form of stigmatisation.  He has been accused of being “too white,” which is strange, since Jesus is actually a “brown” Jew.

Let’s be fair, reading today’s gospel through modern revisionist lenses could give the impression that Jesus is indeed a bigot, and only got “woke” because of this Canaanite woman. A modern interpretation would sound like this – Before His awakening, Jesus is wrestling with His own prejudices and a blinkered view of His mission. He was a racist and a chauvinist as evidenced by Him ignoring this woman from the outset and later uttering a racial slur. So, it takes a foreign woman to challenge the Son of David to shake off His prejudices and expand His sense of His mission to include her and her child. She saved the Saviour of the world by opening up His mind and taught Him a lesson or two about being inclusive and tolerant. Thank God for this woman.

Does this interpretation sound reasonable? It would be if the characters were indeed following some modern identity politics playbook. But this kind of interpretation is dangerous as it would be reading our own modern prejudices into the text. Could the Son of God really have been prejudiced? Did He need someone to change His mind or teach Him a lesson about His own mission? If we answer “yes” to these questions, we are effectively denying that Jesus was the sinless One, God-Incarnate, because any type of biasness and prejudice would be sinful. But we are told that He was like us in all things but sin (Hebrews 4:15). Although the Divine Word became flesh, He never ceased to be the eternal second person of the Holy Trinity. He never ceased to be perfect. Therefore, He did not need to learn how to be less racist from a Canaanite woman. There is no need for Him to alter His moral orientation because He is the foundation of all moral truths. 

So then, what exactly is the right way to read this passage? Instead of reading this text as an occasion where the Canaanite Woman schooled Jesus in how to become more inclusive and tolerant, it was our Lord who was teaching this woman and His disciples several important truths. Notice that it was the disciples who wanted to send her away; if anyone in the narrative has not yet understood Jesus’ wider vision for the inclusion of the Gentiles, it is the disciples, not Jesus.

First, there is a lesson of humility. Most of us are more concerned about defending our personal dignity, raising our defences, going on the offensive, than listening to the perspective of another. But here we witness the motherly love of this woman. She was prepared to humiliate herself, throw herself at the feet of our Lord, and be subjected to seemingly hurtful speech for the sake of her daughter. Her love for her daughter and her faith in our Lord’s ability to provide the solution overcame her need to defend her own pride and dignity. In this manner, she puts the disciples to shame. This woman epitomises the ideals of Christian discipleship – she is not ambitious for positions of power and honour, but is willing to place herself in a position of the lowliest servant, a servant who listens patiently and obediently to the Master’s bidding.

Second, there is a lesson of perseverance. The Canaanite woman was not daunted by our Lord’s initial silence and indifference. She did not fear being regarded as a nuisance. Just like the other parables in Luke’s gospel on the virtue of persevering in prayer (the widow and the wicked judge, seeking a neighbour’s help in the middle of the night), the story of the Canaanite woman is another demonstration of the power of perseverance. Faith is not just a one-off experience but grows in momentum and strength when fueled with determination and resilience.

Finally, there is the lesson of the priority of salvation over all other claims. The woman had come to our Lord asking Him to heal her daughter. But He gave her more than she bargained for. In exchange for her faith, He gave her the gift of salvation. The disciples, like the rest of the Jews believed that the Messiah’s mission is confined only to Jews. But here, our Lord reveals to all of them that He has come to seek out and save the lost. He had been sent by the Father for the salvation of souls. As we profess in the Creed, “For us and for our salvation, He came down from heaven.”

But this begs the question: How can we reconcile this with what our Lord says in this passage, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel”? If you read the entire gospel of St Matthew, you would come to recognise that He makes this important distinction between the false Israel and the true Israel.  Membership in the True Israel did not come from lineage or the purity of one’s bloodline, nor did it even come from rigorous and scrupulous observances of the Law. Ultimately, the most important criterion for membership in the True Israel, according to the Gospel of St Matthew, is that the person, the disciple, listens to, adheres and finally does whatever he has learnt from Jesus, and in observing all that has been taught by Jesus, does the will of the Father perfectly. So rather than being excluded by Jesus’ professed mission to the lost sheep of Israel, the Canaanite woman is revealed to be a member of the true Israel because of her faith.

Jesus recognises the woman’s wisdom, insight and faith; this is the only time that faith is described as ‘great’—something of a contrast to the ‘little faith’ of Peter when he gets out of the boat! At the end of the day, it is not racial identity, or one’s political beliefs or sexual orientation which can unite us, what more save us. It is faith. In fact, all this talk about “diversity” is actually a cover for division. At the end of the day, it is faith which unites us and saves us and helps us move beyond all these divisive categories. When St. Paul said that “in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek” (Gal. 3:28), he was talking about how Christ brings unity based on religion, not race. Our Lord does not destroy our cultural and racial identity but redeems it and brings it to alignment with God’s will and purpose for all humanity.

Yes, we are bad at talking about race, in part, because we do not trust each other. Such a lack of trust is a barrier to honesty. And it is hard to have meaningful conversations without that. But our Lord teaches us that we must engage in such conversations, difficult as it may be. This is what evangelisation is all about. Evangelisation is having conversations with those who hold values which are at odds with the gospel. We do so by being both truthful and respectful. Such conversations can never take place without humility and perseverance. Humility is necessary for listening with an open heart rather than being on the defensive or offensive. Perseverance is also necessary because the path to conversion is never quick nor easy. But finally, the solution to racism is not just a human one. The solution to racism is just like a solution to every other problem which arises from sin. The solution is repentance and faith. Here alone is hope for racial reconciliation.