| Winning! Charlie Sheen responded to any question he did not like or to which he did not seem to have an answer with this word. Today, there is a market for “winning” merchandise. I have seen t-shirts, hats, and bumper stickers. Some of this merchandise makes fun of Sheen. Some of it speaks to the attraction we all have to winning. Winning! We all seem to want to win, to be a winner, to be on the side of the winners.
To be on Jesus side, to be on God’s side, the goal is not to win, at least not in the sense that someone must be a loser. Acceptance, forgiveness, mercy, and salvation equal winning for Jesus.
An account of a woman’s faith in Jesus is shared in Matthew’s Gospel (15: 21-28). She was another one of the outsiders with whom Jesus had an interaction of great significance. The majority group that was with and around Jesus did not see her as one of them. In fact, those who had aligned themselves with Jesus, in a certain way, saw themselves “winning.” The Syro-Phoenician woman was clearly not a winner, not one of them.
Jesus, sensing an opportunity to make a point, creates an encounter that emphasizes how far outside, how much of a stranger this woman was. He makes it seem like she has no right to ask him for help. He clearly states that she is not one of the chosen races. He equates her with a dog. She is a loser. Losing!
But, Jesus has another purpose in responding to this woman. Clearly, he shows in his life that outsiders, non-Jews, Gentiles of every sort are to be welcomed into the Kingdom of God. The promises which were discovered by Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses, are not exclusive promises. God, through Jesus, has come to save all people. The Syro-Phoenician woman becomes one more example in the life of Jesus that he had something to give to all people regardless of their race, country of origin, tribe, prior religious affiliation, etc. Even the reading from Isaiah emphasizes that foreigners have come to God’s altar and they offering is to be accepted.
Winning! This woman was not a winner, not an insider. Yet, Jesus responds to her request and heals her daughter.
Have we learned the lessons the Gospels are teaching? The Gospel writers had to choose among many accounts of experiences that Jesus had in his life. All of the writers chose emphasize that Jesus reached out to and responded to outsiders. It was possible for them to overlook these encounters. Instead, the Gospel writer John writes: “It is this disciple who testifies to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true. There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.” (John 21:24-25)
Learning this and accepting this teaching is very important, especially in a world in which there are so many different ways for people to be designated as insiders or outsiders, as winners or losers. As followers of Christ we are invited to love God above all else, and love our neighbor as ourselves. There is no part of the Gospels where we hear that “winning,” or being from the correct side of the tracks, or correct side of the border, or being of the correct color of skin, or the correct version of Christianity, etc., is what determines our future or our fate? None. Jesus must have emphasized the importance of extending his ministry of compassion, forgiveness, and salvation to all people. Otherwise, the apostles would have stayed close to Jerusalem, and Paul might have remained a Jew who persecuted Christians. Instead, as we hear Paul in the letter to the Romans, he went to the Gentiles with Christ’s message, even if it made his own people, the Jews, jealous.
So, do we teach our children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews the importance of including others, especially those who might be vulnerable or be considered outsiders? Are we teaching our children to rise above and beyond the temptation to exclude others or to put others in groups so as to keep them under control?
Winning? Jesus was all about including, accepting, welcoming, forgiving, and saving and not winning. His Resurrection is a victory over death. This is the only “win” Jesus needed to have. It’s the only win that we need. Forgiveness, mercy, and eternal life which are the gifts of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection are the only “winning” we need. As his followers today we ought to deepen the behaviors and habits we form by which we include, accept, welcome, forgive, and preach salvation.
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