VIEWPOINTS
Being a woman in the context of racial discourse and tension (Theology unscripted) Matthew 15:21-281 By Sindiso Jele, Council for World Mission
The college bible studies has taught me that gospel
of Matthew was written by a Jew to the Jewish community. Such a teaching has made me hold the belief that what is said in the pericope would not be of a second guess to the Jewish or those familiar with the Jewish socio-political ideology of those who escaped Egypt and their subsequent descendant of the Trans-Jordan settlement. When Jesus spoke, as the 1st century Palestinian Jew, he was fully aware of the grammar and its contextual meaning both political and religious.
Racism as it was then and now, affects us differently. It strives on the notion of racial supremacy, which according to some finds ordination in religio-political values, beliefs structures that sustain it. In dealing with the gender equality and equity in the context of racial discourse and tension, firstly, it must be appreciated that the patriarchy has learnt the language of the survivors. This makes advocacy complicated, the oppressor is now masked, and hermeneutics of suspicion must be employed. And calls for the hermeneutics of the naked truth to unmask the abuse. The article will also employ the Contextual Bible Study methodology, the purpose of which is to help the readers of this article to appreciate the concept of doing theology in a public space and use of grammar that is missiologically correct. West (2007) argues that the origins of the Contextual Bible Study (CBS) is in the interface between socially engaged biblical scholars, organic intellectuals, and ordinary Christian 'readers' (whether literate or not) of the Bible. Others would connect CBS with the SEE-JUDGE-ACT methodology. Both start from analysing the social situation with the aim of proposing a justice road map, calling for action and thus influence the logical direction of the article.
I will therefore look at the Matthew 15:21-28 pericope within that framework. According to Matthew the woman approaches Jesus Movement with the problem of the child, daughter to be precise, who was possessed with demons. ‘…22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” The answer given by the disciples and even Jesus himself, seem to suggest to the reader that the issue was more than the demon-possessed (spiritual), or it was never about the demons at all, but was about race and economy (bread) and to be precise, who is supposed to enjoy the Yahweh supported economy. Firstly, when approached, Jesus is silent or to the extreme is not interested, as she does not belong to the lost sheep of Israel, the chosen race. Secondly, even the disciples seem to support his silence and ask him to send her away because she is making noise. Thirdly, and finally Jesus breaks his silence and 26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” This means that he cannot help her because she is a ‘dog’. These are racial pronouncements. Jesus as Jew knew the meaning of the word ‘dog’ especially in reference to the gentile let alone a woman.
We are no longer dogs: face to face with racism (Theology unscripted) Theology unscripted can be perceived as reactional, prompt and unplanned. However, as used and understood in this article it is a rejection of stage-managed theology, not read theology but a lived theology. The theology that is honest to the context and reflective of the community life. A rejection of theology based on the pre-conceived ideologies. According to the script the woman was supposed to accept her socio-religious status, being a gentile and woman and thus described as a dog. The scripted theology wants to make the reader believe that the woman accepted that she was a dog. However, if she had accepted, the disciples would not have been irritated. So the woman was brave to challenge the status quo and taught prejudices. www.cwmission.org 19
