I haven’t thought about Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice in years. This wonderful classic novel is set at the beginning of the 19th century and opens a window into the structure, foibles and twists and turns of the British gentry. Elizabeth Bennett and her sisters struggle to find husbands to save their family’s reputation and position. Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bigley and Mr. Wickham all vie for the ladies’ attention. Set within grand estates and rolling hillsides there is an expansiveness of scenery that contrasts with the limited choices Elizabeth and her sisters face. But it is the courtship between Mr. Darcy and Miss Bennett that tugs at our heartstrings and exposes the nature of prejudice. First impressions can be deceiving. In a world where appearances, class, and character; beauty, wit and charm jockey for dominance in social decisions, they also clash with economic realities so that both pride and prejudice come to bear. Just the coupling of those words, pride and prejudice, is so powerful. For how we show our prejudice is truly rooted in our own pride and the holding on to what we have, or what we think we have. Fear and intolerance also raise their ugly heads. And yet subtleties can make these harder to see.
Matthew speaks of both pride and prejudice in our gospel reading. The pride comes in the disciples and religious leaders holding on to the law, the rules, instead of hearing Jesus’ teaching. Now granted, Jesus was turning the religious rules on their head. Because as you know, dietary rules such as not eating pork or washing before you eat, had been the mainstay of declaring piety. The Pharisees took offense that Jesus wanted to change the rules. I would even say that their pride was at stake. They could demonstrate, even flaunt their religious fervor, by strictly adhering to all the rules. But Jesus was making a more salient point, “It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” If the rules were changed, power might shift, and chaos could follow. Jesus changes the lens through which we look at the issue. It is not about what goes in, but looking at our own behaviors and what is in our hearts. Whether or not our thoughts and actions come from evil intentions. Pride can often lead to bad intentions, make us stretch the truth, not paint someone in a positive light, or even cause harm to our fellows. Jesus wants us to stop allowing pride to justify our petty or wrongful actions.
The second gospel story shows prejudice. At first glance, it looks like Jesus is guilty of prejudice. He withholds the mercy the woman seeks, the mercy of healing her daughter. Now there are several possibilities to understand this. Jesus does not respond because the woman is shouting at him. But Jesus has overlooked so many other behaviors while bringing healing, I find this hard to believe. When Jesus does speak, he affirms the exclusive privilege of Israel. He declares how he was sent only for the lost sheep of Israel. It appears Jesus has prejudged this Canaanite woman, a foreigner, and potential idol worshipper, as not being worthy of mercy.
Yet mercy is what the woman seeks and what we all want. The Hebrew word is hesed which means loving- kindness. God’s loving-kindness is what unites all of Israel and unites us today. Mercy also denotes compassion and tenderness to one who was suffering. Ultimately Jesus coming into the world was a demonstration of mercy, the saving balm of God’s grace. That’s why for centuries we have prayed like we did this morning “Kyrie Eleison, Lord have mercy.” Those words have been chanted in cloisters, whispered in hospitals and shouted on battlefields. We seek God’s mercy for our sins, we seek God’s mercy for our health, we seek God’s mercy for our prejudice. We need God’s mercy to heal our prejudicial ways.
Now if you are thinking to yourself, “I am not prejudice” then you had better reconsider. We all hold prejudices in varying degrees. I would hope we could hold ours up to the light and look again so that we are not like the Pharisees, the blind leading the blind. Of course, I paraphrase there but that kernel of truth goes right back to Jesus. Anytime we are so sure of ourselves as to condemn, as to justify, as to exalt ourselves, then we are truly blind. But when we are open to a new way then we might be divinely surprised.
What looks like prejudice might really be something else. Jesus begins his time with the Canaanite woman with silence, to match her shouting. Then he proclaims his primary mission, saving the House of Israel. Jesus has brought food intended for God’s children and does not want to waste it on the dogs. A prejudicial statement, for sure. Yet the woman embraces that she is not the intended, she is not from the House of Israel. But she proclaims God’s mercy! At the master’s table, even the dogs can eat the crumbs! She trusts that God is so merciful that there is abundance at God’s table. Even a few crumbs can save her daughter! It is her witness to God’s mercy, that leads Jesus to respond, Great is your faith! Her daughter is healed.”
Jesus wasn’t really prejudice, rather focused on his mission. I would also say the woman’s pride (pride in a good way) her devoted love for her daughter, the passion of a mother needing help, had moved her to shout, “Lord have mercy” and get Jesus’s attention to expand the sharing of God’s mercy.
Yet lest we think this was a new thing, let’s remember Isaiah’s words, “And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord… these I will bring to my holy mountain… I will gather them beside those already gathered.” The House of Israel has already been gathered. Now the Canaanites and our very selves, have been gathered into God’s fold. We are included in God’s love and mercy. Recall we are outsiders like the Canaanite woman. God’s promised mercy has been far reaching from the beginning. For Isaiah it meant that the community returning from Babylonian exile would be included, that those Jews left behind not even thought to be worthy to be taken into exile, would be included, and the marginal and the powerless would be included! No prejudice here. No prejudice in God’s Kingdom.
I started the sermon speaking of pride and prejudice, a term I saw reading the novel Zeitoun. Zeitoun is a novel about Kathy and her husband, whose sir name is Zeitoun. They have three daughters who are enthralled with watching Pride and Prejudice. It is a wonderful side plot to the moving, dramatic and true story of the family’s experience before, during and after Hurricane Katrina. Kathy was raised in New Orleans as a Christian but after a divorce, the bigoted behavior of her pastor, and the loving example of her best friend, she converts to Islam. Through their common faith, she meets her husband, a hard-working seafaring man from Syria. Together they have built a successful contracting business. Kathy runs the office and Zeitoun oversees the work. When the storm threatens, Kathy and the children flee for safety, but Zeitoun stays behind to look after their home and properties. I became endeared to Zeitoun through the stories of his family, his hard work ethic, and his eagerness to help stranded people, people he encounters after the storm. He does all of this from his little canoe. It is especially touching when he daily rows over to two houses where he finds dogs, abandoned and afraid. Every day he comes and feeds the dog meat from his freezer. One house still had a dry box telephone, so he was able to call his wife every day at noon, just as religiously as he says his prayers. Even though Kathy watches the news and asks him to leave, Zeitoun stays. All is going well until he is arrested in his own home for suspicion of looting. Then when they discover he is Muslim, terrorism charges are added. His incarceration is shameful. He is held in a makeshift jail much like the detention centers around our country today. Places we wrongfully detain people out of our prejudice. Zeitoun is denied a phone call, strip searched and treated as hostile all because of prejudice. Because he is a Syrian and Muslim. He frequently goes without food because they feed him pork and he lost 20 lbs. He endures solitary confinement, still with no charges, no contact with the outside world. For a month, Kathy did not know if her husband was alive or dead.
Zeitoun suffered the pain of prejudice. Prejudice is defined, injury or damage resulting from some judgment or action of another and disregarding one’s rights. Zeitoun’s rights were grievously ignored because of ongoing prejudice as well as the breakdown of social fabric following a natural disaster. Today, thousands of immigrants are treated appallingly because of the breakdown of our democracy and people’s prejudice and fear. I know our nation is better than the behaviors depicted in this story and in our current situation. But we must be willing to look at what is happening now. To bring our prejudice into the light of Christ, to disavow ourselves of these hurtful and exclusive actions so that all of us can experience Christ’s healings. So that we may know Christ’s mercy.
If you would like to become more informed on another lack of mercy in our nation, I invite you to a Presbytery gathering about Christian Nationalism. Two Princeton Seminary professors will be speaking at this event helping us to understand Christian Nationalism and how we might respond. Join me September 26 from 9:00 to 1:00 at Gilroy Presbyterian Church. I am happy to carpool if you are interested in going.
As for Zeitoun on the morning of his release, he was in his cell praying,
“In the name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful:
Praise be to God, the Lord of heaven and earth. You alone we worship,
and you alone we ask for help. The Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.”
Let all God’s people say, Amen.
