To be defiled or undefiled, that is the question

Sermon for Pentecost XII, 2026, delivered at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Louisville, KY
Text: Matthew 15:10-28

Thirteen years ago, I finished up a three-year position at a high-containment microbiology laboratory. We handled, stored, and studied various bacteria and viruses that cause significant disease. We were highly trained and constantly aware of what was clean, sterile, or potentially contaminated, and the mindset that Jesus addresses in the Gospel this morning was how we thought. We assumed that equipment or spaces were contaminated unless we could verify that they had been cleaned. However, we did not throw out expensive contaminated equipment; we instead cleaned it, restoring it to a usable condition. This is ultimately what Jesus’ first point was in the Gospel reading, that people are not inherently unclean, or defiled, but that things they say, and I would add what they do, are what defiles them. And, when it comes to people whom we believe are defiled by nature, as the Canaanite woman was seen, their cleanliness and undefiled nature is revealed by what they say or do from their heart. Her assumed uncleanness was revealed to be a lie when she expressed her faith in Jesus, despite not being Jewish.

We still experience this attitude toward uncleanness today. Almost 20 years ago, conservative Episcopal congregations began leaving the national Church to form the Anglican Church of North America, or the ACNA, over changes in The Episcopal Church’s worship and policies. The same thing has happened in the United Methodist Church over the past six years, resulting in a split in the United Methodist Church and creating the conservative Global Methodist Church. Other conservative Christian churches have discredited the more progressive, liberal churches in their policies and practices. At its core, these are fights over orthodoxy, or who is more sacred and closer to God, and who is profane, or disconnected from God. What we hear in these conflicts is what Jesus said to his disciples, that is, what profanes someone is what comes out of their mouth, not what is in their heart. Some denominations see others the way that Jesus saw the Canaanite woman, unclean on the outside because she wasn’t orthodox in her beliefs. Purity or defilement shows up a little differently when we look at it on a personal or an individual level. You might hesitate to respond to a heartfelt request from someone who doesn’t live the same life you live. You might discount what someone has to say because of their appearance. You might not take someone seriously because of the beliefs that they hold. We cannot judge or declare someone unclean just because they didn’t follow the rules we expect them to follow and then ignore what is in their heart.

What comes out of the mouth of the Canaanite woman, and according to Jesus, what came out of her heart, is pure. She speaks her truth to his power and challenges him on his assumption of her uncleanness, and she becomes a reminder of what he had just said to the disciples about where uncleanness comes from. In that moment when the Canaanite woman challenges Jesus when she says, “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table,” the disconcerting mix of purity from her heart and her non-Jewish appearance gets Jesus’ attention. He realizes that the idea of clean and unclean that he had shared with his disciples is now standing before him in undeniable flesh and blood. What to do? What would Jesus do about this? Does he give in to a cultural bias and dismiss her as forever unclean, and thus of no account? Or does he realize that what is in her heart brings her closer to God? Do we assume that the Pharisees are hung up on the letter of the law, or are they unaware of how close to God someone different from them really is? Do we dismiss the cultural and theological differences of other faithful Christians because we don’t agree with them, or do we look at how close or distant they are to God? Jesus remains consistent in his teaching that intent and what is in the heart is more important to God than following rules to the letter. He affirms the purity of the Canaanite woman’s heart through her words, and heals her daughter. Her daughter was not healed as a consolation for Jesus’ harsh treatment of the woman, but because she had fearlessly shown what was in her heart, at the risk of condemnation. Imagine being in her position, kneeling before the Son of God, who could condemn her, and calling him out. We fall into the trap of seeing others as acceptable to God because they are acceptable to us, even as they stand in fear of our judgement. We should instead take time to listen to them and give them a chance to show us what is in their heart, whether good or bad.

We have difficulty hearing what comes from the hearts of others, and whether it is sacred or profane, like the exchange between Jesus and the Canaanite woman. We have trouble separating sacred words from the outer appearance of those who we consider to be unclean. It is easy to make a snap judgment about who someone is based on appearances or after the first moment of a conversation. So, it is for us to work through the discomfort of hearing truth spoken by someone who is not like us, and resist the desire to speak for God and declare who is clean and who is defiled, who is with God or has turned away. We have that example in Jesus, who saw through the Canaanite woman to her heart and did not turn away from her or have misgivings about her. In the search for purity, we have to be sure to examine what is in our hearts, and what comes out of our mouths before we do the same to others. We have to see with God’s eyes, and hear with God’s ears to understand what glorifies God and what defiles us.