Matthew 15
Chiaroscuro is the art of using light
and dark in contrast in painting, print art, or photography. The contrast
affects the image with a sense of dimension and gives it a bold impact on the
viewer. I think there is
some spiritual chiaroscuro going on in Matthew 15.
There is a contrast between the faith of the Pharisees and the faith of the
Canaanite woman which gives dimension to what it means to live as God’s people.
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| Nativity by Gerhard van Honthrost as an example of Chiaroscuro |
The chapter begins with a run-in between
Jesus and the Pharisees who accuse Him of breaking God’s Law. It is the
accusation of those who think they are the spiritually enlightened complaining
of Jesus’ defiling deeds. Jesus leaves the Pharisees condemned and says they
are blind guides – people walking in darkness.
The next part of the chapter has the troublesome
encounter with the Canaanite woman who was begging for help. Spiritually
speaking, she would have been considered defiled, one of those who walk in
darkness, separated from God’s mercy. Yet as she plead for mercy we see in her
the reality we all live in. None of us deserves anything from God, and we are
all beggars who should be thrilled to receive the scraps from God’s table.
Jesus compliments her faith and heals her daughter, and she becomes an example
of what it means to live by faith, for she saw that seeking God is not about
what we deserve, but God’s grace.
The disciples walk through each of these
experiences - the healings and the feeding of the four-thousand - as though
they didn’t have a clue. They too, are people we would expect to be
enlightened, but they look like knuckleheads, confused about defilement, the
woman, and the feeding of the crowds.
So what does the contrast reveal? It
reveals that when we come to God thinking we deserve something good from Him we’ve
got it wrong. These accounts give depth to our need for God’s attitude and
actions of grace. It is God’s mercy that counts, not our heritage, past deeds,
efforts, or anything else. Jesus comes to us who do not deserve Him and heals
us of our illness – our sin – and gives us more than scraps which fall from the
table. But even if He had given scraps, they’d be more than enough! God’s grace
– in any amount – is enough.
Lord Jesus, I do not deserve Your mercy, but
I ask you to please make me whole, for my sin has broken me. Thank You for Your
healing. Amen.
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