The gospel lectionary reading for Trinity 11 in Year A is Matthew 15.[10-20] 21-28. If we take the whole text, there are two episodes which are both commonly misinterpreted.
The first part concerns the dispute between Jesus and the Pharisees about the washing of hands, and his teaching of the disciples about whether ‘unclean’ food pollutes. It has often been read as Jesus setting aside the food laws of Leviticus and Deuteronomy—but in fact that is not the case.
For a full discussion, see the interview with Logan Williams here.
The second half is Jesus’ encounter with the Canaanite woman, called the Syro-Phoenician in Mark. Popular reading of this sees Jesus as a racist Jew who doesn’t understand the broader scope of the gospel, and has to learn not to be racist from her.
But attention to the text, and the context of Matthew’s gospel, demonstrates how wrong this reading is. Jesus challenges the woman about her convictions, and to his delight finds her someone of ‘great faith’ in contrast to the ‘little faith’ of the disciples in the previous chapter.
For written commentary on his section, see here.
For the really helpful Grove booklet on Disability and the Christian Story, see here.
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