Women of Welcome: Christ-Like WelcomeShembull

Welcome that Extends Compassion

Thoughtful Questions:

1. In both these stories, the disdain many Jews had for lawless people is evident. Sinners (the adulterous woman) and Gentiles (the Canaanite woman) were one and the same: second-class, unclean outsiders. In Jesus’s day, women were already regarded as second-class citizens. And yet Jesus slows down to meet each woman in her moment of need. They both knew they were unworthy of Christ’s compassion: one too exhausted and ashamed to speak, the other desperately begging. Which story of compassion are you most drawn to? Why?

2. In Jesus’s day, some Jews readily referred to Gentiles as “dogs.” So when Jesus engages the Canaanite woman, his language intentionally draws in the disciples to a culturally accepted name for those outside of Jewish culture. Can you think of any terms or phrases that are widely used in our American culture to dehumanize people?

3. Can you identify with the disciples’ annoyance in this second story? Do you ever feel your compassion for others is limited because of their choices or circumstances? What’s Christ’s challenge to us here?