It is not often that we are accepting of others within our midst. Unfortunately our innate wariness of things that are different prevent us from seeing the good in others. Often the attitudes of those around us in society are the attitudes that we portray to others. In the Gospel passage today even Christ appears to succumb to the attitudes of the day (Matt 15:23-26), most particularly the reference to "dogs" (Matt:15:26). Each community determines the boundaries that it is willing to accept within itself and those boundaries and prejudices are in built into the society in which we live. Generations of people have passed down their own understanding of who is in and who is out, which leads to our present day issues around the other who is different.
Matthew's Christ eventually comes to the inclusive understanding of community which we need to follow today. His thinking is not so much different from any in society and yet acknowledges that faith can be found outside the accepted boundaries that we the people have put in place. And yes it is we people. Irrespective of when, people have been responsible for the institution of our dogma and our own prejudices determine our reaction to those who are external to us. We can see this in the recent Black lives matter demonstrations and other movements throughout the world. Today the world is about a people who have been grafted one onto the other through the numerous interconnections that we all share. Paul was only concerned with those who were grafted on to a single root (Rom. 11:17), today we are considering multiple grafts on multiple roots. Our inter-connectedness in the world is greater now then it has ever been in the past.
Our predispositions to hatred and ostracisation need to be re-evaluated in light of our connections not only with other people but also with our environment. Joseph was sold into slavery and found a way forward but still held a dislike of his brothers which is played out in the story of his trickery and deception when they come to Egypt for relief. This is overcome not through his own immediate insight but rather as a result of his interaction with his brother, Judah. Like most of us Joseph needs proof of the brothers' credibility and honesty after his betrayal; can he trust these men who are his brothers? If he can then he can reveal himself and his connection to them and their family. Just prior to the passage that has been read today we hear Judah's impassioned speech, which for the midrash descriptions, is a re-description of himself which influences Joseph's understanding and thus eventual breakdown before the brothers. Joseph moves away from the need to seek proof towards an acceptance of who they are and their inter-connectedness with with each other. Prior to this he was unable to believe their words, not accepting (ma'en) as opposed to accepting (amen).
It is this moment of change that we need to achieve within us in our own interconnected world. It is an understanding that overcomes the awkwardness of our conditioned response to the other and an acceptance of our own inter-connectedness. We need to be able to say amen rather than our normal ma'en to those that surround us. Christ has a moment of denial before he too can admit the amen and need to establish God's community with those who are exterior to the community. It is only when we become one recognising that the divisions we uphold our of our own making, whether they are a result of selfishness or tribal preservation, are little more than tactics to preserve our individuality as opposed to our acceptance of God in the life of others. We do not have to control everything but rather we need to overcome our reluctance to accept God's presence even if we have no proof of God's presence. Our ideas of self have overcome our ideas of knowing even without grounds, so that we can say "Amen" to God in our lives. In doing so we overcome our reluctance to see beyond the graft and discover the root in others is their connectivity to God.
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