Jesus speaks of the things that make us unclean not being what we eat, but what we say.  He reminds his disciples that God looks on the heart, and resultant behavior, not on breaking dietary rules.  He then encounters a Canaanite woman, with whom the Jewish rules said he shouldn’t associate.  He initially seems like he will ignore her plea for help for her child, but then recognizes her faith.  Paul speaks of the lack of faith in Jesus by the Jewish people allowing more opportunity for gentiles to come to faith.

Our faith enables God to work in and through us.

Confession

Lord God, eternal Savior, we sometimes ignore our faith.  We try to follow easy to understand rules instead of Your law of love.  We fail at both.  We don’t learn from our failures, and repeat our lapses in behavior.  Yet you work through our faith, little as it is.  Renew that faith in us so that we can become Your children in word and deed.