Ok, before you take my title for this post as evidence that I am a heretic, take a second and read today's Gospel reading, the story in which Jesus heals the daughter of the Canaanite woman (Mt 15: 21-28). The woman is a Gentile, and is pestering the disciples of Jesus because she wants her daughter to be healed. They want her to go away. Finally, in an effort to get her to leave the group alone, Jesus says to her: "It is not right to take the food of children and throw it to the dogs." He is using a derogaroty term, and applying it to the Canaanite woman and her daughter. She and her people are being called "dogs," something Jews often did to non-Jews in Jesus' time. Today, I think it is pretty clear that we would call using a derogatory term with reference to people of a particular race an act of racism. So, does that make Jesus a racist? I ask that question because we've all given a lot of thought and discussion to the matter of race in the US the last few days as a result of the shootings in El Paso, which seem to have been motivated by racist and white nationalist sentiments. People from the President on down have condemned racism, as well they should. But I think to answer my question of whether Jesus was a racist you have to look beyond the reference to "dogs" and to His actions. Sure, these days we wouldn't talk that way, but I'm guessing it was pretty commonplace at the time, and perhaps not that offensive. The Canaanite woman was obviously ready for it, and her come-back was hugely effective. No, the proof of whether or not someone is a racist-- by which I mean someone who is prejudiced against another by reason of that person's race-- is in how a person acts. Jesus saw the faith of the Canaanite woman, and healed the woman's daughter, doing the same thing He would have done had the woman been Jewish. His actions spoke a truth that His use of a derogaroty term might have obscured. So in all the discussion about race in this country, we need to focus on what gets done, not on the simple and superficial use of words. Political leaders who claim not to be racist need to act like people who aren't racist, which means treating people of other races and cultures as fellow human beings entitled to dignity and respect. Actions like separating little kids from their parents for extended periods of time speak volumes about whether or not a leader is a racist. If we are to have healing in this country around issues of race, we need to see actions that change things, actions that actually heal, not just provide sound bites. That's what Jesus' actions did. Hopefully those in leadership in this country will do the same.