The lectionary gospel reading for this Sunday, Trinity 11 in Year A, includes one mandatory pericope and an optional one ahead of it. The second passage is often interpreted as the opposite—a racist, Jewish, nationalist Jesus failing to realise the inclusive nature of the gospel! If the woman is teaching Jesus something about traversing ethnic boundaries, it appears that neither Jesus nor the woman (nor apparently Matthew) has read the previous 14 chapters of the gospel. Historically, it is the followers of Jesus who have been reluctant to enact Jesus’ broad ministry of healing and restoration. Mark does soften Jesus’ abrupt challenging, by having Jesus demand that the children are fed first, before the dogs.