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The Turning Point Sherry Lohman - Sept. 6, 2009 Mark 7:24-37 Today’s gospel reading may seem a troublesome passage for us. It appears Jesus speaks harshly to a Gentile woman, a woman who is outside of the Jewish faith. She is a woman from Phoenicia in the province of Syria, who, having heard of Jesus’ ministry, seeks healing not for herself, but for her child. Her circumstances are not really unusual, if you stop a minute to think about it. I’m speaking about the Syrophoenician woman, but I could just as well be speaking about you or someone you know. Who wouldn’t take extreme measures to find help for a loved one. Parents, siblings or friends may do anything they have to, even if it means giving up a kidney, offering blood transfusions or donating bone marrow so their loved ones might have life. Perhaps you’ve heard of women whose bodies could not withstand pregnancy, and so a sister, or even a mother has volunteered to carry the mother’s child in their own womb. We see it in the news all the time, parents bringing their children half way across the world to specialty clinics in the US where they hope to find healing. People in the states travel across the border to Mexico seeking use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.// How many of us here, have made trips to the Mayo clinic in Rochester, or know someone who has gone there for special treatment? So it is with the woman in today’s scripture. She’s doing everything in her power to help her daughter….even if that means begging. She bows and she begs. It’s doubtful any of us have been forced to beg for anything—ever. Perhaps, then, you have been on the other side of it---maybe in your car, passing someone holding a sign, asking for money, or downtown on one of the street corners where a young, unkempt young woman sits with a bowl for change. Maybe you give, maybe you don’t. Either way, how do you feel? I ask because in today’s scripture, Jesus is in that same position. He’s on the other side; not asking for something, but being asked for something. And his response is less than what we might expect, isn’t it? He comes off sounding harsh, not the Jesus we know, the compassionate man who forfeited his life to serve others. It seems so out of character for him. He tells the woman, “Let the children be fed first, but he’s not talking about hers. He’s referring to the Jews. The dogs, then, represent the Gentiles./ It appears that Jesus is on the edge of withholding healing to a child, which is unfathomable in our minds. If you were here last Sunday, you may remember that Jesus spoke harshly to the Pharisees, as well, when they tried to put him on the spot for eating with unwashed hands. He as much as called them “hypocrites,” reminding them that they honored God with their lips but not their hearts. And now this abrupt scene with the Syrophoenician woman. This is not the Jesus we know, is it? This is all very confusing for us. Is it possible that Jesus was confused, too? Jesus was human, as much human as you and I, even though we may find it difficult to imagine. Because he was human, he was born with the same insecurities, doubts, frustrations, anger and impatience as we were. I wonder if we tend not to picture him, as such, focusing more on his divinity. But to deny that Jesus was human actually robs him of the amazing man he was….or, I should say, became. Is it possible that Jesus grew spiritually, as he walked this earth? In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus’ story begins with his baptism. We’ve got the picture implanted in our brain. The river Jordan, Jesus, John the Baptist, and suddenly, the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon Jesus. And boom, Jesus has got it all, and in our minds, he’s set and ready to make disciples of all, bringing the good news of God’s abundant love. We suppose/assume that Jesus comes out of the river,—purified./ That’s what baptism is about, in part. We become one of God’s own in our baptism. We are cleansed of our sin, born into new life. Right? And we sin no more. We are no longer sinners. Do I hear an “Amen?” (I don’t think so!) Our baptism is just a beginning; not the end. We begin a new way of life, certainly, but we have not completely switched from sinner to saint./ Do you think it might have been the same, for Jesus? Are you beginning to see the larger picture? We may forget that immediately following his baptism is another story; a temptation story—Jesus, the man, tempted, over a good period of time. The Bible says, “40 days,” not just a restless night. Not a day of retreat, but an intense time of struggle./// Ever wonder what Jesus struggled over? What it was that tempted him? (There’s a whole story about it in Matthew and Luke’s gospels), but since there’s nothing written in Mark, let’s just picture Jesus pacing back and forth, clamoring, “should I do it, or not?” An ongoing struggle between right and wrong for 40+ days. Did you forget, too, that Jesus immediately began to call disciples, to help him in mission. He couldn’t achieve it on his own; (nor can we). This wasn’t a one man show. Like us, he knew he needed the support of others./ And do you remember the rather remarkable words Jesus spoke following the many healings: “Your faith, has healed you.” Not, “my power, but your faith.” I can’t help but wonder if Jesus’ spiritual growth wasn’t being nourished in his ongoing journey, in the mountaintop experiences and in the valleys, too. Doesn’t our own spiritual growth occur in those same places? Why wouldn’t it, for Jesus? There were plenty of opportunities. The Pharisees, of all people, would continue to attack Jesus and his altered way of living. You would think Jesus could have counted on them for support, since after all, he was on a mission for the Jews. He tried working with them, told them countless parables, and when that didn’t work, he threw up his hands./ Just what did God want him to do? What were the expectations? It appears that Jesus has just about had his fill of the Pharisees, and heads for some solitude, when he is cornered by this Syrophoenician woman. We hear the conversation; Jesus’ quick response to her request—what was he thinking? Perhaps, he was frustrated that those he came to help weren’t interested….was he to abandon them, altogether and turn to a whole other people?/ The woman persists. Hear it, again. “He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” (Remember, it’s not the physical food she wants, but healing). She answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Then he said to her, “For saying that, (because you said that), you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” It is because of her hope, her faith, that her daughter is healed. But something more happened, here. This woman’s persistence and bold, outspoken words made an impression on Jesus. If he was looking for answers, he just came a little closer to hearing them. Maybe he was surprised at the source from which they arrived, and maybe the answers weren’t what he expected. Hold onto that thought for a minute, while we look at the rest of the passage. Remember, there are two healings that take place in today’s scripture. We’ve just touched on the one – but there’s also the healing of the deaf man who could not speak. Two healings, virtually side by side. The first, a request of Syrophoenician woman; a gentile. The second, a man.// Let’s look at it. Chpt. 7:31, “Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. They brought to him a deaf man…”/ Excuse me, was that man a Jew? Gentile?????/// It doesn’t say, does it? Nonetheless, Jesus went about his business, without question, without need to first find a place of solitude, without any hesitancy. He took the man aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue./ And here is the part that’s telling—that reveals so much about Jesus, how his experience with the Syrophonecian woman changed him, and this, I believe…is the good news. Looking up to heaven, Jesus sighed. Jesus sighed./ When do you sigh?/ I sent out an e-mail asking this, earlier in the week and here are a few of the responses I got back. I want to share them with you because they’re so good. A good sigh comes when I see something cool from nature (like a hummingbird or flowers. Others added a beautiful sunset, reflections on fun conversations or experiences or at the end of a work day, completing a task, lying down in bed at night, a nice hot shower after a long day, sitting down with friends for a cup of coffee! Getting to bed early to a quiet house, puppies, a hug from an old friend, a day off, setting quietly by myself, a great prayer session, being outside in great weather, or a cool autumn breeze over warm sun on my face; a sweatshirt or blanket fresh out of the drier in winter; sitting down after a workout. Lots of good sighs! And then there were folks who revealed what came with a bad sigh: seeing a loved one leave after a visit, remembering something stupid that I said and wish I could take back, disappointment, other people’s sadness. A bored sigh might come in an evening with no stimulation, or when one loses hope. Sometimes, there are sighs as an expression of a prayer for strength. Like Jesus, we sigh. We sigh when things are good, and we sigh when things are bad, when we’re feeling frustrated, or hopeless. Jesus sighed, too. And this particular sigh, whether it was out of weariness, relief, or coming to a new realization, this sigh came between two particular healings. And with this deaf man before him, Jesus looks up to heaven and says, "Ephphatha!"--be opened! Be opened!// Was this his prayer, that he be opened; that his mission/ministry might be expanded. Is it possible that Jesus was just beginning to understand that God’s love was meant for more that just the Jews; that it was intended for all of creation./ Is it possible Jesus was lifting a prayer for himself! Verse 35 describes the following, and while we may assume that it’s in reference to the deaf man, we might just as well assume that it was so, with Jesus. “Immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.” What we do know is that Jesus was changed by his experience. He was changed by the persistence of the Syrophonecian woman, and the message she spoke. In his journey, Jesus was growing, spiritually, stretched beyond the mission of one people, to cover God’s mission for all people. This is our good news---that God cares for us, with a radical love. It is a reminder, too, that we are on a mission (God’s mission) that may change and grow, as Jesus’ did—that we may come up against purposes that didn’t seem to fit in with our mission. Like Jesus, we may sigh in frustration, confusion, and misunderstanding. Even so, let us be faithful, watchful in our experiences, spiritually growing, even impressionable for ways we may not be sure of. So that we, too, might be open where we once were closed, and zealously proclaim the abundance of God’s love. Thanks be to God. Amen. |