Reflection for Sunday, September 9, 2018 – Mark 7:24-37
From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre.[a] He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, 25 but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 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.” 28 But she answered him, “Sir,[b] even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29 Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” 30 So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
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. 32 They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. 34 Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 Then Jesus[c]ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”
Rev. John Gullett
When our family was living in the Philadelphia area, it took me a while to get used to being able to call my brother and ask for tickets to see the Philadelphia 76ers. Mark was working as vice president of marketing for the team at the time, and he had encouraged me just to call and ask any time I wanted to go to a game. As a sports fan, it just seemed too good to be true. My brother eventually said, “John, this is what it’s like when your brother works for the 76ers!”
In a similar way, I think most people, at best, have a vague idea of just how good God is to us. So many people, even in the Church, seem to have such a small grasp of how outstanding Jesus is as a Savior and Lord. Everyone lives by faith. Everyone’s heart is held captive to some thing or someone. And the good news of the gospel is that Jesus is the best and most lovely someone to captivate your heart.
In this gospel passage, we meet the Syrophoenician woman. She is a woman, a Gentile, a Syrophoenician, and her daughter is demon-possessed. She is the most unclean, pagan, farthest-from-God person to encounter Jesus to this point in Mark’s gospel. The story intentionally follows Mark 7:1-23 where Jesus has been teaching about cleanliness. Now the question becomes, if all foods have been declared clean, can all kinds of people be declared clean?
Jesus’ response to the woman is startling: “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” Is this not an insult? No, it is a parable. The clue is in the word Jesus uses for “dogs,” which is diminutive, i.e. “puppies.” Jesus’ mission is to the Jews as Israel’s Messiah – he must go to the cross as Israel’s Messiah to accomplish the mission of God – which will include the Gentiles.
The Syrophoenician woman accepts Jesus’ parable and understands her place within the parable. Tim Keller, in his wonderful book King’s Cross, refers to her “rightless assertiveness.” She is not asserting herself on the basis of her own rights, she accepts that she has no right to the Father’s food, but by faith she believes that the Father’s provision is abundant enough to provide, even for someone like her; and she would like hers now, please. Notice how Jesus marvels at her faith and gives her what she asks. (Scholars have noted that she is the first person to understand one of Jesus’ parables.)
The Syrophoenician woman’s faith is a challenge and a model for all of us. She accepts her place in Jesus’ parable, and clings to him in the midst of it. We tend to think too highly of ourselves, thereby bringing Jesus down with our own inflated view of ourselves. Or, we think too lowly of ourselves and God – How could God accept, forgive, heal, want/value someone like me (which is still an inverted form of pride). One of my spiritual mentors would often say: “Cheer up, Church! You’re a lot worse than you think you are. But cheer up, Church! You’re more loved than you have ever dared to dream or imagine.”
Will you accept your place in the biblical storyline? (Far worse than you ever imagined, having no right in yourself to assert yourself or expect anything from God. And yet, more loved than you ever dared dream or imagine, and therefore you can assert yourself to God and ask for His blessings through the merit and mediation of Jesus.) Is this your confession: He has done all things well? If this is not the cry of your heart today, you need to hear again the melody of the gospel!
– The Rev. John Gullett is the rector of St. Alban’s Church in Auburndale.