Pastor’s Corner – September 8, 2024
Mark 7:24-37
One of the reasons why the gospel of Mark is my favorite among other gospels is because of the rawness of the narrative with no sweet coating. There is spiritual warfare in physical reality. We get a picture of Jesus on a mission, like an exorcist madman who is possessed with mystical power, casting out demons not with gentle reminders that the kingdom of God is at hand, but his fingers pressing hard into the ears of a deaf and mute man, spitting, touching tongue and shouting out loud “Ephphatha!” –be open! Jesus doesn’t simply silence the storm that paralyzed his disciples in fear, but he sees something more, whereby he rebukes it! The world he sees is not what it appears in plain sight, but has a deeper meaning and reality not perceived by many. Only few with mystical sensibility will recognize what appears to be an esoteric understanding of demonic power that Jesus confronts, resists in battle after battle, from village to village, toward the ultimate goal that lies in Jerusalem. And sometimes there are losses, as in his hometown Nazareth, where he is rejected, and he could not perform.
Perhaps this is what he was feeling when the Syrophoenician woman came to him. He wasn’t sure and had to stick to his gameplan. We don’t really know. We are told by some that it was simply a teaching moment, an enlightenment for Jesus, shifting his parochial understanding of his Jewish centered ministry toward a more universal one that celebrates diversity! This is an acceptable lesson we can learn, Jesus’ humanity and limitation and ability to grow is something we can resonate and appreciate in our faith. Another reading suggests that Jesus’ use of the word “dog” wasn’t really an offensive word if we place it in the context of what Jesus meant – as a priority who should be served first in the house where all were dogs including Jews with literal translation – puppies. I don’t buy this interpretation. What Jesus said to this desperate woman pleading for her daughter’s cure from demonic possession, there is no way of going around it. It’s outright offensive. “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”
In response to this unsetting and discomfort name calling, we have a choice. Let’s really listen to the Syrophoenician woman. We don’t know why Jesus was reluctant or resistant against her pleading. Perhaps defeat in this battle was a possibility. The truth is deeper than we imagine. The woman, however, saw this truth, the limitation of Jesus. As hard as he tried as in Nazareth, he alone could not do what she begged him to do, so she speaks out from her desperate human plea that by God’s grace the healing power of Jesus may come through, “even the dogs, under the table eat the crumbs of children.” Not like the unbelieving Nazarenes, she places her faith with Jesus and breaks through Jesus’ retreat, the healing power of God by the bedside of her daughter. Amen.
Pastor Dae