September 6, 2009
Mark 7: 24ff
By Kendall Brown
Last Sunday, I made the comment that every time I read and study the Scriptures, I learn something new. Sure enough, that happened this week. One commentator on this week's lesson points out that often when something critical or earth shaking or just plain important to Jesus' mission happens, a woman is present in the Gospel of Mark. Today's lesson has more to it than a story about Jesus healing a child.
Jesus was having, what we all know as, a bad day. He was trying to get away from it all. He was seeking a moment of rest. Luke would say that he was also seeking some time just to be alone with God and in prayer. He had traveled to a place beyond what had been his normal sphere of work to get away. It was like Evansville folk going down to the Land Between the Lakes for a weekend break. But peace and quiet did not follow Jesus. Instead, his reputation preceded him and one woman in particular was ready and waiting for him. Her daughter was ill and like any good mother, she was willing to do anything for her child, even break the social and cultural rules about women not even speaking to men in public, not to mention arguing with one.
Jesus, on the other hand, was not having one of his best days. Mark tells us that he wasn't quite up to par in his ability to respond to and take care of people. I know the feeling. It has happened to me. I remember one morning a couple years ago when I was on my way to the hospital. This morning I was going to the hospital for myself, instead of making a call on someone else, to have a stress test which ended up with an emergency admission for more cardiac care. Even before the test I knew myself that something was wrong. I had gotten to the point where I could not carry my laptop up the stairs to our apartment without having chest pains. So I was a little anxious that morning and had a few things in my own life on my mind. I made the mistake of coming into the church that morning and sure enough I ran into someone who took me off guard. My response wasn't quite my pastoral best, even a little under my ministerial mediocre. That is where Jesus was that day.
His response was less than ministerial mediocre. His response to the woman's request for help for her daughter was. “it is not right to take the children's bread and feed it to the dogs.” The meaning here is that the gifts he bore were for the Jewish people and not for Gentiles like this woman. There is no way around it. What we are seeing here is Jesus' bad side on a bad day. What we are also seeing is that Jesus is human and that is something that we should neither be embarrassed about not should we try to ignore.
The mother was not about to let go. She came right back with her comment that even the dogs got some crumbs under the table and that even a crumb would be good enough for her. This woman didn't give up on Jesus just because he was having a bad day or because he had insulted her. How often do we give up on another person for much less. She persisted and she won – everybody won, there were no losers.
I think that Jesus, himself, was probably embarrassed and humiliated by this exchange. But this low moment in his spiritual life and ministry is also presented by Mark as a critical thin place in Jesus life.. The persistent mother pushes a whole new direction into Jesus' ministry. A whole new reality opens up for Jesus. Indeed, he is refreshed and renewed in this place, but not the way he expected or that we would expect – such is the way the spirit moves.
Mark indicates the importance of this moment by where he places the story in his Gospel. The story about the Syrophoenician woman is located smack dab in the middle between two stories of Jesus miraculously feeding thousands of people. In Mark 6, we have the familiar story of Jesus feeding 5000 people with five loaves and two fish. When it is over, there are twelve baskets full of fish and bread left over. In Mark 8, on the other side of the story about the persistent mother, we have the second feeding of 4000 people with 7 loaves and a few small fish with seven baskets left over at the end. The stories are similar, but built into them is one significant difference.
The difference is in the blessing. In Mark 6:41 the blessing at the first feeding of a multitude is described in this way: “And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. At the second feeding in Mark 8, the blessing is described in this way: “and he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people.”
The first blessing in Mark 6, is described as a typical Jewish table blessing, “he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke the loaves,...” The second blessing in Mark 8, is described differently. What is described could be the description of any common blessing shared by many Gentiles according to their non-Jewish traditions. “he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, broke them...”
The first multitude was a crowd of Jewish people. The second crowd is far more inclusive and Jesus' blessing acknowledges that indeed the bread on the table is for all, no one is to be considered a dog, or that even those formerly thought of as dogs, now have a place at God's table.
Life altering, direction changing places, thin places that turn us around can happen. I think that knowing that is one of the rewards of acknowledging and becoming acquainted with Jesus' humanity. This Jesus invites all of us, with all of our flaws, with all of our weaker moments, with all of our regrets and wishes that we didn't say this or should have said that, to come to this table. Come, be fed and be whole.
0 comments:
Post a Comment