The 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time; September 06, 2009
Park Avenue Presbyterian Church; Des Moines, Iowa
Texts: Proverbs 22: 1-2, 8-9, 22-23
Psalm 125
James 2: 1-10 (11-13) 14-17
Mark 7: 24-31 *
“Jesus the bigot, an exploding Kingdom of God, and the Royal Law of Love”
--} In today’s gospel lesson Mark tells us that Jesus is finishing his summer vacation, too—leaving familiar “Jewish” territory behind in favor of the far off region of Tyre (along the Mediterranean coast). In Mark’s words, “[Jesus] did not want anyone to know he was there;” and despite efforts at “hidden-ness,” Jesus couldn’t escape “discovery.” In “foreign parts,” undoubtedly, Jesus’ skin, dress, or accent could have given him away; and even lacking any U-Tube videos or internet pictures by which to identify him, an otherwise strange woman in what should have been “unknowing” territory manages to pick Jesus—out of the crowds. But what happens next in Mark’s story, is almost unthinkable for us.
Despite our belief in a kind, gracious, giving and forgiving Jesus, Mark shows us a side of Jesus that’s almost unforgiveable. By any count, at the least, Jesus calls this woman, a Gentile foreigner (in her own territory), a “dog.” Feel free to insert your best “Americanized slang” terminology if you like—it’s meant by Mark to be a rather nasty exchange. And I can say that because we know that when Jesus WANTS to respond graciously and generously, he doesn’t hesitate. Consider the similar story in Mark 5 where Jesus is approached by the synagogue leader whose daughter was dying; Jesus without question or rebuttal goes immediately to tend to the girl’s aid. Here, however, Jesus is brutally disrespectful, refusing even the slightest hint at grace. The food of God’s people is not to be taken and given to the dogs! And if we’re not offended, we should be!
It’s fair to say this story really messes with much of what we believe—and want to believe—about Jesus. Surely, Mark must have gotten this story wrong! However, even this doesn’t mean the story can’t be redemptive! So for me, the better question isn’t, “what’s wrong with Jesus?”; rather, it’s “why does Mark tell us this story?” What does it demonstrate, and why is it important? To answer these questions we have to look at lot deeper than just what Jesus says to the woman, and a lot farther than the fact that her daughter is freed of the demon. We have to endeavor to see what Mark’s community would have been seeing, and admittedly, that’s hard for us.
While we think “faith” should offer a different explanation, scholars actually believe that in Jesus’ response to this woman we see a genuine first-century, male dominated, culturally insensitive world-view; a very human picture of Jesus as a product of his own time and place—here holding on to old pharisaical beliefs that God’s particularly chosen “Jewish” people come first. While it’s “surprising” coming from the mouth of Jesus, it’s still accurate, to say Jesus is exhibiting a particularly bigoted, sexist, insensitive, unenlightened perspective—and yet, the Kingdom of God refuses to be denied!
Though odd-sounding to OUR ears, I believe this story would have been particularly aspiring news to Mark’s Christian Community. Remember, in the aftermath of Jesus’ life and ministry, the Roman-Jewish conflict ratcheted upwards. Mark’s community witnessed the ever-increasing domination of the Romans; the Temple in Jerusalem being destroyed; the Jewish leadership that so opposed Jesus comes to a time of transition; and now there are Jewish-Christian conflicts. Perhaps Mark speaks to some temptation among Jesus-believers to return to a more Jewish-centered world view—in light of Jesus’ death and world events. But in that environment especially, however, Mark’s gospel seems to speak to the efficacy of the Jesus movement—clearly demonstrating that the Kingdom of God has no boundaries on the earth. That Jesus’ ministry was just as effective “inside” Jewish boundaries as well as “outside” of them. Clearly for Jesus, the Kingdom of God was beyond the vision of Jerusalem’s Jewish leadership; his life and work meant God’s kingdom “exploded” not only in Galilee, but even beyond the bounds of traditional “Jewish territory”—working just as effectively. It’s as if the Kingdom of God knows many places, but isn’t centered in any one place!
If you recall, facing the story of the woman with hemorrhages being healed and the synagogue leader’s daughter being “saved,” I argued that “faith” wasn’t about how much or “what” we believed in or about Jesus. Rather, “faith” seemed to be presented as God’s mechanism for changing human beings to make US more Christ-like in our behavior. And if we take that concept and lay it over today’s story about this woman who doggedly pursues Jesus to cast the demon out of her daughter, the principle seems to hold—but in a surprisingly new way.
Like unclean persons weren’t allowed to be in public (the hemorrhaging woman or the father wanting Jesus to touch a dying girl), women throughout middle eastern culture in Jesus’ day typically weren’t ever allowed to address men in public. We get that this woman is desperate enough to risk death in order to save her daughter, but Mark describes her standing firm not just in inviting a healing, but recognizing that the Kingdom of God can be enacted by mere crumbs. She suddenly appears as the one “changed” and made more Christ-like, clearly enacting the behavior we previously recognized in Jesus. Jesus is forced to take on a reverse-role, demonstrating the Kingdom of God’s ability to explode anywhere and everywhere in our word, despite the views of some who would try and keep it under wraps. You can’t put the Genie back in the bottle—the Kingdom of God on earth simply will not be denied!
While it seems strange to us that this woman has to act over and against Jesus—who previously has always acted as the representative of God’s Kingdom coming near, what we witness here is that even when worldly cultural patterns of resistance try to deny it, the Kingdom of God cannot be shut down. And whether it’s Jesus’ own resistance, or others who would claim to be like him, saying, “this woman isn’t worthy to receive what is not intended for her!”—what we witness is that the Kingdom of God overpowers human cultural pressures. It’s not so much Jesus as the Son of God that’s bested here; it’s Jesus the representative of only one group of human beings—Jesus who would be for some and not for all, Jesus who would hold back part of the kingdom for those “deserving,” while denying others, Jesus who would seek to hide from human need rather than meet it.
Instead, Mark offers us a vision of the Kingdom of God that moves well beyond the person and work of Jesus—into the world where even Jesus doesn’t have to be rightfully welcomed. And the response of the world—unlike that of the Jewish Pharisees—is that “Jesus has done everything well.” Mark’s story serves to explode the old bigoted conflict between the Jews and everyone else, leaving no doubt that the realm of God is in all the world, and that Jesus-people can’t hide from it. This is not a “peaceful” Jesus—but a radically inclusive, progressive, bold servant of God’s kingdom at work in the world—whose influence cannot be denied, no matter how hard the world’s forces might try. And my question for us as twenty-first century Jesus-people, is what does this tell us about our own life and ministry in Jesus’ name?
Name your current social, religious, or political conflict—and maybe this model holds true for us, as well. God’s kingdom seems far more radically inclusive than we will ever feel comfortable with. On so many fronts, the “fight” seems to be about keeping what we believe is rightfully ours; as if we believed ourselves to be the first, the best, or the most deserving.
It’s why—I’m told—we don’t want to reform health-care. People of means, don’t want to have to foot the bill for people who are poor, and perceived to be lazy bums, people less deserving. Read the gospel story lately? That undeserving bum of a gentile woman simply would not be denied!
It’s why—I’m told—that people don’t like same-sex marriage. We wouldn’t want to consider some people, who appear to have different habits, equally. And hard as we try to find a way to make it possible to treat some human beings different from other human beings based on appearance or habits or preferences—the gospel seems to say that the Kingdom of God cannot be denied!
It’s why—I’m told—that people seldom talk religion in public. We like holding on to our personal prejudices, our beliefs that certain people must be more “special”—or deserving. And it’s funny how “those people” always look a lot like ourselves. But that if we really believed what we claimed we believe when we come to church, our lives would have to be different. So instead of being outspoken about our “faith,” we try and hide it. Like Jesus, “who didn’t want anyone to know he was there.” But the gospel of Jesus Christ, is that God’s ways in the world will not be denied—in spite of Jesus even!
Mark’s story serves to challenge all of us who would claim to be Jesus-people. Like Mark’s first-century believers, you and I represent a new community of God’s people in our own time and place. It’s not just that we’re bad sinful people in serious need of reform, it’s that despite the cultural norms of our own time and place, the Kingdom of God should not be denied. Mark forces us to deal with a Kingdom that is bigger than any of us as human beings, and bigger than the morals and norms we’ve been taught should be normative. Instead, Mark is hoping that his community and ours will recognize that the commitment to God’s Kingdom requires us to step outside our own cultural world-view and live in new ways. Even Jesus. So much more-so, all of us.
The Kingdom of God doesn’t wait for you or I to enact its vision; God’s Kingdom has already been exploded among us in the person and work of Jesus. What seems to be the point is that rather than just waiting for the kingdom to come, like “waiting to die,” we should instead embrace its new vision, celebrate its boldness, and enable it’s furthering. By faith, we have been and continue to be “changed” and made to be more Christ-like. And in this story, the expression of God’s ultimate royal love in Jesus--"loving our neighbor as ourselves"--is forced to be more open. Maybe we don’t want to change… it’s just that the Kingdom isn’t going to stand around and wait on us. As Jesus himself discovers, the radically inclusive, progressive, culturally sensitive, bold Kingdom of God will not be denied! And perhaps, even when we don't want to change, we ought to be able to proclaim, "thank God for that!"
--+ AMEN.
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