|
Prelude
Welcome and Announcements *Call to Worship Psalm 46:1-3, 7 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble. Therefore, we shall not fear, though the earth gives way, though the mountains be hurled into the sea, though the waters rage and foam, though the mountains tremble at the tumult. Lord God of hosts, be with us still. *Hymn O God, Our Help in Ages Past Prayer of Confession God of strength, your Son, Jesus, told us that in this world we will endure tribulation. If we should suffer for righteousness sake, save us from self-righteousness. Give us grace to pray for our enemies, and to forgive, even as you have forgiven us. Through Jesus Christ, who was crucified, but is risen. Amen. Hymn 698 Take, O Take Me As I Am Assurance of Forgiveness “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” In the name of our gracious Savior, our sins are forgiven. Be at peace and pray for the peace of the world. First Reading Isaiah 35:1-10 Time With Our Young Disciples Gospel Reading Mark 7:24-37 Morning Message This is one of those texts that we call “the hard sayings of Jesus.” The Jesus we meet in this scripture is contrary to the winsome teacher who sits children on his knee and heals the sick and feeds the hungry. It is a challenge, but I will try to open it up a little for us. One of the most remarkable things about holy writ-the Bible-is that it is not static. It is dynamic. The Spirit moves and breathes across the page and across our lives and across the vast history of the people of God. When our youngest daughter went to college she did as expected- she took classes, did homework, worked out at the rec center. She took a dance class along with her nursing classes, she was an officer in the student health organization. She did healthy living presentations for sororities and fraternities. She met her future husband. She got strep and tonsillitis. Repeatedly. She could not stay well. So, when classes ended that spring, she was scheduled for a tonsillectomy. The day came and my mother went with Caroline and me to the Three Gables Surgery Center. Ed was in Peru at the time and would not be home for a few days. I was grateful for the company. I knew we were in trouble when Caroline came down from her room with an old and tattered stuffed lion she named “Aslan” of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Caroline was more than a little apprehensive, but, she knew fully that urgery was necessary. She would not get well without it. A member of the team came out to speak with her, preparing her for the next steps. The anxiety ramped up. In fact, her hands were shaking and her leg was bouncing up and down. The anesthetist came out and I said a silent prayer of “Thank you, Jesus.” We knew her well and I was sure this would bring Caroline some comfort. I was wrong. And finally, the doctor himself came out and talked with her, reassuring her that she was every bit as important to him as his own children. His job as a father was to love his children and see to their well-being. He would do that with her. All would be well. Soon she would feel much much better. They took her back to get ready and an hour or so later we had word that she was finished and everything went as planned. She would be released soon. Whew! We made it. Only we didn’t. As soon as the pain medication wore off, the anxiety returned. At home, Caroline, who was supposed to remain quiet and rest, paced the floors. Up and down the stairways, in and out of the house. She was in pain. She was very anxious. She wanted her dad, and so did I. I had nursed kids through all kinds of illnesses and hospitalizations and adversity. This was way different. Finally, about twenty-four hours into her recovery, she stomped down the stairs from her room and stood before me and croaked out, “You’re a minister. Do something!” And, friends, I tell you, in that moment, I felt helpless. I had used all my tools. We had prayed, I had tried to comfort, reassure. I had administered medication and offered soothing food and drink. Nothing helped. My prayers for strength and healing turned into cries uttered from my own lips, “Come on. You are God. Do something!” In our text, Jesus is far from home in the region of Tyre and Sidon. This is Gentile country. Jesus may be on a short vacation or sabbatical. He did rest from time to time. As far as we know, he was alone and wants to be left alone. The text says he entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Why? In recent days, Jesus has been mocked and ridiculed and rejected by his own townspeople. He needs a break. And that happens to all of us, doesn’t it? We go and do and rush and wait and adjust and our days and weeks become packed with duty and obligation and soon we run out of gas. We need to step back and rest. Sometimes our bodies or our minds won’t let us go on. We just need to step back for awhile and find some restorative rest. Jesus needed a break. But a break is not what he got. A Syrophoenician woman barges into the house where he was staying, kneels at his feet, and begs Jesus to cast a demon out of her daughter. We should pause for a moment to recognize that in Jesus’ day, little was known and understood about mental, emotional, or developmental illness. The most likely explanation at the time was to attribute abnormal behavior to demon possession. This mother had done everything she knew to do, but her daughter was tormented. Trust me, the behavior my daughter exhibited around her surgery was defying logic and modern medicine, too. I was close to assuming a demon was lurking in Ona, West Virginia. The answer Jesus gave was astounding. Disturbing. “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” Maybe he was just dead-dog tired. Maybe he was drained from travel and teaching and healing. Maybe he was sick of ridicule. Maybe his ethnic slur is just a test to prove this woman’s devotion. Preacher Debie Thomas says all these are possibilities, but they don’t do justice to the power of the story. What does make sense is that the Jesus we encounter here is fully human-a product of his time and place, shaped as we all are by the conscious and unconscious biases, prejudices, and entitlements of his culture. And, he is God incarnate, a holy Son still working out the scope and meaning of the divine vocation that his Father has given him. Jesus knows he is sent to proclaim the Good News. What he is learning is that the Good News is needed in a multitude of ways as he meets his brothers and sisters across time and space. This story is profound. Mark is reminding us of the Jewishness of Jesus. Mark sets that beside the radical act of reaching out beyond culture, race, and religion to meet the Other. And, if we look at a map of the Holy Land-there’s a lot more “other” in the world than those whose lives are spent in Israel. God’s reach is immense. Remember what I said about the Spirit moving and breathing across the page? We see it demonstrated here. The Syrophoenician woman challenges Jesus. “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” They engage in this conversation that instantly reminds us of how often we find Jesus at the table. It is at the heart of his boundary-breaking ministry. He eats with tax collectors and sinners. The table is the place where he shows the world who God is. The table is where God’s people rehearse the great wedding banquet of the Lamb in the kingdom yet to come. The woman immediately catches on and asks, “Lord, where is my Good News? Where is my place at the table? Where is my daughter’s place in the kingdom of God? If your image of Jesus is that he is the picture of perfection, you may find that image blurring some here. In this text, Jesus is not so much perfect as real. Real Jesus accepts the pleas of this woman, this mother, and he allows her-the ethnic, religious, and gendered other-to school him in his own gospel. This has the effect of breaking down bias and prejudice and barrier and revealing to him the greater need for compassion. Jesus never loses a verbal argument with anyone else in scripture, but, he concedes this argument to the female foreigner. He says, “Because of your ‘logos’ or teaching, in Greek, the demon has left your daughter.” Barbara Brown Taylor describes the moment this way: You can almost hear the huge wheel of history turning as Jesus comes to a new understanding of who he is and what he has been called to do.” This woman’s faith and tenacity teach Jesus that God’s purpose will lead him into the unexpected and the unfamiliar and maybe even the taboo in order to advance the kingdom. We are all aware that healing comes in many ways. In this case, a child was relieved of what was thought of as demon possession. If we read further in Mark, Jesus restores the sense of hearing for a deaf man. He makes the lame to walk and the blind to see. Jesus restores afflicted people to their families and homes. It’s all a part of healing and wholeness. But he also send neighbors with casseroles or hammer and nail, or a nurse to sit and listen to our ailments, or a teacher who recognizes your stumbling block, or the church that opens its air-conditioned halls in the throes of a heat wave for those who need respite. That week of our tonsillectomy saga came to an end, thanks be to God. Ed made it home which improved things dramatically. She gradually felt better and it was discovered that the combination of prescribed medication and anesthesia and the stress of anticipation and absence of one member of her support system, and the fact that she had begun working in the hospital where things don’t always have the best outcome, had altogether created a perfect storm. We began to understand why the situation had deteriorated. Just figuring all that out was a gift in itself. We knew what to do the next time and it has helped me understand church folks who face the same or similar situations. I was reminded that I was not really without tools. I wasn’t helpless. In our weakness, God put people in our path to assist us. I do believe every one of the people who came to us and held our daughter’s hand was a good news bearer. I was the Syrophoenician woman in that moment pleading for help and Jesus sent what was needed. That woman shows up all the time everywhere. She is not confined to the pages of scripture. She is not one, but many. Listen? Do you hear them? The pleas for help. From the Apalachee High School in Georgia this week. From the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin and the families of hostages everywhere, for the people of Ukraine, from the mothers and fathers of the drug and alcohol addicted in our town, from those at the margins we hear them: “You’re a Christian! Do something!” * Hymn 378 We Wait the Peaceful Kingdom *Affirmation of Faith The Apostles’ Creed p, 35 *Hymn 581 Gloria Patri Sharing Our Joys and Concerns Pastoral Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer Presenting Our Tithes and Offerings Offertory *Hymn 607 Doxology *Prayer of Dedication Blessed are you, O God, maker and giver of all gifts. Use us and what we bave gathered to bless the world with your love and grace, through the One who gave his life for us. Amen. *Hymn 435 There’s a Wideness In God’s Mercy *Blessing Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen. *Postlude Comments are closed.
|
PastorCinda Harkless Archives
April 2025
|
