2010-11-21 (am) Mark 7.

24-30 Table Scraps

The setting is a house somewhere near the city of Tyre. Tyre rivals Jerusalem in

population and importance. A knock interrupts a rare quiet, while a mother prays for her

daughter. She rises and opens the door.

“Oh, hi Susan. Please come in.”

“How is she? Any change at all?”

A deep, tremulous sigh, “Not at all. What’s so frustrating are the times when she’s

normal. They don’t happen much anymore, but they’re often enough to get our hopes up.

But then the demon comes and well, it’s awful. It’s all we can do to get her to her room

and tie her to her bed. I don’t know what we’re going to do when she gets older. But

there’s no hope, none at all.

“Have you tried praying?”

“Yes, I was just praying before you came. It gives me some peace, but still, there’s

no change. I just wish there was someone I can turn to.”

“Have you tried the magicians?”

“Yes. Nothing.”

“What about the priests at the goddess temple?”

“No luck there either. I even went to the rabbi at the Jewish synagogue. They

barely glanced at me before kicking me out.”

“Hey, have you heard about what’s been happening?”

“No, what?”

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 “They say there’s a powerful healer in Palestine. I heard it from Martha, who

overheard Joshua the synagogue ruler talking about him a couple of days ago. They say

he’s upsetting the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. But the stories, well, they’re just too good

to be true. One person even claimed he raised a girl from the dead. She was only twelve,

just a year older than your Tabitha.”

“Really? A powerful Jewish healer? Oh, but what’s the use. There’s no way we

can get her to him. And he’ll never come here.”

“But he is here! He must be laying low, because he didn’t go to the synagogue

first, but just went over to Michael’s house.”

“Michael? He’s always been fair to everyone. Is he really there? This great

healer? Here, in my town? Do you think he can help Tabitha? I mean, would he? He’s

a Jew. He’s not one of us.” She paced back and forth a bit, then, making up her mind,

she said, “Well there’s only one way to find out. And if he’s half as powerful as you say

then, I’m not leaving his side until Tabitha is cured. Will you stay here and watch?”

“Why, of course, go on, get over there, now.”

Another knock, another door, Michael opens it, “Dorcas, hello. Terrible thing

about Tabitha, such a delightful girl. How is she?”

“It is terrible. She’s hardly herself anymore. Michael, you’ve always been kind to

me. May I come in? I just heard that Jesus is here. Can I see him?”

“What, oh, um, I don’t know.”

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 But Dorcas, in her desperation looked past Michael into the house. There she saw

a man teaching a group of other men. Without really thinking, she rushed past Michael

and fell at the man’s feet.

“Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from

demon-possession. Please Lord, help her. Please, please, please!”

Jesus ignored the woman and kept on teaching.

After a while, the disciples grew uncomfortable. “Um Jesus, the woman, just send

her away, will you?”

“Lord, please, please help me.”

Jesus, looked at the woman and said, “First let the children eat all they want,” he

told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”

“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s

crumbs.”

Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your

daughter.”

Upon hearing this, she got up, rushed out the door and raced home. She flung open

the door, and shouted, “Susan, Susan! Where are you? I saw him! He spoke to me! He

told he she was cured! Susan, where are you?”

Dorcas! Come in here! It’s Tabitha, come look!”

With a mixture of fear and confidence, Dorcas rushed into her daughter’s room.

There was Tabitha, completely well. Totally in her own mind.

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 “Mama! She gushed! Oh, Mom, It is wonderful! I feel fine. The demon is gone!

It’s a beautiful story, isn’t it? It brings to mind Jairus’ daughter raised from the

dead. It reminds us of the Centurion who, like this woman, was a Gentile and yet also

exercised great faith in Jesus. He didn’t insist that Jesus come to his house, but rather

said, “I’m in charge of men, as are you. When I give a command, it is carried out. Just

say the word and my servant will be healed.” And it was so, at that very moment his

servant was well.

It is interesting that Mark doesn’t come right out and tell us why Jesus went to that

region. He went, of course, to heal the little girl.

But he went to demonstrate his love for a Syrophonecian woman by talking to her

and healing her little girl.

Notice how Jesus acts. Sometimes he’s bold and in your face. Sometimes he

comes to us blatantly in the middle of the storm, in the unlikeliest way, walking on the

water. Sometimes he comes nearby, to a friend’s house. Sometimes he comes and we

don’t recognise him, sometimes he prevents us from recognising him, to see how we’ll

respond to him, to the least of these his brothers.

But he always comes, and he always gives us plenty of opportunity to respond.

Have you ever caught yourself realising that he’s come near, but you’ve been slow

to notice? Ever had a bad day, and then, only at the end of it, when there’s only a wee bit

of time left, have you then remembered to pray?

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 It is a good thing that Jesus comes anyway. It is wonderful that he’s so

compassionate. It is wonderful that he’s so patient. It is wonderful that even in our hard

hearted moments he cuts through and restores us. Prayer, it is such a simple, yet

powerful thing, isn’t it?

Did you notice the woman in the story? Once she heard that Jesus was nearby,

believing that he was the only one who could heal her daughter, she ran to him and fell at

his feet. She assumed a humble position; in it, she demonstrated that Jesus is Lord. It

was a position of worship. Her outward appearance matched her heart. Some bow

physically, but remain proud in heart. Others show no outward sign, but inwardly they

are slaves to Christ. May we all be humble in heart, quick to come to our Lord.

From her humble position, she pleaded with Jesus to help her daughter. In

Matthew’s account, she kept on bugging him until the disciples asked Jesus to send her

away. She was constantly before him, “Please, please heal my daughter. Only you can

heal her. Please, please, please!”

Don’t we plead for our children like her? Don’t we cry out to God when they are

ill? We pray and plead. We humble ourselves, we ask Jesus for help. Our cries go up to

God in heaven, and are answered. Sometimes not in ways we want. Don’t we also plead

that they will come to Jesus? Don’t we implore Christ to make himself known to them,

especially through our failings as parents? I know I do, not as often as I should, but I do.

We can learn from this woman. We can get from her an attitude of humble

approach to Christ. An attitude of confidence that he’s whom he said and proved he is.

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We can learn from her. We can in her interaction with Jesus, faith, hope and love: faith

that Jesus can help her, hope in Jesus who would not disappoint, and love. A love shown

by Jesus in not dismissing her, revealing that he first loved her before she loved him.

Jesus’ initial response seems so strange. But there’s more going on here than a

simple healing. In the previous chapter, we’re told that Jesus had compassion on the

crowd and taught and healed. But, according to Matthew, this woman comes to him and

he ignores her. Sure, she’s a Gentile, but we know that Jesus healed other gentiles. So

what’s the point here?

There’s an important promise fulfillment happening. Not only a prophecy

concerning Tyre, but also the promise that was made to Abraham. That promise was first

for Abraham’s descendants, then for all the nations. Would all the nations be blessed?

Yes, but they’d be blessed through the nation God chose through Abraham.

In his earthly ministry almost all his attention was devoted directly to Israel, his

disciples, he was first feeding the children. There would come a time when Israel, the

disciples would do what Israel was supposed to do from the beginning, bring the truth to

the nations. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, they would. Rather than being in the world

and being transformed by the world, they transformed the world through the Spirit!

And yet, Jesus’ words, which sound harsh, reveal to the woman hope. Jesus’ use

of the word “First” “First the children eat,” was an opening she could exploit. The

second way of access was to refer to her, a Gentile, as a housedog. She was not a Jew,

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and therefore she was outside the direct promise. But if Jesus had not included the word

first and the word house, the door would have been closed.

But by saying, first and house, Jesus was opening the door. He was lovingly

expecting a response. Again, displaying her humility, accepting Jesus’ authority and

truth, she simply agreed. Yes, I am a Gentile. I do not deserve this request. But I make

it anyway because I believe you are willing. You have already fed the children. In our

homes, the housedogs can eat the crumbs off the floor, the table scraps. That’s enough

for me. I don’t need much, help me, I’m beside myself with anguish and worry for my

daughter.”

She didn’t put herself ahead of Jesus; she didn’t try to make herself into something

she was not. She was even willing to accept Jesus’ rebuke. She begged, under the table,

for the master’s grace, a crumb, a wee action to save her daughter. What is freeing a

demon-possessed child to him who created the heavens and the earth? Healing her would

amount to less than a crumb on the floor from him who is the bread of life.

And so Jesus rewarded her faith. At that very moment, he healed her daughter.

Are we as confidently coming to Christ for all our needs as well as the needs of our

loved ones?

Are we willing to ask humbly? Are we willing to accept Christ’s loving rebuke?

Will we still have the boldness to ask? If the woman was able to exercise so small

amount of faith, all that she possessed, with such great results, how about us? Don’t we

have more than her? Aren’t we even more aware of the Truth than she was?

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 Can we spur one another on in this? Can we exercise faith in Christ in order to

expect greater things than what we even have? Can we push ourselves and others to trust

him in every aspect of our lives? Haven’t we already received from him the greatest gift?

Come, let us let go of ourselves, our pride, our trappings, our self-importance and

let us turn to Christ in humility. Let us worship at his feet. Let us make known to him

our greatest fears, worries, and our loved ones, whatever. Let us entrust him who holds

our lives, with everything we need.

Faith, hope and love: we believe Jesus can heal. We have confident hope in the

power of his righteousness and resurrection from the dead. We receive his amazing love,

he who loved us before we loved him.

Come to Jesus, the bread of life, the feast. He’s not offering crumbs, but the very

bread himself. Come! Amen.