Retreat for a purpose

Studies in Mark

6 September 2009

Mark 7:24-37

You join us in the Wesley Theatre as we follow Jesus on a journey to the coast. He retreats to the region of Tyre and Sidon on the Mediterranean Coast … a Gentile area. At least here, one might imagine, Jesus is unlikely to be interrupted by Jewish leaders who are tracking his journeys and appear to be building a case against him.

His purpose for being here was not to carry out any semblance of public ministry, but to rest from the rigorous demands of his ministry. We are told that while he wanted to keep his identity unknown, it was impossible to do so … an indicator of his growing popularity.

We are told that Jesus entered a house, hoping not to be recognised. But a Syro-Phoenician woman fell at his feet and begged Jesus to deliver her daughter from an evil spirit. The words that Jesus uses in his conversation with her sound uncharacteristically harsh, as he is recorded as referring to Gentiles as ‘dogs’.

Some have tried to soften the impact of the words by suggesting that Jesus didn’t really say them – or that Jesus is testing her faith – but neither of these really satisfy serious scrutiny. This must be considered one of the most difficult passages in the gospels … what we do not have is a sense of their tone.

We must, I think, put the incident into the context of the Gentile mission to which Jesus is already committed. A better way of interpreting the story is to see a Gentile woman who comes to Jesus and would not leave him until he had blessed her. The very determination and persistence of the woman is vigorous and gains its reward.

This is closely followed by a second incident, as Jesus returns to the Galilee and visits the region of the Decapolis (the ten towns) which is also a Gentile area – and here Jesus heals a deaf and mute man. There is nothing unique about the form of this account and afterwards Jesus calls for those who witnessed the healing to remain quiet about what they had seen. We read, “Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it.” (v.36)

Mark so often interprets events in terms of their location, both geographically and chronologically. With both these incidents, this factor cannot be ignored. I will concentrate this evening upon the woman and her daughter’s healing … but first a verse that puts Jesus’ visit into context:
Mark 7:24 –
“… he could not keep his presence secret.”

These words are clearly part of Mark’s unfolding sense of secret and purpose, which is unique to his gospel. But they also indicate a growing desire to know who he is – and where he is. He is available to all!

It is worth noting that Mark’s account of this woman coming before Jesus is completely omitted by Luke – and significantly altered by Matthew (Matthew 15:21-28). It is a bold statement of how Jesus may have gone to Jews first, but then to Gentiles also. It may be that Matthew is cautious of this, which is why he presents it as a simple healing story, without a deeper and more profound meaning.

For me, the account is a picture of how the good news must cross boundaries – or, more significantly, how good-news-people need to be prepared to cross boundaries if they are to follow him with integrity. The message is demanding and will certainly need to be underscored by actions.

I make three observations – and ask how this passage may help us today:

Jesus turned upside-down the accepted wisdom of the day – v. 24

When Jesus entered the home of a Gentile, he was doing something that was contrary to the accepted practice of a pious Jew. Once again, this was one of those traditions that had become so embedded in people’s thought.

As you journey through Mark, you see how important tradition is – and we must ensure that we do not become too negative about it. There are positive examples of tradition.

Who can forget the opening soliloquy in Fiddler on the Roof. The dairyman, who was always carrying on lengthy conversations with God, tells of life in his small town and asks, ‘… and how do we keep our balance? I can tell you that in one word – Tradition!’ This then leads into the most powerful of songs.

Tradition can undoubtedly be a good thing, but when we jettison the best, we tend to worship the rest.

John O’Hara once defined America in a way that may be applicable to the whole of the western developed world, describing it as ‘a country that has leapt from barbarism to decadence without touching civilisation.’

When the accepted wisdom of the day is harsh and exclusive, then we must be very wary of the outcomes.

Excluding others is most dangerous when framed in acceptable terms

It is a tragic fact of life that is replicated across the world and throughout history, which allows racism and the exclusion of others to be supported by decent people.

The rabbis exercised a kind of inspectorate over the Galilee and it appears to be more tolerant than in Jerusalem. Here on the coast, we have an example of a Gentile woman who exercises faith. There are good reasons to believe this is not uncommon, but respectable Jews would not have anything to do with such a person.

The rise of Nazism, the eradication of people in Rwanda and the many examples of ethnic cleansing around the world could not occur without the support of, or at least the lack of opposition from, so-called ‘decent’ people.

This woman stands for the whole Gentile world

The Gentile world emerges in this section of Mark between accounts of Jesus’ dismay at the law failing to deliver what God desired for his people … quality life, purpose and fulfilment. The signs of the kingdom are for those who would perceive and believe. The crowds applauded him, but the critics will begin to turn the screw!

The woman’s grave need is because of her daughter’s sickness … and her obvious determination not to become discouraged enables her to receive the gift she desperately wanted. Jesus characteristically responds to her request (v.30).

You don’t have to understand everything to grasp its drift

Eduard Schweizer wrote: ‘We see from the Syro-Phoenician woman what true faith is.’ There is no doubt that this is a complex passage; it opens up problematical comments from Jesus and expressions of faith from an unlikely source. What matters is how he ultimately brings healing.

Fred B Craddock contrasts the woman’s acceptance of her status as a non-Jew with the Pharisees, who were locked into a tight adherence to rules and regulations, which they felt gave them credence before God.

Jesus questions the sweeping generalities which pervade life – v. 28

The Syro-Phoenician woman was a person of faith. In Matthew’s account of the incident, Jesus is recorded as saying exactly this. “You have great faith!” (Matthew 15:28) She becomes an example of the power of persistent prayer. The Bible is replete with encouragement to persevere in prayer. Here, the least likely of people showcases the prayer that triumphs.

She hears what Jesus says, when he uses the widely- accepted term ‘dogs’, and moves to a place where Jesus has recognised both the sincerity and validity of what she says.

Generalities are dangerous if we let them steer our lives.

The gospels have a cast of ‘nameless crowds’ and ‘religious leaders, largely unknown’ and it is their attitudes which too often guide people’s thinking … and will form the circumstances which will lead to the cross itself.

Both Protestant and Roman Catholic Christians have been guilty of setting up their own rules and regulations, often built on generalities that have originated in our own prejudices. In a Methodist context of ‘Don’t smoke, don’t drink, don’t dance, etc’ a bishop once described someone who did not drink, did not smoke, did not dance to a lay person and asked if that designated a Christian. ‘Yes,’ said the man. ‘Well,’ said the bishop, ‘I’ve just described my dog!’

Negativity must never be the attitude of the Christian faith. We must be distinguished by what we do … not by what we do not do!

Questioning generalities can be difficult

David Read wrote about The Power of Christian Tradition and said, ‘Certainly traditions can be fossilised. Certainly traditions can be corrupted … traditions must always be exposed to the reforming spirit of the living God.’

Jesus turned values upside-down. Pharisees believed that touching an unclean person polluted the one who touched. However, when Jesus touched a person with leprosy, Jesus did not become soiled … but the leper was cleansed.

Philip Yancey, in The Jesus I Never Knew, wrote: ‘In short, Jesus moved the emphasis from God’s holiness (exclusive) to God’s mercy (inclusive). Instead of the message “No undesirables allowed,” he proclaimed, “In God’s kingdom there are no undesirables.” By going out of his way to meet with the Gentiles, eat with sinners, and touch the sick, he extended the realm of God’s mercy. To Jewish leaders, Jesus’ actions jeopardised the very existence of their religious caste system – no wonder the gospels mention more than twenty occasions when they conspired against Jesus.’

Jesus reminds us of the cost of doing so

This is the contextual background to the middle section of Mark which would provide the intellectual and religious arguments against Jesus and his ministry.

Jesus was uncomfortable with sweeping generalities which placed life in neat, well-defined classifications. Such an attitude was bound to cause him trouble.

It is interesting that this woman is the only person in Mark to be recorded as calling Jesus ‘Lord’. Jesus refers to himself as ‘Lord’ (5:19 and 11:3) – and this is the view of Mark himself. The recognition is closely linked to 15:39. It powerfully underlines the fact that generalities can be very dangerous.

Jesus endues people with dignity – v.29

Howard Thurman was a North American Black evangelist and missionary who travelled to India in 1935. He spoke in many of the villages and, late one night, a young man knocked at his door. His dress revealed that he was an ‘untouchable’ and he told his story in broken, faltering English: “I stood outside the building tonight and listened to your lecture, Sahib Doctor. Tell me, please, can you give some hope to a nobody.” The boy fell to his knees and Thurman reached out compassionately to him.

Thurman knew what it was to be classed as a ‘nobody’. As a black person, he had often endured rejection in a white world, but he had committed his life to a ministry of love which reaches out to ‘nobodies’ in the name of Jesus Christ.

The challenge remains for us to offer hope to those in our own communities who feel they count for nothing. In our context, it may be those at both ends of the scale … those who have lived here for thousands of years as a people … and also others who have come here more recently with nothing and struggle for identity and purpose.

Prejudice has often been nurtured by religious thought and encouraged by societal divisions. The ancient world was rife with such injustice. Issues and times change, but the same bent is replicated today.

Morgan Godwyn graduated at Oxford and travelled to the New World, arriving in Virginia in 1665. He served parishes there and later on the island of Barbados. He met resistance from slave owners when he tried to encourage the conversion of slaves. He wrote that they commonly protested: ‘What, such as they? What, those black dogs be made Christians? What, shall they be like us?’

People’s economic circumstances do not define worth and value

Whilst it is true that poverty can diminish a person’s worth and value and invariably does, the economic circumstances of a woman’s or man’s life does not mean they lack worth and value. There has been a dignity in some of those I have met who are poor.

The flip side of this is that I have met some mighty powerful examples of people who lacked a sense of their worth and value, even though they had plenty of this world’s wealth.

Paul Dinin, a twenty-year-old employee of Interland, a web-hosting company in Atlanta, Georgia, was asked what his prized possessions were. Dinin, a high school dropout, listed four cars, including a Jaguar and a 1981 DeLorean.

When asked for his philosophy on life, Dinin said, ‘It’s all about money. All those guys who say they just want to make a difference in the world, that’s bull.’

Here is a perfect example of how it is possible to be wealthy, but to be totally without a grasp of what it means to have decent values. The opposite is true … as I have seen poor folks display values which put to shame so many of us!

People’s environmental location does not decide worth and value

There is a danger that we locate worth as the gift of the developed world and our own type of culture. Some of the most dignified people I have ever met live in situations of real hardship.

I think of the Burmese who have to undergo really tough circumstances and yet retain a compelling sense of humility and grace.

I also have in mind Joe who lived in Apartheid South Africa. One day he was arrested by the security police without any prior warning and placed in a cell under a police station. His wife and children had no knowledge of his location. This continued for over two years … and his family was sustained by the support of the local church. Despite this dreadful treatment, he had worth and a sense of value through his faith in God. He did not allow himself to become bitter and resentful.

People’s entangled lives do not discount the possibility of worth and value

Lives are complex and people often have to deal with a matrix of competing issues. Nevertheless, such challenge does not mean that there is no possibility of retaining value and worth.

I can think of the young couple who were struggling to survive. They had two children with serious health needs, as well as responsibilities for parents in poor health – and yet they had so much to teach us about a healthy self-esteem.

Here, a woman comes to Jesus – no doubt deeply concerned at the nature of her daughter’s malady, but she is willing to throw herself at the feet of the one person she knew could help.

This may well have been a retreat from Jesus’ busy ministry, but it certainly becomes a retreat for a purpose. A woman’s life is given added credibility by the dignity that Jesus affords her … as he delivers healing to her daughter ‘at a distance’. With confidence, she leaves the presence of Jesus and finds it exactly as she would have desired. ‘She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.’ (v.30)

One of my favourite stories is of a family who went into a restaurant. The waitress walked up and, looking at the young boy, said, ‘What will it be?’ The boy eagerly ordered, ‘I’ll take a hamburger, French fries and a chocolate milkshake.’ The mother immediately interrupted: ‘Oh no, that’s not what he wants. He’ll take some roast beef, baked potato and vegetables and a glass of milk.’

Much to the surprise both of the mother and the boy, the waitress completely ignored her and asked the boy, ‘And what do you want with that hamburger?’ The boy shouted back: ‘Ketchup. Lots of ketchup.’ ‘And what kind of shake?’ ‘Chocolate,’ he said. The boy turned to his parents and said, ‘Ain’t she something? She thinks that I’m real.’

That’s exactly how Jesus treats people … nobody ever becomes a nobody with Jesus Christ!

Christian Life