The Rev. Canon Dr. Brett Cane, September 6, 2009
14th Sunday after Pentecost; 8:30 Holy Communion and 10:00 a.m.
“Jesus Takes a Sabbatical, but…”
Mark 7:24-37
Opening Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you had compassion for all no matter what background they came from; help us now, by your Holy Spirit, to have that same openness and to reach out to those different from ourselves, that they, too, may come to know the love and salvation of our Father in heaven. Amen.
Introduction
As most of you know, I have just returned from my four months of being away – three months of which were specifically designated as a sabbatical. The word “Sabbatical” comes from the biblical concept of “Sabbath” – a time away from the routine of regular work to be refreshed and renewed spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically. I am happy to report to you that indeed all of that happened for me over the past four months – thank you for making it possible! I feel that the personal impact of all that God did for me and in me will work out over time and I am looking forward to it! In terms of parish life, I have come back with new insights on intimacy, love and relationships – between us and God and us and one another and will be sharing these over the next few months – not all at once, mind you! I have come back with a number of slide shows which will illustrate both what I did and some of what I learned and occasions when I will be presenting them are listed in the bulletin. Thank you, again, for making my sabbatical possible.
Did you know that Jesus took a sabbatical? The first of the two stories in our gospel passage today opens with: “Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it (Mark 7:24). Jesus was taking time off in a place outside his ministry area, north of Galilee, in what is now Lebanon – he wanted a time away without the pressures of his normal ministry – which it seems he got, but…with some interruptions. Two events took place during this time that Mark takes the trouble to record for us and they contain a crucial message which is very relevant for us today. That message will unfold as we see that “Jesus takes a sabbatical, but…!”
The Bigger Picture
In order to get the message God wants to give us through Mark we need to get the bigger picture and see the gospel stories we heard read today in their context. To do so we will take a look at geography, then the preceding events, and thirdly the way Mark has structured his account of the good news about Jesus.
- 1. Geography: First we note that both stories take place outside Jewish territory. The first begins: “Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre” (verse 24). The second story starts out: “Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis” (verse 31). We are in the area of the Gentiles – what is now Lebanon and Syria – then notorious centres of paganism and against all that Israel stood for. There was no love lost between Jews and Gentiles – Jews were not even supposed to enter a Gentile home – remember Peter’s reluctance to enter the house of the Roman centurion Cornelius in Acts 10 or the unwillingness of the Jewish leaders to enter Pilate’s fortress to call for Jesus’ death lest they be defiled and unable to eat the Passover. A Jewish rabbi and his disciples would not normally draw much of a crowd on the streets of Tyre or Sidon. So it is here that Jesus has gone with his disciples to escape the pressures of ministry back home and also to avoid the increasing antagonism of the authorities.
What’s more, this is quite a large area when you consider that Jesus and his disciples were walking. Some estimates of the length of this journey range up to eight months. This is a time for Jesus to teach his disciples and to prepare for the final and decisive battle which lay ahead.
2. Events: The events that preceded this can help us understand why Jesus needed to get away. Back in Mark 6, we read that after the apostles returned from their separate mission journeys, “Because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’ So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them” (Mark 6:31-33). Jesus then feeds the five thousand, takes leave of them by boat again but when they land across the lake, it says, “As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. 55They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was” (Mark 6:54-55). Jesus and the disciples needed a place to get away from the crowds for a time of refreshment and teaching.
What’s more, as we have been reading these past few weeks in John’s account of the feeding of the 5000, it says that “After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself” (John 6:14-15). Jesus needed to avoid becoming the centre of a popular military uprising that would have made it impossible for him to accomplish his mission of conquering sin through his sacrificial death on the cross. He had to escape so headed outside Jewish territory.
- 3. Structure: Mark then weaves the two events that take place there into the midst of his account of Jesus to show us something very profound. These two stories are of Jesus setting free two Gentiles: one the victim of spiritual disease – the demon possessed girl, and the other the victim of physical disability – the deaf-mute man. They are set in-between the stories of the two feedings of the multitudes – the 5000, who are Jewish, in Mark 6, and the 4000, who are Gentile, in Mark 8. Then, at the beginning of Mark 7, we have the debate about what is clean and unclean and Jesus declares “all foods clean” (Mark 7:19). Mark contrasts the criticism of the Jewish leaders at the beginning of Mark 7, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with ‘unclean’ hands?” with the response of the “unclean” Gentiles at the end of chapter 7, “People were overwhelmed with amazement. ‘He has done everything well,’ they said. ‘He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.’” (Mark 7:5, 37). Mark is showing us that Jesus has not only declared all foods “clean” but also all people. No one is to be excluded from having the opportunity to respond to his love and salvation. Let us now look briefly at the two stories to see how Mark gets his point across.
Developing Faith
At first sight, the story of the Syro-Phoenician woman looks like it is telling us the exact opposite! Jesus at first denies her request for ministry and then calls her a “dog”: “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.” (verse 27). What is happening here? As the story unfolds, we can see that Jesus is testing her faith. The woman was from a pagan background; was she just going to use Jesus as a “miracle machine” to help her daughter and then go on her former spiritual way? Jesus was not about to have all his time taken up by the thousands in the area who would have come for help if they had known. The “children” he is referring to are the people of Israel. Jesus’ strategy was to reach Israel first before branching out to others (after the resurrection). But what about the reference to “dogs”? This is not a put-down by Jesus. Although even today the term “dog” seems disparaging, the word used here is that for family pets. Jesus uses the picture of pet dogs under the table not being fed the children’s food and then she points out that even pets feed from the crumbs that fall from the table. What is taking place here is more of a pleasant verbal sparring-match. The woman shows a lot of wit in her reply as well as revealing the roots of her faith. She recognises Israel’s God and yearns to benefit from his promises. She sees Jesus as Lord. Jesus has found great faith in an unexpected place. Through his comments, he has strengthened her faith. She has not been put off and he commends her persistence; her daughter is released from bondage.
The thing that would be shocking to Jesus’ contemporaries is that he would (a) minister to a Gentile and (b) minister to a woman. Jesus broke the cultural and religious barriers – no one is unclean or “second class” either by virtue of their nationality or gender. This woman was from one of the most pronounced regions of paganism and a descendant of the people that Israel had been told to expel from the land. Through this story and its context in the Gospel, Mark reveals that Jesus is interested in even these people and so he lays the ground for the future outreach to the Gentiles after his resurrection. It is not religious pedigree that counts but genuine, persistent faith.
Healing with Compassion
The story of the deaf-mute man takes us one step further in this remarkable revelation of God’s compassion for all. The man is from the Decapolis, the federation of ten towns on the other side of the River Jordan from Galilee, and thus he is a Gentile. He “was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on him” (verse 32). Because he can not hear the words of others he is unable to formulate words of his own. Jesus has to release him. But, like the woman with the demon-possessed daughter, he needs to develop faith. Jesus could have just said, “Be healed” and that would have done it – but to grow his faith Jesus engages the man in an extended process of interaction. He takes him aside, away from the crowds, showing concern for him as an individual, to avoid embarrassment. Then it says, “Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, ‘Ephphatha!’ (which means, “Be opened!” ). At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly” (verses 33-35). With the woman, there was a verbal sparring-match; with the man there is a visual-tactile demonstration. The man would have been able to lip-read “Ephphatha” – he responded with faith in his heart and is healed.
There is a deeper meaning behind all this, too. When Jesus says, “Ephphatha,” it is not just the ears that are to be opened, but the man’s whole being to be released from that which bound it. People need to be spiritually released by Jesus in order to hear properly God’s communication to us. This is not usually instantaneous but requires a process of developing faith and healing with compassion. God’s plan is that membership in the kingdom is open to all who have faith, regardless of racial or religious background, and it requires our willingness to engage people in appropriate ways that will enable them to develop that faith.
When I was on sabbatical staying Roger and Connie Burch in Sicily, we visited the archaeological site of the ancient Greek city of Segesta where there is a traditional semi-circular outdoor theatre. The city is on a high hill and there was a bus laid on to take us there. Some German bikers got on the bus with us – their dress and appearance giving them away – a bare beer belly brushed up against Connie as they went down the aisle and there was some uneasiness. Later, in the theatre, I stood on the stage and tested out the acoustics by singing “Amazing Grace” – the bikers were at the top of the rows of seats and applauded. This as a segment of society that is often feared and avoided but God loves bikers and we are privileged to have with us Pastor Chuck Sheridan and members of the House of the Risen Son Ministries and Bondslave motorcycle club – they have a ministry of reaching out to a unique group of people. Bikers’ style and dress may be different from ours – just like the people in today’s stories – but God loves them and cares for them, too.
Conclusion
How are you doing in terms of willingness and effort to offer the love of Christ to people of different backgrounds and cultures? Do you limit the people, locations and occasions where you feel God’s power can be released? Faith may be discovered in unlikely places; don’t make swift judgements just because of a person’s looks or background. Don’t restrict the range of people who have the right to benefit from Christ’s victory. Are there any groups of people whose need to experience the power and presence of Jesus you discount? Share God’s concern for all people no matter what background or society they come from. Be open to what God can do.
