Be Opened - Pentecost XIV--Year B--September 6, 2009 - The Reverend David R. Williams

God, you are working still, breaking down and building up; open our eyes to discern your hands so that we may take our place as laborers together with you.  Amen

Jesus is rude.  Last week I had an issue with Jesus as he diminished the importance of washing hands.  This week, Jesus ungraciously responds to a poor woman’s request to heal her daughter. 

“Let the children be fed first,” Jesus says to the woman, “for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”

What is Jesus thinking?

Let us take a moment and put this lesson in the context of the other lessons we heard this morning. 

We begin with a few verses from a book designed to teach wisdom, God’s wisdom, to the young, to the students of God’s law and the student’s of life’s challenges. 

“A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.  The rich and the poor have this in common: the Lord is the maker of them all.  Those who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread with the poor.  Do not rob the poor because they are poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate; for the Lord pleads their cause and despoils of life those who ravage them.”

The theme emerging from such wisdom tends to make us uncomfortable.  Are we not talking about justice – God’s justice? 

A South American Bishop of the Catholic Church once said, “In a free society the rich as well as the poor have the right to sleep under bridges.” 

Think about that.  How many of us chose to sleep under bridges or in the shrubs of vacant fields, in the back of an old car.  We know people chose that way of life, people limited in their resources to broaden their own choices.

We get a little squeamish with this language; with this wisdom.  Justice permeates the entire book – the entirety of scripture story with elements, challenges, wisdom of the gap between those who have and those who have little. 

“Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him?” beseeches the letter of James. “But you have dishonored the poor.”

A Chicago pastor relates a story of her downtown church as it faces a serious financial crisis.  The leadership of the church suggests an all-night vigil of prayer. 

Several people raise questions.  Is it safe, given our inner-city neighborhood?  Should we hire guards or escorts for the parking lot?  What if no one shows up?  A lengthy discussions covers all the logistics and practicality of such an event.  Nevertheless, the night of prayer is scheduled.

“To my surprise,” the pastor says, “the poorest members of the congregation, a group of senior citizens from a housing project are the ones who responded most enthusiastically.  I could not help wondering how many of their prayers had gone unanswered over the years – they lived in the projects, after all, amid crime, poverty and suffering – yet they showed a childlike trust in the power of prayer.  “How long do you plan to stay,” the pastor asks, “an hour or two?”

“Oh, we’ll stay all night.”

Mark gives us two incredible healing stories.  Both take place in “foreign” lands – away from the solace and security of the temple in Jerusalem.  These communities of Tyre, Sidon, and other villages of Phoenicia are inhabited with Greeks, Romans, Assyrians – all are Gentiles, none is Jewish. 

Jesus’ harsh response to the Gentile woman is a statement about Jesus’ heritage as a Jew, the Chosen Children of God.  Gentiles are dogs.  The children, the Jewish people, must be fed first, Jesus says.  The woman’s clear, strong, response to Jesus’ rudeness is life-changing for Jesus.  Jesus realizes the food at the table of faith is intended for all people, not just the traditionally “chosen.” 

The woman opens a door of understanding for this very human Jesus who struggles to know better his call to be the Savior and Messiah, to be the one feeding ALL people rich and poor, Jew and Gentile.

The next incident in Mark has Jesus meeting a deaf and mute person, a Gentile man. This time, there is no hesitation.  Jesus takes the man aside, touches the man’s tongue and puts his fingers into the man’s ears. The man can now hear and speak. 

Could we also be seeing a picture of Jesus here?  Is Mark possibly talking about Jesus’ personal transformation?  Because of the most courageous woman who stands up to Jesus, Jesus’ ears are cleared and his tongue speaks a new language – that language of love and justice for ALL God’s people, Jew and Gentile, rich and poor.

Jesus might be talking about himself.  As Mark shares this story, we also can ask ourselves, “Are there important things I am not hearing from those around me, from those with whom I work, from those whom I love?  In a deep sense, do I need my ears opened to really hear?”  Likewise, as I watch speech returned to this man, I ask, “Do I need my tongue released to say things that should and need to be said? To apologize for something I have done, to tell someone that I love them, to praise and affirm someone who needs reassurance from me?”

God’s healing and God’s justice become one and the same.  Miracles do happen – instantaneous curing of an infirmity--but, for the most part, the healing process takes time.  Justice takes time.  There is no quick solution for our homeless brothers and sisters living in outdoor shelters.  But we may stay alert, opening our ears and listening with our hearts so that our voice may inspire resources to those in need. With all of our faculties, we may build a more healthy community.

In our personal lives, there may come a time of infirmity or illness. We know this. And when diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s, debilitating arthritis or COPD knocks on our door, we want instantaneous healing.  We want the miracle. 

True healing evolves as my faith is challenged and my awareness is sharpened. My ears hear more deeply. There is more clarity somehow. And the voice, my own voice, responds with truth.  I learn to cope.

“Judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has, shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment,” the Letter of James says.  God’s healing, God’s justice requires mercy. 

The witnesses, Jew and Gentile, were astounded beyond measure, “Jesus has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

Amen.