63% of American households have pets. According to estimates from the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association that Americans own approximately 73 million dogs, 90 million cats, 139 million freshwater fish, 9 million saltwater fish, 16 million birds, 18 million small animals and 11 million reptiles.
And as one pet therapist noted: “Love is the most important medicine and pets are one of nature’s best sources of affection. Pets relax and calm. They take the human mind off loneliness, grief, pain, and fear. They cause laughter and offer a sense of security and protection. They encourage exercise and broaden the circle of one’s acquaintances.” (http://www.sniksnak.com/therapy.html)
In our gospel lesson from Mark this morning, we discover how a woman, who was callously called a dog, broadens the circle of God’s love… even for Jesus.
First, some important background. Jesus is traveling with the disciples on the border lands of Israel – out by Tyre and Sidon. Not only were they in Gentile territory, but there was long held animosity between the people of Israel and “those people.”
As Mark’s gospel relates, Jesus really doesn’t want to be bothered. He ducks into a home for some peace and quiet, but somehow this woman knows that he is there. Before they know it, she’s inside, prostrate at his feet.
In Matthew’s version of this story, she appears yelling and shouting, begging and pleading for the healing of her demon-possessed daughter. And, Jesus – the one who is always supposed to have the answers and who models to us how to treat others – surprisingly just ignores the woman. Doesn’t even bother to give her the time of day.
When he finally does respond to her pleas, it is with these words: “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”
Jesus is making clear that his focus, his mission, is first to the children of Israel. And this woman, this Syrophonecian, was not his problem.
We can see parallels in the kind of animosity taking place between these cultures with how Europeans denigrated Native Americans. Like the Israelites, Europeans believed that the land of America was their promised land. It was a gift from God. But those who already occupied the land had to be deal with first and what came as a result was the demonization of a whole group of people. The others were seen as nothing more than mongrels, barbarians, dogs.
She belongs to the wrong culture. She is the wrong gender to be making such a request. She was not included and not welcomed. And yet, she drops to her knees in an act of worship and begs Jesus to help her.
Biblical scholar Scott Hoezee, writes, “this woman is asking for a place at the table, but Jesus, chillingly, relegates her to the floor of life. ‘It’s not right to toss perfectly good bread meant to feed the children to the dogs.’ Jesus calls her a dog. It’s a kind of slur, an epithet, and the disciples no doubt approved.” (Scott Hoezee http://cep.calvinseminary.edu/thisWeek/index.php)
Jesus has denied her want she wants, what she needs. And, he has insulted her in front of the disciples.
But what I love about this woman is that she doesn’t back down. She is quick and witty, she rolls with the punches and she boldly speaks back. “Okay, so you want to call me a dog? Fine. You say that as a dog I don’t deserve the food off the table. Fine. But you know what? Even dogs get the leftovers. Even dogs get the crumbs that fall under the children’s feet. Even dogs deserve that… so, c’mon! throw me a bone here Jesus!”
We don’t know why Jesus initially excluded this woman, except that he felt like he had a mission to preach the Kingdom of God to the Israelites.
So in a sense, he had drawn a line – a boundary – he had placed a limit on what he was willing or able or felt called to do.
He had drawn a circle that shut her out.
But then this woman had the wit and the courage and daring to flip his statements on him and to draw the circle big enough so that she was not only included, but that others could be included as well.
This woman reminded Jesus, in this moment of his human weakness, of the promises of his divine calling. We proclaimed them together in our call to worship. Our help is the God of Jacob. God is faithful forever. The Lord gives justice to the oppressed and makes the blind see and loves the righteous and helps orphans and widows.
She acknowledges that Jesus might have a call to first help the people of Israel, but she claims her own faith and her own place within the larger vision of God’s mission in this world.
I think that far too many of us hesitate to say “YES!” to God’s work, because we don’t believe that we are included or important. Maybe, because someone IN the church has made a comment that has put us in our place or has denigrated us… whether they meant to or not.
You are too old or you are too young.
You don’t dress the right way.
You have made different choices about how to raise children or care for aging parents.
You can’t get up early enough.
You stay up too late.
You are too busy.
This church is full of imperfect, human people and we all have a vision in our head of what our mission should be about. Sometimes, as a result, we step on one another’s toes and say things without thinking.
When we find ourselves on the receiving end of such words, it is natural to want to tuck your tail between your legs and slink away.
But I want to remind you of the persistence of this woman.
She claimed her faith.
She claimed her position.
She claimed her reality.
And she claimed her place.
You know, I admit in a church that it is easy to get caught up in one idea of what we are supposed to be about. One defined goal. But if we aren’t careful, we allow that one thing to so define our work that in fact we have drawn a circle. We have built a wall and we have imprisoned the gospel. Because, although we may think we know exactly who should be included in our ministry, we must remain open to whomever God sends our way.
Dan Nelson writes that “Even Jesus, who presumably has divine authorization for his limits allows those limits to be stretched by another’s necessity. In other words, the rule here is that there is no rule, only a creative tension between our finite capacities and the world’s infinite need.” (http://sio.midco.net/danelson9/yeara/proper15a.htm)
Our finite capacities and the world’s infinite need.
As a fully human person, Jesus was aware of the limits of his time and energy, but as fully divine, Jesus never stopped being aware of this woman’s need.
Paul wrestles in the book of Romans with whether or not the love of God for any person changes – if people can ever fall out of their standing with God. And his answer is simple: NO.
God never turns away from us. God is always there, from generation to generation.
The church, gets it wrong sometimes. We forget that we are charged with the task of making God’s name known throughout the world – to all people in all places.
Like ungrateful children, sometimes we take the bread that was set on the table and meant to be shared and we toss it carelessly on the floor.
But as the Syrophonecian woman reminds us – even there, even in the crumbs, even in the scraps, the gospel finds a way to feed and transform and bring life to people.
We need to hear the voices from those we have set on the outside, on the margins.
We need every person who has ever felt like they have been excluded to claim their faith.
Shout out your needs.
Tell aloud your faith.
Speak your truth.
Because when you do, when you say YES to God, even if and when you feel like the church is saying NO to you, you transform the church.
You help us to recognize those we have unintentionally left out.
You enable us to respond to pain we couldn’t see.
You make us a better church.
You stretch us and stretch our hearts and stretch the gospel around the world.
We are finite and there are limits to what we can do – but when every single one of us claims OUR faith, we are able to wipe away the boundaries around the gospel – and we will find that God will give us the strength and power, mercy and compassion, that we need to be in ministry in new ways and places each and every day.
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