Sermon 09-06-09
Mark 7:24-37 Psalm 146
“No Longer Silent”
We have seen during our summer months several stories about Jesus trying to get away from the crowds, but he is always found. In his need for a break, Jesus goes toward the northern region of
This reminds me of our children, who no matter what age they are, when we want to take “a moment alone” they find you, no matter where you hide.
PRAYER
If we read the same story in Matthew; before Jesus reached the house where he was staying, a Syrophoenician woman, which he could not keep from noticing, was following and shouting after Jesus and his disciples saying: “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David, my daughter is tormented by a demon. But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, ‘Send her away for she is shouting after us.’ Jesus answered, ‘I was send only to the lost sheep of the house of
Today and in Jesus’ time in that culture, “a woman who speaks loudly or shouts is stereotyped as ill-behaved, hysterical or excessively aggressive… However, there are times when raised voices of women are powerful… Such actions are acceptable for gaining attention in certain circumstances. The shouting of this woman to gain the attention of the healer… is in a similar category, despite the impression raised by the disciples that she is a nuisance. How could it be otherwise? Her choice is to shout or to be silent and lose the possibility of healing for her daughter. She claims the right to be heard, and she is heard. (She needed to defend herself in the culture). She seems to have no husband, or family, as none is mentioned in the text. She seems to be alone with her sick girl-child through whom she sees an extension of herself and her right to a future.
(In that region) the stigma attached to the birth of a girl-child colors’ her identity into her adult life. For a girl-child to be a victim of an illness that carries the stigma of “unclean” would be an incredible burden for both mother and daughter. However, the burden of a prolonged illness does not confine the girl-child in this story to obscurity. (The love of this woman empowers her to be daring against the culture). The woman sees her girl-child as a mirror image of herself. In giving of unconditional love to her girl-child, she is also healed. Her healing is validated by the tenacious faith of her mother: that the healer can heal!
The…woman meets the power of the rabbi Jesus with the knowledge of her own sense of power. Her power is rooted in her protective strengths, her capacity to care, and her commitment to the task she had set for herself…
She does not hesitate to acknowledge Jesus’ own power when she addresses him as “Lord, son of David.” (Seasons of the Spirit, Cong. Life, Pent. 2. Pg. 28 “Voices as Power” by Amy Jill Levine and Ranjini Wickramaratne Rebera. 2009).
“But she is not only persistent; she is free of pretension. Though she comes and kneels before him, Jesus, whose focus is on the primary mission to
The woman with her persistence and lack of pretension in a sense performs a ministry for Jesus. She becomes the spokesperson to him to bring about the release of divine grace in a dramatic event of healing. She becomes the model voice from beyond the boundaries who stakes her claim on the mercy and generosity of God. Just as others minister to Jesus by providing food or housing, she ministers by facilitating his movement across ethnic borders, an action that anticipates the wider mission of the world.
But just as the woman ministers to Jesus, Jesus ministers to the woman. Her demon-possessed girl-child is healed. The Son of David renders wholeness to a Gentile daughter. The miracle of faith is confirmed by the miracle of healing. As an outsider, she grasps what they (as disciples yet) cannot perceive. (In Christ,) the good news belong also to the outsiders.”
(Brueggemann, Year A, pg. 450-451)
Because of her tenacity, her commitment to her daughter’s healing, and her ability to use to the ‘power of the weak’ in a positive and life giving manner, she also becomes the catalyst for moving Jesus to acknowledge his ministry of the gentile people.” (S. of the S., idem)
“The story of the healing of the deaf man is another example of the healing of an outsider, dwells on different details than the previous story. Given the description of the man’s condition before and after the healing, and the elaborate steps taken by Jesus to restore hearing and speech, it becomes clear that the story like many other miracles affirms the divine power over human illnesses,… (being them physical, emotional or spiritual). The presence of God’s dynamic reign is at work in Jesus. One who could not speak plainly because he could not hear now hears and speaks.”
The healed man no longer can keep silent. The woman with no social voice, no longer can keep silent, they have been empowered to speak. They cannot keep silent about the marvelous good news of God… the crowds become the model for the church as those ‘astounded beyond measure’… by God’s love.” (Brueggemann, Year B, pg. 502-503).
We can no longer be silent, as we witness the miracles of Jesus in our lives and in the lives of our loved ones. We are empowered to “…speak the truth in love.” (Ephesians 4:15a), to share our faith and to be willing to embrace change as it comes into our lives, and to value what it means to be a member of Christ’s church in the world. Amen!
