Be Opened!
Posted on Sep 09, 2018 by David Whetter
As I noted at the start of my sermon last week, there are going to be several times this fall that we are going to have to directly address some language issues in our stories if we are going to make sense about what is being said, and today is one of those days. To begin our story, Mark tells us that Jesus heads to the region of Tyre and then Decapolis. In other words, Jesus left the Jewish territories and went to the Gentile territories. Now, he went to Tyre to begin with, according to Mark, in hopes of getting some rest. He apparently hoped that since he wasn’t in Jewish territory, no one would care about him. But Mark tells us that even in Tyre, gentile territory, the people knew of him and wanted to receive his healing message, and so a woman whose daughter was suffering from an unclean spirit comes to Jesus, kneels at his feet, and begs him to cast the demon out of her daughter. Now, at this point, I am sure everyone is expecting Jesus to heal her; after all, Jesus has been teaching about God and how God truly cares for the poor, the weak, and the outcast. But Jesus takes everyone, even us today, by surprise when he responds to her request by saying, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs” (Mark 7:27).
Now before we go any further, this is where some explaining needs to be done. The “children” Jesus is referring to are the people of Israel. Up to this point, Israel is the only people seen to be God’s chosen few. Secondly, we also need to understand the cultural barriers and distinctions that were in play here. To begin with we have gender, race, and religious issues to deal with. In regards to gender, this is a woman, and she is unaccompanied by a husband or male relative, and, yet she initiates a conversation with a stranger who is male; this would have been considered taboo. In regards to race, she is “a gentile, of Syrophoenician origin” (Mark 7:26). In other words, she is of another race, and that race is considered by the Jews to be implicitly impure, and someone that lives outside of the land of Israel and outside of the Law of Moses. She is a descendant of the ancient enemies of Israel. And when it comes to religion, well, she isn’t Jewish!
So let’s take a look at why Jesus would have called this woman and her daughter dogs. Now, when it comes to this woman addressing Jesus in public, I argue that this is not an issue for Jesus. In the Gospel of Mark, another woman has already broken this barrier and Jesus was perfectly comfortable with it. Remember the woman who had been hemorrhaging for 12 years? That woman not only talked to Jesus, she touched him, and Jesus was perfectly comfortable with her actions. So, as much as we want to look at this with our 21st century glasses on and say this is a male/female issue, it’s not. This is not an issue of a male putting a female down or trying to “put her in her place.” No, Jesus calls this woman a dog, because that is the slang term used by Jews for all gentiles in those days, man or woman. If you weren’t a Jew, the Jewish culture considered you a beggar and worthless, “a dog.” You see, in those days, and even today in many parts of the world, dogs weren’t cuddly pets, they were scavengers that lived on the streets and offered no value to the society. Gentiles, especially, Syrophoenicians, were considered “dogs” to the Jews, and Jesus was a Jew. Jesus’ comment was about race and religion.
Now, there are those that believe Jesus knew this was not the correct thing to do, but did it to make a point; that is, to teach his disciples that God’s love and grace was for all people, but I do not buy that argument. It doesn’t fit any other action in the story so far, or later, and if that was the case, then I believe Mark would have told us that. No, I believe the best interpretation of this story is that until this woman came along, Jesus was on a mission that was only to the Jews, but despite the hard distinctions that Jesus lifts up, (including race, gender, and religion), this woman believed Jesus was the Savior who, by the grace of God, had the power to heal all people and that she, although not a Jew, was a member of the household of God. The faith this woman exemplified was incredible. This was the kind of faith Jesus had been speaking of, and this woman showed it. Notice she did not argue with Jesus that he shouldn’t refer to her as a dog. In fact, she agrees with him. Yes, I am a beggar, I am not of the “chosen race,” but the God you serve also claims me as one of her children, and so I deserve her grace. In that moment, I argue that Jesus’ eyes and ears were opened and he knew that his mission was now to all people, not just the Jews.
Now you may not agree with me, but think about it. Twice now in a period of just several days, Jesus has allowed a woman to interact with him and he has granted them what they needed. Women did not have legal status. They could not even be trusted to tell a story, and yet, Mark shares with us stories about two women who seek the grace and mercy of God and both are granted their requests. If you want to talk about gender, then I would say that in a very subtle way, the Gospel of Mark issues a bold statement about the equality of women in both the story and the previous story of the woman who had been hemorrhaging.
On that day some 2,000 years ago, Jesus’ eyes, ears, and heart were opened to a bigger mission. I will argue that this new realization that his mission was much bigger and wider than he thought excited him, and it was for that reason that Jesus heads deeper into gentile territory, where he healed a gentile who had been born deaf with the word “Ephphatha!”, which in Aramaic means, “Be opened!”. Jesus was now on a mission to bring God’s kingdom to ALL people.
Today, I hear Jesus saying that same word to us, “Ephphatha!” “Be opened!” We are being called to be open to a bigger ministry than we have ever imagined. We are called to a bigger community than we have ever thought possible. We are being called to be open to different people, different ministries, different ways of doing and being the church because God’s kingdom is about being open to and ministering to all people, not just those we like, or those who we think are like us.
Today, I hear Jesus saying be open and be ready to take risks and to live counter to what the world tells you is proper or appropriate. I hear Jesus saying to us do not expect my father’s ways to make sense in your world, but know that they will make sense in the Kingdom of God. Today we are being challenged to being open to being the church in a whole new way. Today we are being challenged to let go of our traditions and practices that fit the norm and to open our hearts, our minds, our eyes, and our ears to God’s ways. God’s way is scary. It is risky, and it is a call into unfamiliar territory, and yet, it is in that “gentile” territory that God is waiting for us.
Over the next several weeks we are going to be talking about our future, and for many of you the future being discussed is scary, and it seems unreasonable and unattainable, and yet, God says, come with me. Today, many of us will be heading down to the inner city, where we will hopefully not only serve but we will be served by having our eyes and ears opened to a way of life that we are not familiar with, and yet, God is there waiting for us.
Brothers and sisters, Ephphatha! Be like your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Be opened to God and God’s scary and unconventional ways, for they are the way of the Lord, and they are the way God is calling us. Amen.