"PERSISTENT FAITH"

9.30am Sunday 22 March 2009

Readings: Mark 7:24-30; Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23 TNIV

There is interest in the new murder trial for David Bain that begun a short time ago and is likely to continue for some weeks. Much of the credit for this coming about must to go to people like Joe Karam who believed in Bain's innocence and who did not give up on seeking that justice be done. Mark tells us of another person who demonstrated persistent faith, a woman who would not take "No" for an answer.

We learn about the context for this story when Mark tells us, "Jesus left that place (that is, Galilee) and went to the vicinity of Tyre."[1] The ancient city of Tyre was about sixty kilometres from Capernaum in Galilee, and was the leading city of Pheonicia during much of the first millennium B.C. It was an impregnable island fortress for many centuries until Alexander the Great captured it after a seven month siege in the late fourth century B.C., and built a causeway between it and the mainland. Over the years the sand has built up so that it is now part of the mainland itself. In Jesus' day Tyre was 'Gentile' territory, that is, outside of the area occupied by the Jewish people, and therefore a good place to go to get away from the crowds and to avoid the growing opposition and criticism Jesus was coming under from the Pharisees and teachers of the Law. They were unlikely to follow him there for fear of becoming unclean. King Herod also regarded Jesus as a menace, and his home town of Nazareth had no time for him. Here, at least, Jesus could move about free of the attention that followed him wherever he went in Galilee; or he thought this would be so. In the passage we will look at next week we will see that he moves north of Tyre to pass through Sidon, about thirty-three kilometres north of Tyre, on his way back to Galilee.

There are a number of points of interest that we can learn from in this story. First, how did this woman know of Jesus whereabouts, that she came to him for help for her daughter? Obviously his name was known there because news of his miracles of healing he had performed in northern Israel had filtered through to this coastal region. In Mark 3 we are told: "Jesus withdrew with his disciples to ... Galilee... ...many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon."[2] So when this woman heard that Jesus was in her vicinity, she immediately sought him out. It is surprising that Jesus chose to go there, because according to the Jewish historian Josephus, it was an area that was hostile to the Jewish nation. Evidence of this can be seen in AD66 when war broke out between the Jews and the Romans. The Phoenicians took the opportunity to kill or imprison many Jews. The point we can take from this is that Jesus is often discovered in unlikely places and company.

The second point of interest is the woman herself. She is clearly non-Jewish. Mark describes her as "a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia."[3] To describe a person as being 'Greek' was a general term for a Gentile person of Hellenistic culture, namely the culture that the Greeks promoted throughout this area after their conquest three centuries earlier. The description Mark gives of her background, her obvious assertiveness and quick mind to counter Jesus' argument, implies that she was a woman from the higher strata's of society. The fact that her daughter was lying on what is more correctly translated 'a dining couch,' rather than an ordinary sleeping mat, speaks of the comforts of her home. We can assume that she is a woman of substance and decisiveness, who shows amazing resourcefulness in seeking Jesus out, and who will go to any lengths to get healing for her daughter. She has the determination of a desperate parent. She may also have been a widow, and the fact that Jesus does grant her request affirms God's constant care and concern for widows and orphans.

Thirdly, one of the implications of this story is that it is possible for a child to be possessed by an evil spirit. Mark describes the child as her "little daughter," which is an indication of the age of the child concerned. We should also bear in mind that this is not an isolated incident in the Gospels. As we will see later in Mark, when Jesus, Peter, James and John come down from the Mount of Transfiguration, they are met by a distraught father whose boy was troubled in this way. The symptoms given in that account make it clear that the child's behaviour was abnormal. The father told Jesus that whenever the spirit "seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashing his teeth and becomes rigid." Luke adds that the boy suddenly screams when the spirit seizes him, and Matthew that when he had seizures he often fell into the fire or water.[4] Mark does not tell us how the evil spirit affected this woman's daughter, but her determination to get help for her indicates its seriousness.

You may have difficulty believing that children can suffer in this way, and you are not alone. Many dismiss the above incidents as something that happened back then when people believed in such things, but irrelevant to the enlightened twenty-first century. Grace and I had not given it much thought either until we came across the books of a woman here in Auckland who worked as a pastoral assistant in her congregation. In course of conversation as she visited families, a number of parents shared their concerns about their child. Some of these children were acting in ways that were not normal for a child of that age. These parents had exhausted all the normal lines of enquiry, such as going to their family doctor, a child psychologist or family therapist, but with no improvement. As this pastoral visitor prayed about it she wondered if there may be a spiritual base to these children's problems, and so gained permission from the parents for the pastor and herself to pray for each child without the child or parents being present, nor the child being aware that this was being done. In many cases her suspicions were confirmed. The child had been troubled, as in the story here in Mark, by a spirit or spirits, and that when their presence was identified and they were commanded to leave the child, led to remarkable changes in the child's behaviour. Of course it might be tempting to blame every child's behaviour disorder to something demonic. So it is important to remember that, like these parents, one should exhaust all other possible options, but, once that has been done and it has made no difference, one should not discount the possibility of there being a spiritual root to the problem, and seek the help of people experienced in this area of ministry. I mention this because it is an issue that arises from this passage in Mark and is relevant to its application to the present.

A fourth point of interest in this story is the number of barriers Jesus crossed in both going to this area and in helping this woman. Twice he crosses the boundary of what the Pharisees believed to be unclean, first in going into Gentile territory, and secondly by being in what was in all probability a Gentile home. No strict Jew would do these things. The Jews believed that Gentiles were impure simply because they were Gentiles. If they touched a Gentile or touched anything a Gentile had touched, or went into one their homes, they would be defiled. But there are two further boundaries he crossed: namely that he spoke to a woman, and that he did so, at least her in Mark, seemingly alone. Mark makes no mention of there being other people around, not even the disciples. Matthew's account of this incident includes them, and has them urging Jesus to send her away because she kept crying after them (cf. picture on cover of bulletin),[5] but Mark does not do so. The fact that this passage shows Jesus crossing all barriers of nationality, religion, sex and tradition, as well as his willingness to grant healing in response to faith even although the woman was a Gentile, prepares us for the truth that God's offer of eternal salvation through Jesus would be for all irrespective of who they are or where they come from. As Peter discovered in the home of Cornelius, the Roman Centurion, God has no favourites.[6]

A further point of interest which many find puzzling is that Jesus does not welcome this woman very kindly. He seems reluctant to have anything to do with her. In fact you could say he was downright rude, and insulted her by inferring that she was the same as a 'dog.' It seems out of character for Jesus to act in this way, and upsets our sense of justice. We can understand him speaking to the Pharisees and Sadducees in a derogatory manner because they probably deserved it, but not this needy mother seeking healing for her little girl. We know that it could not be the fact that she was a foreigner that was the problem, because Jesus had already healed a Gentile when he set free the Gerasene demoniac from his spiritual bondage and restored his sanity. A number of explanations have been put forward: that he said it with a twinkle in his eye to test her faith; or that maybe Jesus was confused about his mission; or that by using the word that referred to the little dogs that were household pets and not the wild dogs that roamed the streets, it would have softened the insult. But a dog is still a dog whether it is a pet or not. For those of us who are far removed from life as it was in Bible times, the language helps us to appreciate the deep chasm between Jew and Gentile. Why do you think Jesus acted as he did?

Note what Jesus said, "First let the children eat all they want ... for it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs."[7] We need to remember that people eat with their hands in the Middle East. At the meal that Kerryn-Ruth, Jane, Grace's brother and I had with the Pastor, his wife and family in Bethlehem last year we did this. As we were unaccustomed to eating this way, they had provided us with a knife and fork, but because they normally ate with their hands, we did so, too. As you can imagine our hands got quite messy. We used serviettes to clean our hands, but in Bible times people used pieces of bread to do this. After wiping their hands those bits of bread were thrown on the ground for the household pets to eat. This helps us to understand what Jesus was referring to about taking the children's bread and tossing it to the dogs.

Look again at what Jesus said to the woman. What do you take from that statement? Is there any glimmer of hope for her in what Jesus says? The key word is "first." Jesus asserts, just as Paul does in Romans, the priority of Israel to accept and welcome their Messiah. Paul says, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God to everyone who believes; first to the Jew, then to the Gentile."[8] By using the word "first," Jesus is not ruling out the possibility of others being fed. However, she must not jump the queue, but patiently wait her turn. And she accepted that. She immediately caught on to the meaning of Jesus' parable, that the children represent Israel and the 'dogs' the Gentiles. But she was not put off. She refused to take 'no' for an answer, and in her response becomes the first person to engage Jesus in a constructive exchange about his mission. Her response also shows sincere humility. She knows she cannot insist of God's mercy, and does not take offence when Jesus tells her so. She is willing to accept the status of a household dog if it means getting help for her daughter.

This woman's example shows us that humility is a key requirement for discipleship. It was a lesson that we know the disciples had difficulty learning. Several times they argued amongst themselves about who would be the greatest in God's kingdom.[9] What a contrast to this woman who had no qualms about receiving the kingdom as a little dog. Through her humility and faith she received precisely what she came for, the healing of her daughter. Like this woman we cannot presume upon God's grace. God helps those who humbly acknowledge their need and who know they deserve nothing. Bernard of Clairvaux affirmed this when he said: "It is the possession of a joyful and genuine humility that alone enables us to receive grace."[10] God's salvation is a gift of his grace. It cannot be earned or deserved. Pride is the real problem. It changed angels into devils, and in relation to this St. Augustine said, "Satan uses pride as a favourite device for separating us from God and his help."[11] God's grace can only be received through faith.

Note, too, that she did not insist on Jesus going home with her. She trusted his word implicitly. That was sufficient for her. She leaves Jesus believing her daughter is healed, and she was. This woman shows great faith, the same persistent faith that Jacob showed when he wrestled with the man before being reunited with his brother Esau, not letting go of him until he received a blessing; like the four men who were not put off by the crowds when bringing their paralysed friend for Jesus to heal; like the woman with the issue of blood who pushed her way through the crowd to touch the hem of Jesus' cloak; and like the persistent widow who would not stop pestering the unrighteous judge until she got justice.[12] This woman would not be put off, and showed dogged determination to get help for her daughter. God rewards such faith. There was nothing half-hearted in this woman's approach to Jesus. Our memory verse for today says: "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."[13] And that is so true.

Perhaps what is most significant about this passage is that Jesus moved into so-called Gentile territory immediately after what had taken place in Galilee. Remember he had been debating with the Pharisees and teachers of the Law about what defiles a person, and had then gone on to say, "Listen to me, everyone, (words that would have reminded his hearers of the words of Moses in the Shema, in Deuteronomy, which begin with the words, "Hear, O Israel..."[14]) and understand this. Nothing outside you can defile you by going into you. Rather, it is what comes out of you that defiles you." When his disciples later asked him to explain what he meant by this, he said, "Are you so dull? ...Don't you see that nothing that enters you from the outside can defile you? For it doesn't go into your body but into your stomach, and then out of your body." And then Mark puts this note in parenthesis. "In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)"[15] It is generally believed that the Gospel of Mark was written approximately forty years after Jesus had died because it has reference to the Fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Before it was written Peter, who it's believed provided the material for Mark to write this Gospel, and the other disciples had had almost forty years to reflect on the significance of Jesus' words in the light of their mission to the Gentiles, and had come to understand that he was removing the former distinctions between 'clean' and 'unclean' people. The fact that Mark puts this incident of Jesus' visit to the vicinity of Tyre after his discussion about what defiles a person, carries the implication that the Gentiles are not unclean, and that they, too, have a place in God's kingdom. This is why William Barclay aptly entitles this incident in the life of Jesus - "The Forecast of a World for Christ." Of further significance is that the region of Tyre and Sidon was meant to have been part of the tribe of Asher's allotment in the Promised Land, according to Joshua 19, but they had never been able to subdue it. Therefore, Jesus was entering territory that should have belonged to his people. What the force of arms could not conquer, Christ's love and compassion could.

Throughout Scripture this message is plain. God's love and grace is for all humankind. It can never be the domain of a select few. The exclusiveness that the Pharisees and teachers of the Law tried to impose was contrary to God's purposes. The Christian Church had to break free of its Jewish roots so that it could become the global faith God intended. Just as you cannot "pour new wine into old wineskins,"[16] so the Judaism of Jesus' day could not accommodate the "new wine" of Jesus' teaching. Jesus' words naturally led to the global mission of his church with the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. You and I would never have heard the Gospel and become part of Christ's church if this had not happened. God's purposes always prevail. The world is God's focus, and it must be ours, too. This is why it is a privilege to be able to have a part in what God is doing in other parts of the world as well as within our local community through our missions giving programme. We may not be able to go personally, but we can support those who do, just as we can assist our youth as they go to Fiji in July. God's repeated and consistent plan from Genesis to Revelation is that all the families of the earth will be blessed in his Son, Jesus Christ. Out task is to make this known.