What Seemed Like Rejection
September 21, 2003
Mark 7:24-30
15th Sunday after Pentecost
Galena-Warwick United Methodist Charge
Warwick & Galena, Maryland
Rev. Dr. Lawrence D. Jameson
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Mark 7:24-30
From there he set out and went away to the region
of Tyre.
He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he
was there. Yet he could not escape notice, but a woman whose
little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about
him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman
was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to
cast the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, "Let the
children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the
children's food and throw it to the dogs." But she answered
him, "Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children's
crumbs." Then he said to her, "For saying that, you may go -
the demon has left your daughter." So she went home, found
the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
Jesus was on vacation.
He went to the beach!
Tyre is a city on the Mediterranean coast.
I don't think they had a boardwalk back then,
but Jesus wasn't looking for entertainment.
He just wanted to get away from the crowds
and have some quiet time.
But even on his vacation,
people followed Jesus,
people like the woman
whose daughter was demon possessed.
Jesus always had compassion for
troubled and needy people.
But Jesus was human. He needed to rest.
How would you feel
if you were on vacation in Ocean City
and people from your work
started showing up at your door
talking about problems, and crisis,
and trouble on the job?
Several years ago
my mother went on a trip to Hong Kong & Japan
on the QE2.
I had just purchased a fax\modem for my computer
and so I decided to send her a fax.
It cost me about $14.
My fax was delivered to my mother
while her ship was on the high seas
somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.
I was thrilled to be able to use my new toy,
but when I told a friend about it
he had the opposite reaction.
I asked him why.
He said, "I always loved cruise ships
because there were no phones, no mail,
and no way to be bothered by the problems
of everyday life.
Now I hear that messages can reach me in seconds
even on the high seas
from any fax machine in the world.
That sort of takes the fun
out of going on a cruise."
Sometimes, no matter how hard you try to avoid them,
problems track you down.
Jesus had this problem,
and so do we.
In this case, the problem was a woman
whose daughter was demon possessed.
But the woman was a foreigner.
She wasn't Jewish,
and Jesus had a special mission to accomplish.
It wasn't that Jesus didn't care. He did care.
But his special mission was
to preach the Gospel of the kingdom,
the gospel of repentance and faith,
to the Jews first.
Question: Why?
Answer: I don't know the best answer to that.
Perhaps it was because
God had already made
so many promises to the people of Israel.
They were the people of the covenant.
They had the Hebrew Scriptures,
and many prophecies about the Messiah.
It was God's plan for Jesus to go to the Jews first.
It was also God's plan for the Gospel to spill over
into the whole world afterwards.
In Matthew 10.5-7
Jesus taught his disciples saying,
"Go nowhere among the Gentiles,
and enter no town of the Samaritans,
but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, proclaim the good news,
'The kingdom of heaven has come near.'"
Think about the travels of Jesus.
Only once did he ever leave Palestine.
And that is the story we are studying now.
And even on that one occasion when Jesus left Palestine,
it wasn't to evangelize the Gentiles,
but to escape if only for a day
the constant wear and tear
of preaching to the Jews.
If you were to read this account
in isolation
it might seem that Jesus was rude to the woman.
It might seem that Jesus
insulted not only the woman
but also her people.
Jesus said,
"Let the children be fed first,
for it is not fair to take the children's food
and throw it to the dogs."
In reality,
Jesus knew full well what he was doing.
His words were harsh,
but what was the tone of his voice?
What look was in his eye?
What unspoken signals
was he sending when he spoke?
In reality, Jesus
was very concerned about this woman
and her daughter.
And in reality, Jesus knew her heart and mind.
He knew just what needed to be said
to let this woman respond in faith.
The woman said:
"Sir, even the dogs under the table
eat the children's crumbs."
Then Jesus said:
"For saying that, you may go,
the demon has left your daughter."
What did the woman say?
What she said is not as important
and HOW SHE SAID IT.
She humbled herself,
and yet she didn't grovel.
She spoke with heart
full of faith, hope, and love.
That is what Jesus honored.
And that is why she received a miracle.
This was not the first time
Jesus helped a foreigner,
and it wouldn't be the last.
Some critics may latch on to these words and say,
"Ah ha! Jesus spoke a racial slur!
He was a bigot."
But critics will always be quick to see the worst.
The truth is
that Jesus NEVER turned ANYONE away.
He helped everyone.
In John 10.16
Jesus said,
"I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.
I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.
So there will be one flock, one shepherd."
With those words Jesus prepared his disciples
for the mission to the gentiles
that would take place after the resurrection.
And in his great commission, (Matthew 28.18)
Jesus said,
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations".
Those are not the words of a racist or a bigot.
Poppy's Stick
As I thought about Jesus and his mission to the Jews,
I remember what Paul said about how
the Gentiles are grafted into the tree of Israel.
Something very much like that happened to my father-in-law
in 1994.
My wife's father loves to plant things.
One day he planted a row of young trees.
He staked the trees in order to support them.
Well, one of the trees died,
but do you know what?
The stick grew.
The dead stick he had chosen to pound into the ground
next to the live tree,
the stick that he had found just lying on the ground,
the stick which was all split to pieces at the top
where he had used a hammer to drive it in the soil,
THAT stick grew!
Isn't that the way God does things?
God has the power to make anything live,
even an old cast away stick.
Brothers and sisters, you and I are that stick!
We were cut off from the promises and the covenant of God,
but God grafted us in,
and by his mighty power, made us live.
The Lord Jesus Christ
can surprise you.
When he speaks,
it might even sound like rejection,
but it’s not.
He never rejects sinners,
just the sin.
PRAYER
Thank you dear Lord for your protection during hurricane Isabel.
Thank you for the national weather service and all news agencies.
Bless and encourage police, fire, and emergency medical workers
for their service and dedication. Give your encouragement to every family that
was hurt by the storm. We also thank you for every person who maintains and
repairs our electrical supply, water and sewage,
roads and bridges, and telephone system. Guide and help our president
and all public servants. Thank you for the United States of America!
In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.