In the Midst of Suffering

Mark 8:27-30

 

        Questions concerning the identity of Jesus are at the heart of most theological conversations. Was Jesus God? Was Jesus human? Why does it matter and if it matters what does it mean? It mattered enough in the 4^th century that Christians literally went to war over those questions. That sounds a little insane, but as the early church was trying to identify what separated them from just being an off-spring of Judaism, the nature of Christ was at the center of those conversations. Today, 1700 years from Nicaea, the concept of fully human, fully divine slips off our tongue without hesitation and probably without much thought. We forget this radical concept uniquely separates us from every other religion. For this reason, I imagine the early church loved telling the story of Jesus and the Syrophoenician woman, an anecdote reminding them just how human Jesus really was.

        It is a strange story, perhaps even a dangerous story. Jesus was traveled to Tyre, an ancient seaport located in what is now Lebanon. Jesus had not only left Galilee, he was no longer in Palestine. Before we get too excited about this it should be noted crossing geographical lines during the time of Jesus was not quite as big a deal as it is today. Jesus did not carry a passport and there were no guards monitoring traffic. Jesus probably made the trip because many Jews choose to live in that region.

        The story becomes complicated when a local woman came to where Jesus was staying and begged Jesus to cure her daughter. When Jesus realized the woman was a Gentile, 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.”

        Every time I read this text I remind myself to take a deep breath and then proceed cautiously. A correct translation would be, “I came to bring God’s word to Israel. I don’t have time to deal with anyone else.”  If Jesus had used those words I am not even sure the story would have made it into the Book of Mark. But what is recorded is a horrible racial slur by the very one we hold up to be without sin.

        I told you to take a deep breath. If we claim Jesus to be without sin, a claim which is at the center of our belief that Jesus is the savior of the world, then our next few steps must be cautiously taken.  A traditional reading of this text would insist that Jesus did not insult the woman when he called her a dog because such an action would have been sinful and Jesus was without sin. In other words, what Jesus was actually saying, “O my cute Phoenician Collie, you know I will get to you when it is your turn. Be patient.”

        Some of us in the room might not be so quick to buy this explanation, especially since the woman responded, “Even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” What is going on here? Only someone with a theology so rigid it allows no areas of gray could argue the words of Jesus were not hurtful.  But were they sinful? I think a better question might be are we so constrained by our traditional readings of the Bible that we are unable to experience the profound theological tension that Mark provides. In light of the truths Jesus was taught as a Jew, nothing he said to the woman would have been perceived as sinful. She was a gentile, therefore unclean. Jesus was to be commended for even engaging her in a conversation. But Jesus was also more than a Jew. His whole ministry embodied an examination of Godly and cultural truths. It was a path that would not be mistaken for a cakewalk.

        One of my favorite theologians wrote, “Before there was Christology, there was Jesus the Christ.” Douglas John Hall claims we sometimes let our theological principles overwhelm the humanity of Jesus, replacing a discovery of the real love of God with a quest for impersonal and rigid truths. The absolutes which Jesus confronted are not so different from the absolutes we confront today. As I grow older I am not so sure the theological principals adopted and declared sacred by centuries of white male theologians  always make sense to Christians who happen to be female, or of color, or of a lesser economic status or to be more exact,  folks that have regularly been called dogs by those of the highest religious pedigree. This passage does not intend to challenge the concept that Jesus was without sin. It goes much deeper. It argues against proclaiming inappropriate cultural traditions as Godly. 

        Imagine being Jesus. He made a casual remark about another human, a remark that would have drawn a laugh or two back in Nazareth, but the Phoenician woman was not amused. She confronted Jesus. To his credit Jesus quickly examined what he had said and was appalled by his own words.. The humanity of Jesus was confronted by the divineness of God, leading to a holy observation that everything Jesus had learned back in Nazareth was not necessarily the gospel truth. Jesus turned to the woman and essentially said, “How could I have been so blind? Your words have healed me and your daughter.”

        We all need to be healed and this particular sickness is not germ related. From the beginning of time we hear and repeat worn out phrases which become truth through repetition. You know the litany. Poor people are lazy. Young people are irresponsible. Old people can’t drive. Mexicans are drug runners, Blacks are thugs, Muslims are terrorists and so on and so on.  

        I am well aware that this world is filled with lazy and irresponsible people. I know there are folks who are just downright mean as well as folks involved in terrorist acts. But to designate behavior with a bias against someone because of their race, nationality or age is just ignorant. I suspect each of us has experienced some kind of prejudice.

        When I was in college my father took me into a respectable men’s store in downtown Richmond. He decided at some point in my life I might need a suit. Dad and I entered the store, wearing our usual attire of blue jeans and old collared shirts. There was more than one salesman available but none seemed in any hurry to approach us. Eventually my father got the attention of one of the men and asked if we might look at some suits. He looked down at us and said we might find something affordable at Sears.

        Up until that moment I never realized I was poor white trash. But it gets worst. I remember thinking to myself, “I know I have a tan, but he treated me like I was black.”

        Why is it that humanity at large suffers from such a deep insecurity that we always seem to be creating barriers that give status and value to some while denigrating others?

        Jesus stopped. Jesus looked at the person in front of him, not as a woman, not as a Phoenician, but as a genuine child of God.   Jesus saw her through divine eyes rather than through the tainted generalities of another’s bigotry.

        Generalities are lazy, irresponsible and make us look quite foolish. To make a mistake once is understandable. To do it twice really is sinful.  Did Jesus sin? That is not the question. Did Jesus step beyond a cultural misconception and experience a new truth?  YES HE DID!

        This is the savior I choose to follow.   TGBTG   Amen.