“Sir, even the dogs
under the table eat the children’s crumbs” (Mark 7:28).
Words spoken by a mom whose daughter is sick and who has
just been told by Jesus to go away. Yeah
that’s right, to go away. No sugar
coating here. In fact, Jesus calls both
she and her daughter “dogs”; a cultural slur on a par with the “n-word” today.
If you were in church this past Sunday you may recall that
in my sermon I made mention of Jesus’ racial slur, but I also spoke of Jesus’
mind being changed by a mom who wouldn’t take “no” for an answer; by a mom whose
tenacious love for her daughter would stop at nothing for healing. Like the prodigal dad who sells the farm to
throw a feast for his wayward son’s homecoming, this mom refuses to give up on
grace. And so Jesus’ mind is changed.
God’s mind has been changed before; just look at Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, and
Jonah to see that. In fact, Jesus’ mind
is SO changed by this woman that from that point on in Mark’s gospel, Jesus
goes to the most “gentil-ist” places ever:
To Sidon and the Decapolis – you know, those mini Roman cities. It doesn’t get any more outsider than
that. Clearly this story is illustrative
of our call to radical inclusivity. But
as I reflect further on this story, it seems I missed a point on Sunday.
Not only is this a narrative about breaking down barriers
that divide, but it is also a story of abundance and this outsider’s
recognition of it. It appears that this
desperate mom who is at the end of her rope recognizes a certain abundance in
the things that Jesus is up to. It’s
almost as if she’s saying to the “insiders” who get to eat at the table, “Go ahead eat all you want. But what if your table cannot contain all the
food that Jesus brings? What if there
are leftovers like the time he fed 5,000?
What if there are so many leftovers that the excess food just starts
spilling to the floor? If so, I’ll be there
on my hands and knees gathering up the crumbs because even the crumbs will do
the job”.
Sometimes it takes an outsider, someone with “fresh” eyes to
see the most obvious things we miss.
Here, a desperate mom not only recognizes, but bears witness to the
abundance of Jesus. No proper doctrine
articulated just a mom, her tenacious love for her daughter, and some crazy-ass
trust that Jesus is all about healing and abundance. Is there a lesson here for us? Sitting in a sanctuary which is emptier today
than 20 years ago, is it possible that all we see are crumbs of scarcity when
in reality there is abundance in our midst? Maybe we need this desperate mom to show us
what it means to cling to Jesus trusting that he will do what he says he came
to do.
I don’t know about you, but I’m going to look for her this
Sunday, in fact I’m going to look for her every Sunday. I’m sure she’s been here before and I know
she’ll be here again clinging to each and every crumb of good news that she
hears; fiercely convinced that even a crumb will heal.
Peace and Love,
Pastor Doug
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