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| Reflection on the Syrophoenician Woman by Fred *************** The Faith of a Syrophoenician Woman – Mark 7:24-30 Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre.] He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an evil] spirit came and fell at his feet. The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. "First let the children eat all they want," he told her, "for it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs." "Yes, Lord," she replied, "but even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." Then he told her, "For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter." She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone. **************** This passage has been confusing and disturbing to me for some time. So long as the only model I carried for Christ was Emmanuel, God with us, the passage disturbed me, made no sense. I had read fully human; fully divine in the creeds but Jesus as God was the image I carried in my head. If Jesus is God, what sort of god is it who compares a mother and her ailing child to dogs taking food from the mouths of God’s children? How do I make sense of a god like that? It sounds like a tribal god, interested in Israel alone. This does not match even the Old Testament, where Israel was blessed, not for its own sake but to be a light for the nations. If God is a tribal god, only for the children of Israel, what place is there for me and others like me, far from that ancient tradition? Now, concerning scripture, I believe that the writings in the Bible were written by people, usually men, who were inspired by God. I believe the gospels specifically were written by people with first person experiences with Jesus or from those who had such experiences. In particular, I do not believe that God guided the hands of the writers. Since this story also appears in Matthew, it must be important for us to understand. Also, the story must have been part of a tradition available to both authors or else one copied from the other. What did the author or authors of this text intend for us to take from it? While I may never know what was intended by the authors back then, I can try to make sense of it for me, today. One way that this passage makes sense is to really believe that this man known as Jesus was truly human, like us. The text suggests to me that up to this point in his ministry, Jesus saw his calling to be limited to the children of Israel. Gentiles were likened to dogs not to be fed before feeding the children of Israel. When the woman retorts with her argument, he begins to see the Kingdom as one of abundance, not one of scarcity. There is enough, God’s love will not be limited. Even so, Jesus did not touch the Syrophoenician woman or her daughter as he did in healing the deaf man in the next miracle recorded in Mark. He preformed this miracle long distance. Sometimes, especially when I am most certain that I understand God or God’s will for my life, I find that I am wrong. I usually find out that I need correction when I am in dialog with others, not alone in my closet. If the One I hope to follow did not always get it right the first time, maybe there is something for someone like me in the Kingdom. This is a source of hope and strength. - - - - - - - - - - - - After hearing all the autobiographies last week, I am compelled to consider how the Syrophoenician must have felt. If this story were told about 21st century citizens of the United States, I would be likened to the ruling elite of Israel, not the marginalized Gentiles as I assumed above. As part of the chosen people, I could demand my rights. Not much room for empathy here. I can only imagine how it felt to be likened to a dog, the parent of a dog, when I came to the healer. Would I have had the strength, creativity, and presence of mind to respond as she did? Could I survive on the street? My best guess today is probably not. Or, maybe I should just listen to someone who knows. |