In preparing for our thinplace house church gathering this week, I found a great article on this week’s gospel reading. We tend to follow the lectionary at thinplace so we’ve been in the gospel of Mark this summer doing a lot of thinking about Jesus as BREAD and using bread as our prayer tool reminder.
An orthodox pastor, Father John Burnett, calls this part of the Gospel of Mark, The BREAD section of the gospel… We’ve seen Jesus feed 5000 and say that he is the BREAD that came down from heaven and we’ve heard him say that he is the BREAD we must eat to have eternal life. In Mark 7, Father John feels like Jesus asks…
“Who can eat the children’s bread?”
Which made me wonder who do we think or believe should be allowed to eat the BREAD of Jesus? Who do we stop from eating it, or stop from being with Jesus because of our prejudice, disbelief or doubt?
Father John says we really need to know more about the context of this passage and who the woman was who was asking for help.
READ the Gospel or LISTEN
MARK 7:24-37 THE MESSAGE
24-26 From there Jesus set out for the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house there where he didn’t think he would be found, but he couldn’t escape notice. He was barely inside when a woman who had a disturbed daughter heard where he was. She came and knelt at his feet, begging for help. The woman was Greek, Syro-Phoenician by birth. She asked him to cure her daughter.
27 He said, “Stand in line and take your turn. The children get fed first. If there’s any left over, the dogs get it.”
28 She said, “Of course, Master. But don’t dogs under the table get scraps dropped by the children?”
29-30 Jesus was impressed. “You’re right! On your way! Your daughter is no longer disturbed. The demonic affliction is gone.” She went home and found her daughter relaxed on the bed, the torment gone for good.
31-35 Then he left the region of Tyre, went through Sidon back to Galilee Lake and over to the district of the Ten Towns. Some people brought a man who could neither hear nor speak and asked Jesus to lay a healing hand on him. He took the man off by himself, put his fingers in the man’s ears and some spit on the man’s tongue. Then Jesus looked up in prayer, groaned mightily, and commanded, “Ephphatha!—Open up!” And it happened. The man’s hearing was clear and his speech plain—just like that.
36-37 Jesus urged them to keep it quiet, but they talked it up all the more, beside themselves with excitement. “He’s done it all and done it well. He gives hearing to the deaf, speech to the speechless.”
What do you notice from the passage that you didn’t notice before?
What do you wonder about? What questions come up for you as you listened to the passage?
What have you noticed about your ability to see or hear these days? Are you blind to anything? Like injustice, racism, etc? Ask Jesus to show you the things that are prevent you from truly seeing other people….maybe it’s your phone, maybe it’s work, maybe your fear? Let Jesus help you with this.
Jesus wants to go unnoticed when he arrives, yet he doesn’t get any time on his own. How have you felt like this before?
When you think about ears what do you think about first? Hearing? Listening? Music? Sounds in Nature? Noise? Consider all the times Jesus invites us to hear or listen to him. There are 2,114 Bible results for the word “hear” in the NRSV translation….Why is HEARING so important? Why do you think it’s important to Jesus?
We live in a world of US vs THEM just like in the days of Jesus. Yet Jesus is about healing…healing ALL people not just Jewish people. Who do you tend to exclude when you think about who deserves healing or who deserves grace? Why?
Consider this from Father John Burnett
“In Gentile territory, a woman approaches Jesus. Matthew simplifies and describes her simply as a “Canaanitess” (Mt 15.22), identifying her with Israel’s ancient enemies, but Mark describes her as a Greek, a Syrian, and a Phoenician (Mk 7.26)— that is, as a triple Gentile!— Moreover, she’s a woman. Mark is usually not this blatant. He is portraying her almost cartoonishly as a quadruple threat to Jesus, from the vantage point of the Israelite purity code.
A woman, a triple gentile, comes and begs a favor of a famous Jewish rabbi, directly challenging the purity code. And at this point that rabbi, fully conscious of his vocation as a leader and teacher, has only two choices. He MUST either ignore her or slap her down. Otherwise, he will not just lose face; he will even show that he is positively dishonorable, because he doesn’t care about the honor of his own people and his own God.”…
Now for her part, if Jesus ignores her, she will have no recourse but to slink away in shame. But if he engages her at all, he leaves himself open to a counter-challenge. And if she can top him, then he has to give her what she wants. The game is quite well known— sociologists call it “challenge-riposte”— and it’s common in honor-shame societies like that of Jesus. The form the game will take here is that of a “battle of proverbs”. She has challenged Jesus simply by making her desperate request. Jesus, who must either ignore her or make a suitable riposte, chooses to describe the situation of interest by means of a proverb, or at least by a proverb-like saying. If his opponent can find a more fitting proverb or gnomic saying to describe the situation, she wins. Can she do it?’ Fr, John Burnett
READ the whole Article here by Father John Burnett
How does this help you with this encounter ?
The Story continues….
“After his encounter of the Syro-Phoenician Greek lady, Jesus and his disciples take a very confusing itinerary: “And going out again from the coasts of Tyre they came through Sidon to the ‘Sea’ of Galilee along the middle of the coasts of the Decapolis” (7.31). This is something like going from San Francisco to Miami via Edmonton and down the Colorado. But all the places that Mark mentions on this wild ride are Gentile or mixed, and the point is, they end up in the Decapolis, the Ten Cities region on what Mark has already referred to as the “other side” (the west) of the “Sea” of Galilee (cf 4.35, 5.1). The Decapolis has a mixed but mostly Gentile population. Upon arriving in the Decapolis, “they”— evidently, Jesus’ followers— bring a deaf and dumb man to him (7.32-37). In this Gentile region, we may infer that the man is a Gentile. In this extended and interesting story, Jesus gives the power of hearing and speaking to a Gentile. In the Bible, “hearing” is not trivial. Every single day, every observant Jew pronounces these words: “Hear, O Israel, Yhwh is our God; Yhwh is One!” (Dt 6.4).”
John Burnett
I’m not sure I had noticed that both of these encounters involve healing a Gentile, an outcast, a non person in the Jewish culture of the day.
Made me think of all the people who are on the “outside” of who I believe should be inside.
It also made me think about my own need for healing…no so much physically right now, but emotionally and spiritually. I need eyes to see and ears to hear. Sometimes I am so deaf to the voice of Jesus. Or I’m just so stubborn that I don’t listen when I do hear from Him!
Where or how do you need healing today? Maybe it’s physical healing your need, or emotional, or relational. Talk to Jesus about this and ask him to touch you and bring that healing.
Isaiah 35:4-7
35:4 Say to those who are of a fearful heart, “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you.”
35:5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be opened;
35:6 then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert; a the burning sand shall become a pool and the thirsty ground springs of water.
PRAY :
Jesus
Remove the wax from our ears that prevents us from hearing your voice
Remove the scales from our eyes that keep us blind to the beauty of ourselves, our world and the beauty that is in other people.
Lord, Give me ears to hear your words of love and eyes to see your gaze of tenderness.
I too often hear only myself and my fears, not your words of love and compassion, honor and care.
Heal this deafness in me!
Give us all ears to hear your still small voice that calls us each by name.
Give me ears to hear and help me to truly know that I am your Beloved.
Jesus
Give us eyes to see and ears hear to the cries of our world and that are not deaf to the cries of our friends and neighbors in need.
Forgive me when I fail to hear your voice and listen to your words of love for myself
and when I forget this is how you view everyone, with eyes of love!
Jesus
Forgive us when we fail to see you in the faces of other people especially when we miss your image in those we want to reject or dismiss out of hand.
Jesus we know that you have the words of life.
We know that you are the Bread that came down from heaven,
Give us today our daily bread.
Remind us that this is Bread that is for ALL people no exceptions!
You are that bread.
Help us to not be hoarders
but to be transformed by you
BREAD of life. AMEN
PRAYER PRACTICE:
Grab a Q-Tip swab to use as a prayer tool. Once upon a time at a National Youth Worker’s Convention, Rev. Kenda Creasy Dean gave everyone in the large audience of youth workers and volunteers a Q-Tip cotton swab to pray with. She asked us to consider the students who have opened our ears to hearing God in a new way. And she invited us to pray for these students. As an experiential prayer practitioner, I have always remembered this practice. And I’ve used Kenda’s idea for my own prayers when I clean my ears each day after showering.
Q-Tip Prayers by Lilly Lewin ( inspired by Kenda Creasy Dean)
When you use a Q-Tip, pray for the person/persons who help you hear from Jesus.Thank Jesus for them and ask Jesus to help them hear his loving voice today.
Next, take time to pray for the person/persons who need to hear from Jesus and about his great love for them.
Finally Ask Jesus to give you ears to hear him
To hear his still small voice
To hear him call you by your name and call you Beloved.
Ask Jesus to give you ears to hear the cries of the poor and the hurting and listen to them.
Ask Jesus to clean out your ears so that you can listen to those who need to be heard.
Jesus give us eyes to see and ears to hear as you do today … & everyday. Thank you for loving us just as we are! Amen 🙏
©lillylewin and freerangeworship.com
Art : Ilyas Basim Khuri Bazzi Rahib Jesus and the Canaanite Woman