Rethinking the Things I Have Been Taught

 

Rethinking the Things I Have Been Taught (Mark 7:24-30)

So Jesus said to her, “Because of that answer, go back home, where you will find that the demon has gone out of your daughter!” (Mark 7:29)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Our walk with Jesus took us from the area around Capernaum, northwest to the coastal city of Tyre. That far north in Israel there is a greater concentration of Gentiles, and so I feel like we need to be careful. Good Jews like us, after all, are not to mingle with Gentiles.

As usual, Jesus wanted his visit to be low-key. He didn’t want to draw attention to himself. But as usual, that was impossible. Word quickly got out that Jesus was in town.

We were at dinner in someone’s house when, suddenly, a woman came in and threw herself at Jesus’ feet, begging him to cast the demon out of her daughter, who was at her home. And this woman, she was a Gentile. Ugh.

Jesus looked at the woman and said to her, “Let the children eat first. It isn’t right to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” The silence in the room was palpable. Did Jesus, a man of compassion and care, really call this woman a dog? Is that what we heard?

But the woman didn’t seem insulted by what Jesus said. In fact, she jumped right into whatever word game Jesus was playing, and she said to Jesus, “That’s true, sir, but even the dogs under the table get the scraps and crumbs that fall to the floor.”

A smile came across Jesus’ face at this Gentile woman’s response. “Good answer! Go on home, and you will find that your child’s demon has left her.” So the woman left. I heard later on that her daughter’s demon had, in fact, left the child.

I can’t stop thinking about the conversation between Jesus and this Gentile woman. So many things swirling about in my head. For one thing, I was shocked to hear Jesus call this woman a dog. I mean, that is how we refer to the Gentiles – as dogs. But I have not heard a derogatory word come from Jesus’ lips. For him to call her a dog really seems uncharacteristic of Jesus. Because it sounds so uncharacteristic, I choose to believe that Jesus is, in a mysterious way, communicating with this woman in a compassionate manner. I have never known Jesus not to show compassion to people who suffer, even people we’re supposed to avoid; I don’t think I need to assume that he was speaking cruelly with the Gentile woman.

I realize that the language of “children” and “dogs” is also the common way that Jews speak of Jews and Gentiles. The Jews are the children of God, and the Gentiles are, well, dogs. Could Jesus have been saying that he needs to help the Jews before he turns his attention to the Gentiles? I don’t know. It still bothered me, but it didn’t seem to bother the woman, so clearly something was going on that I don’t fully understand. 

Something else that strikes me is that when the woman came into the room, I reacted with revulsion, because she was a “despised Gentile.” That was my instinct, because it was so ingrained in my being to think that way about Gentiles. But the more I think about it, the more I feel convicted for feeling that way about anyone who is different in a way that I have been taught is not good. It was just yesterday that Jesus told me I need to rethink what “unclean” means. I realize that it was wrong for me to consider this Gentile woman “unclean.” I also realize that Jesus came, not just for Israel, but for the whole world.

Finally, I am inspired by the determination of the woman. She was courageous enough to break taboo by entering the house and coming up to Jesus. She was persistent, and wouldn’t be put off easily. Her persistence and determination were evidence of a strong faith. Her example is something I want to imitate.

Sometimes my walk with Jesus just makes me rethink things. I don’t always get blinding revelations. But walking with Jesus does make me look at things differently because Jesus is different, very different from anyone I have ever known. He really does shake up my sensibilities. And I’m glad that he does shake things up for me. I’m beginning to believe it is making me a better person.

Open my heart and my mind, Jesus. Make me willing to rethink everything I have been taught, so that I can see things from your pure, unpolluted perspective. Amen.