Mark
7:24-37
All
Dogs Go to Heaven
Finally, we have an answer to the age-old
question which has bedeviled every parent and pet-owner from the dawn of
time. Yes, it is true, dogs do go to
heaven! Or at least one dog made it, so
others have reason to think they might, too.
A “dog” is what Jesus calls this
woman. There is no way to pretend this
isn’t what he said. When she asks (when
she begs) that Jesus cast out the demon from her daughter, Jesus says to her, “It
is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” For all we know, he might have preferred to
refer to her using the less-than-socially-acceptable slang for a female
dog! Maybe he shows some restraint; but
he still goes at her rather direct. “Get
away from me, you mother of dogs!”
This is not the Jesus we are accustomed
to reading about. It is difficult to
image what Jesus is thinking at this point.
You and I might not understand the geographic
references which make this encounter inevitable. Mark is clear in stating the name of the
region in which Jesus says these things.
He is in “the region of Tyre”.
Does anyone know where Tyre is?
Well, it is way up north – further north than any other recorded event
in the Gospel narratives. He is no
longer in the heart of Jewish country. And,
maybe for good reason.
Do you remember where Jesus was in last
week’s reading? He wasn’t in the heart
of Jewish territories, but he was closer.
He is in Bethsaida, which just a bit north of the Sea of Galilee. There, in Jewish country, Jesus is verbally
challenged by Pharisees and scribes who had come from Jerusalem. Jesus has to tell them it isn’t the traditions
of their elders nor the convictions of their teachers which will save them.
Perhaps frustrated by these
encounters with the Jewish insiders, he decides to “set out and went away.” And where he goes to is a place where he is
unlikely to meet many Pharisees or scribes or high priests or priests of any
ilk. He goes to Tyre. He goes to the territory of Gentiles
(non-believers).
He enters a house, and “did not
want anyone to know he was there.”
Here is another strange thing: “He
entered a house”? Did he go to the home
of someone he knew? Or was he invited
into a house by the brother of a sister to a cousin who was among his group of
twelve? Or was this house listed as the
perfect Air B&B for someone
looking to avoid attention while retreating to the region of Tyre? Is this yet another hint that Jesus as to why
Jesus is so insulting to this woman? His
attempts to retreat to a mountain top for solitude had failed – that is how the
5,000 came to a lonely place with no food to eat. Maybe Jesus is looking for a break, a time
away.
And this woman enters the picture. Maybe that is why he calls her a dog.
In trying to recast this encounter
in a positive light, some biblical scholars say that Jesus was testing
her. That he didn’t mean it when he
referred to her in this way, that he was making sure she was all in before he
did as she asked. That may be an
acceptable explanation to those who read about the encounter from a distance of
a few centuries, but I am not sure it meets my standard for acceptable behavior
in the moment.
If you have ever been present when
a mother begged for the welling being of her child you know that such mothers
have already been tested and are very close to the breaking point. There is no ambiguity with regard to what
they believe and what is in their hearts.
It doesn’t get Jesus off the hook to say he knew how this would turn out
and just wanted the rest of us to learn from her persistence.
Others have suggested this is an
expression of Jesus’ humanity. You know,
the divine-human divide. Two natures;
one person. There are other such stories. Like the reference to Jesus as a young lad
using his divine power to win at a game of marbles.
Where I begin to draw a significant
learning from this story is when it begins to teach me something about the very
nature of God. This is a notion upsetting
to some – in fact speaking of this in this sanctuary a few years ago got more
than a few riled up. So let me speak
more carefully this time, and ask that any part which is upsetting be discussed
further when I am not the only one talking.
What if this encounter in the
region of Tyre reveals to us a Jesus who is himself willing to schooled as to
what his witness and his message will mean to the world? What if this encounter allows us to see “repentance”
not merely as something God seeks from us but something which is the very
nature of God?
Jesus’ witness and his message are
going to change the world and change the way we live in the world. It is a simple thing to say that God loves
everyone, but it is quite another thing to live out what it means to love those
who do not speak the name of God or follow the traditions of God’s chosen
people. It sounds wonderful to say that
everyone cares for and looks out for the wellbeing of our neighbors; it is
quite another thing to give up our Saturday moving furniture into a new home
for one of our Family Promise Neighbors.
The region of Tyre continues to be a region of insults. And because some of the residents of that region
speak poorly about the US, our government is about to cut off United Nations
funding for the refugees living in that part of the world.
If dogs go to heaven, there are
going to be more than a few unhappy cats.
The invitation to follow Jesus is
gentle and calming. What Jesus wants
most for us is a happy and joy-filled life. Following Jesus puts us on that
trajectory. But the path is fraught with
the need to examine and readjust our prior assumptions.
In Tyre, Jesus himself comes face
to face with this.
In reading Mark 7, we are brought
face to face with it, too.
It is not the traditions of our
elders nor the convictions of our teachers which align us with the will and way
of Jesus. It is the simple decision to
follow. To follow where he will lead
us. And be forewarned - where we are
lead is not always where we thought we would go.
Amen.
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