Sermon for September 8, 2024 - The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
A New Year, A New Mission, A New Hope for Us All
By Andrew c at English Wikipedia - Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=743768
Our journey through Mark continues as we come alongside Jesus in northern Galilee. He is about as far away from Jerusalem as one can get on foot. The narrative is continuing to build. The tension is palpable. Emotions are running high, and the story will soon culminate in the Transfiguration; after which he and his disciples then turn south towards Jerusalem and the events of Holy Week. But it is in these healing stories that Jesus comes to see the fullness of his own ministry; a fullness that extends beyond historical, political, and cultural boundaries. And for us, as we begin our new program year and we begin a new season in our life together, we hear reminders of the broad and inclusive nature of God’s love that challenges us to move beyond our places of comfort as we carry on the mission of God.
In last week’s gospel text, Jesus took to task the Pharisees and scribes for their ideas of “purity” and their judgment of those who did not conform to their standards of piety. Now, as if to prove his point, Jesus heads off further north into “impure” territory, the gentile region of Tyre, which today is southern Lebanon.
It appears that Jesus is exhausted and seeking some “down time,” as he “entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice.” Even in this gentile region, it seems, word has spread about Jesus. He cannot escape the demands for his presence and his healing power.
The woman who approaches Jesus breaks through every traditional barrier that should prevent her from doing so, because she is “a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin.” In other words, she is implicitly impure, one who lives literally outside of the borders of the land of Israel, and outside of the law of Moses. She is a descendant of the ancient enemies of Israel. As if that were not enough, she is also a woman, unaccompanied by a husband or male relative, who starts a conversation with a strange man; another profoundly serious taboo transgressed.
Moreover, a demon possesses her daughter. Although we are not told exactly how the demon affected her daughter, we can guess from other stories about demon-possessed people that it made her act in bizarre and anti-social ways.
Any way you look at it, this woman is an outsider. And what is more, Jesus actually has the nerve to say as much to her face. When the woman falls at his feet and begs him to heal her daughter, Jesus says, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” The “children” in this statement are often understood to be the children of Israel, the “little dogs” are understood to be all other peoples.
Jesus’ response is harsh. We wonder, how could he say such a thing? He appears to be quoting a bit of Jewish folk wisdom, but that does not lessen its sting. Some interpreters propose that Jesus is testing the woman to tease out her affirmation of faith. Others propose that here we see the very human side of Jesus, exhausted, lashing out, and needing a break, or perhaps not yet understanding the scope of his own mission.
While we cannot know exactly what Jesus was thinking, it is clear that when approached by this Syrophoenician woman, Jesus’ immediate response is to appeal to the limits of his mission; his call to serve his own people. In Matthew’s version of this story, Jesus begins by saying, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
When this tenacious mother comes back at him with her clever response, “Sir, even the little dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs,” Jesus can only agree. “For saying that, you may go,” Jesus says. “The demon has left your daughter.” Jesus can only agree that God’s love and healing power know no ethnic, political, or social boundaries. “So, she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.”
The challenge of Mark’s gospel, embodied so powerfully in this story, is to perceive a God who is active, breaking into the world, and often in ways that do not conform to the norms of human institutions; be they religious, social, or political. And so, it is fitting that we hear this story this weekend because we are reminded that our call to discipleship moves us out from our places of comfort, beyond the perceived limits of our mission, so that we may be challenged and grow in our relationship with God. Just as Jesus realized his mission was to everyone and not just the Jewish people, the people on the inside, we too are reminded that we are also called to offer more of ourselves than just the bare minimum; how it is we might try something different, something new in the service of God. Today begin a new program year and in it lies all the hope for what could be for us as a parish family. We pick up the threads of mission and ministry that were laid down during the summer, and we do so with renewed vigour.
Perhaps you might feel being called to serve within in our liturgy as a reader proclaiming God’s word, or as sides person welcoming people into this sacred space, or assisting hospitality to provide fellowship after worship. If you love to sing or play music, our choir and music director are always looking for new people to share their passions and gifts. Even our growing children’s ministry needs more regular teachers to help guide the next generation in their spiritual formation. Speaking of formation, our adult formation courses will resume soon with a study on the stories of Genesis and a lectionary bible study in Advent, both of which provide us with an opportunity to grow in our knowledge and love of God.
Perhaps you are feeling called to serve outside these wall as our Outreach team continues to explore different ways to support social justice and equity in this neighborhood. From our seasonal collections, like the abundance of school supplies that we collected for Mulvey Elementary School or the warm clothes we collect for RaY, to volunteer opportunities to the unique ways in which each of you serve God in daily walk, there are many ways to serve. You can even join our pastoral care team and connect with parishioners who are unable to be with us physically, but remain connected to us via our YouTube channel and regular visits from parishioners like you.
Spiritual nourishment for our soul is essential, however our mission cannot end there. Like Jesus in our story this morning, his followers are continuously called to a larger vision of mission; one that aims to embrace the outsider, the stranger, even the enemy. While the rhythms of worship, fellowship, and formation at All Saints are largely focused on this community, let us remember that we take part in all these opportunities, so that we can be transformed to go out into the world. We engage in worship, fellowship, and formation so that we might be strengthened and renewed for the work that lies ahead. God is calling us into a new season of our life together, with one foot rooted in the present, in all that we have been and all that we are now, and with one foot raised, ready to step towards a new missional horizon.
So, it is then, that as we begin this new program year may the Holy Spirit ignite a new intensity into our commitment to give witness to the vastness of God’s vision, the immensity of God’s mission. After all, we do know, we really do know from our own personal experiences just how deeply God loves each and everyone of us – and that is exactly what this neighborhood of West Broadway needs to hear and see from us. Amen.
