Sermon for The Vine: Mark 7:24-30
Hello. My name is Pastor Larry Chitwood, and I am grateful for this opportunity to join you on this journey of becoming the people and the church Jesus calls us to be as we grapple with the difficult realities of racism, bigotry, misogyny, and homophobia
Our culture, our American culture – more specifically our white American culture, has a long and complicated history with race and racism, misogyny and the fair treatment of women, and homophobia and the exclusion of gay, lesbian, and transgendered persons.
The church in America has not been immune to these issues. Indeed, we too have been guilty of racism, bigotry, and exclusion. As Christians, we have talked a lot about the evils of racism, bigotry, and exclusion. But, when it comes to taking action to stand against these sins, we have fallen short.
“Racism, homophobia, and misogyny have no place in the church, yet they have often been perpetuated by the church – sometimes overtly, sometimes covertly. Too often the church’s silence in the face of these evils has done as much or more harm than the actions taken by those who spread hate and division.
The question we have before us today is “What is our next step in becoming the people and the church that God calls us to be and the world needs us to be?”
There’s a story about Jesus and a loving mother whose daughter has some sort of illness for which the mother has been unable to find a cure. Both Matthew and Mark tell this story in their own ways. But I believe that the story as Mark tells it is most helpful in this journey of growth and transformation we are on today.
Here’s Mark’s telling of the story found in Mark 7: 24-30:
From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Sir,[g] even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” And when she went home, she found the child lying on the bed and the demon gone.
In leaving Galilee and traveling to the region of Tyre, Jesus has crossed a boundary – he has entered unfamiliar territory. When we enter into the holy work of dismantling systems of oppression and exclusion like racism, misogyny, and homophobia we cross a boundary into unfamiliar territory.
Once Jesus finds a house to stay in, he instructs those with him to keep his presence in that place a secret. Well, that doesn’t work. News of the healing power of Jesus had also crossed the boundary from Jewish territory into Gentile territory and a woman, a mother, whose daughter was gravely ill, sought him out.
There were a couple of issues at play here that complicated things. Jews had a long and complex history with Gentiles and with Syrophoenician Gentiles in particular.
There were other problems, too. This was a Gentile woman engaging with a Jewish man. Not only is she a woman in a patriarchal society, but she is also a foreigner, a Gentile, in a Jewish-oriented symbolic world—intruding on Jesus’ Jewish-oriented world. Misogyny, racism, and exclusion had become institutionalized in religious customs and practices of that day. We have seen this in the history and practices of the modern church as well.
It would not have been an easy thing for a Gentile woman to approach a Jewish man asking for help. But she was a mother and her love for her daughter propelled her across the boundaries of gender, religion, and ethnic origins into the presence of this Jewish man whom she believed could heal her daughter.
At first, it seems that Jesus does not see her as a desperate mother of a gravely ill daughter. Jesus seems to only see the labels culture has placed on her - woman, Gentile, Syrophoenician. Labels that limit, exclude, and do harm by standing in the way of mutuality and relationship. Labels that almost seem to deny her humanity.
But the story doesn’t end there with rejection and exclusion. Jesus listens, truly listens to the mother and he hears her story in such a profound way that he crosses another boundary. Jesus crosses the boundaries of race and gender, and he sees this mother for who she is. The Mother is vindicated, the daughter is healed, and the false boundaries erected by religion, culture, and society are torn down.
There is an important lesson for us in this story as we seek to dismantle unjust systems of exclusion and harm in the church and in our world. In his book, “How to Fight Racism,” Dr. Jemar Tisby offers a model for dismantling racism and bigotry. I believe this model is evident in the story of Jesus and the Syrophoenician mother. Tisby calls his model “the ARC of Racial Justice. ARC is an acronym standing for Awareness, Relationship, and Commitment.
We increase our Awareness by studying and knowing our history – our cultural history and the history of the church -, by exploring our own stories and histories with racism and bigotry, and by grappling with what God says about the dignity and worth of all persons.
Jesus grapples with the history of exclusion and conflict between the Jewish people and the Gentiles of Syrophoenicia. He first clings to that history but something happens – a relationship happens.
Relationship happens when Jesus listens deeply to the woman’s story. Not only does he hear her words but he also hears her heart. When we listen deeply to the stories of others we had previously viewed as problems, they become people. This Gentile mother that fell at Jesus’ feet was not a problem to be solved. She was a person in need.
After that relationship blossoms Jesus makes a commitment. He commits to crossing the false boundaries of bigotry and exclusion. He commits to healing the mother’s daughter. He commits to expanding the breadth and depth of the Gospel good news message he came to deliver. Jesus commits to transformation, reconciliation, and acceptance of all people.
Let us now commit ourselves to raising our awareness of the history and reality of systemic and institutional racism, misogyny, and homophobia. Let us commit ourselves to developing relationships of mutual trust and deep love rooted in the love of Christ. Commit to listening deeply and lovingly to those impacted by oppression and exclusion. And commit ourselves to becoming fellow pilgrims with all persons on the journey towards justice, peace, and mercy for all.
This level of commitment is not without risks. It conjures up fear within us – fear of what others might think or say about us. Fear of what we might learn about ourselves and the world as we thought we knew it. Fear of getting it wrong – of making mistakes.
Jemar Tisby implores us to “Go forth not in fear but in faith that even your mistakes will increase your capacity to disrupt (injustice).” God’s words to the prophet Joshua command us to not be afraid and to not be discouraged “for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” With God’s help, the people of God can accomplish what God requires of us. And what does God require? That we do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. Thank you for listening friends. Now, let’s get to work!
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