Clean & Dirty Clothes (Free Version)
Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost (Year B)- Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23; James 2:1-10, 14-17; Mark 7:24-37
This week’s Lectionary texts can be found here.
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All of our texts this week draw our attention to the poor, the outcast, and the vulnerable. The Christian faith fixes our eyes on those who are “other” and “outside.”
The point of the Proverbs text (Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23) is not that money is bad, but that it isn’t what ultimately defines us, and it can be dangerous. All of us: rich or poor, have the same Maker. Each Sunday, we “meet” together for worship and the regular rhythm of worship reminds us of our common identity.
There will be a day when true justice will be done. Christians have the opportunity to live this future world here and now. Ultimately, we must remember that God is on the side of the oppressed. He is their ultimate defender. This is a critical reminder as we ponder difficult issues related to COVID-19, refugees, and racial justice. The sick, the foreigner, and the oppressed are close to God’s heart.
The commands of James (James 2:1-10, 14-17) are not a simple moral imperative. James is not just saying “do good works.” Rather, James is calling us to the complete transformation that happens because of Jesus. We have been called children of God and we are to be formed by that reality. God’s grace to us is that it is he who opens our ears are unties our tongue (Mark 7:34-35). He has freed us so that we might live this grace in the world.
It’s ok if our gospel text (Mark 7:24-37) hits funny. It is uncomfortable. Wait, Jesus calls this woman a dog? The context is gnarly, but there are three important things to point out: 1) many scholars believe that this is playful banter rather than a personal insult. 2) Jesus’ answer is the “party line” response. This is what a rabbi was supposed to say to a woman born in Syrian Phoenicia. Gentile women were not even supposed to speak to Jewish men, let alone rabbis. 3) It is true that Jesus came first to the children of Israel. Jesus came first to fulfill to the story of God and God’s people Israel. And yet, it is in the specificity of Israel, that God ultimately chooses to bless the whole world.
As the story unfolds, we see that Jesus not only listens to her, he allows the woman to challenge him. In her challenge, she reminds the crowds of God’s heart and mission: to bless all people. Because of her faith, Jesus heals her.
Two important things about Jesus we can glean from this story: Jesus steps into the place of the outcast. If you follow the trajectory of the gospel story, Jesus himself became like a dog, rejected and marginalized, so that the “dogs” could become children. Jesus stepped into the place of the outsider. He was rejected. And, Jesus elevates the outcast. He elevates a woman who was not supposed to speak to him to the role of teacher. After spitting out the party-line response, Jesus allows himself to be corrected, not in that he was wrong, but in that the whole system was wrong.
Reading a story like the Syrophoenician woman and the story of the man who was mute and deaf reminds of us where we are often so unlike Jesus. How often are we deaf to our neighbor? How often are we unable to listen? How often are we unable to learn? How often are we unable to speak words of healing and love? The way of Jesus calls us to step into the place of the outcast and to lift them up.
Our “Deep Dive” this week engages with John Chrysostom, Augustine, Gregory the Great, and Martin Luther. I also include a story about “celebrity pastors.”
*Artwork- Colorful Hands 3 of 3 / George Fox students Annabelle Wombacher, Jared Mar, Sierra Ratcliff and Benjamin Cahoon collaborated on the mural. / Article: https://www.orartswatch.org/painting-the-town-in-newberg/