two people with two very special needs. A mother with a Syrian (today Both individuals were surely ostracized, rejected and most likely had to face

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1 1 A Crash Course on Inclusiveness St. Paul s United Methodist Church Warrington, PA Yr. B 16 th Sunday after Pentecost/in Kingdomtide 1 (Proverbs 22;1-2, 8-9, 22-23; Mark 7:24-37) September 9, 2018 Irving Cotto, OSL Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it Mark 7:6,7 Introduction This morning our gospel reading puts us before two stories involving two people with two very special needs. A mother with a Syrian (today Lebanese) woman with an evil spirit, and a man with a speech impediment. Both individuals were surely ostracized, rejected and most likely had to face strange looks, and the knowledge that someone would be talking about them behind their backs. In the first encounter, Jesus didn t want to call attention to himself, or for people to know which house he was staying in. 2 But, inevitably, the Syrian woman heard that Jesus was in town and she rushed immediately, to plead on behalf of her suffering daughter. The problem she has is simple; she is a foreigner, she is different, her language, her looks, her ethnicity, her religion and culture, her background, everything about her was not deserving of Jesus priorities. On top of that her daughter is sick, she doesn t have a cold, she is according to the times, demon possessed. 1 [or 19 th Sunday in Ordinary Time] 2 Chuck Swindoll, Study Bible, p. 1203

2 2 And so, what is Jesus to do when he hears her saying, please, cast out the demon from my daughter. There is a moment of hesitation, and where Jesus doesn t act right away. And this is where many of us will have divergent opinions about his response. In fact, the jury is still out as to what was Jesus reason for answering the way he did. He actually, used a derogative term that was used during those times, to refer to gentiles, that is, non-jews. Dog. Except that Jesus used the word, puppy! A domestic, cute pet. But still, a dog. Some people believe that in his own humanity, Jesus responded to the gentile woman with a pointblank answer. I m sorry, I can t deviate from my mission; I can t throw to the dogs the food that belongs to the children of Israel. Ouch! A harsh word and a very uncomfortable image of a Jesus: blunt, seemingly discriminatory, seemingly exclusive. On the other hand, some people believe that in light of what Jesus has been teaching his disciples concerning the importance of a clean heart, over rules and regulations, (as we saw last week), God s circle of acceptance, and hospitality is much wider than our own. And so, the disciples hopefully having listened to the interaction between Jesus and the woman have gotten a crash course on inclusiveness.

3 Several years ago, I was in Managua, Nicaragua teaching a week-long course for Methodist pastors. During the week I heard many stories of how they came to belong to the Methodist church. One of the youngest pastors said, I used to belong to a mega church in my home country; I was a youth leader, and one Sunday it was my turn to be an usher. A homeless man approached the main entrance; he was in bad shape, his appearance was terrible. I was about to welcome him in, when suddenly, one of the officers said, keep him out, he s not good for our image. Then the young pastor said, that was it for me. I was shocked and could not see myself being a part of such travesty. Shortly after that, I came across a Methodist church. Eventually, this young man became a top leader in his new denomination. In Matthew s version of this same story, the following comment is added, Matthew 15:24, listen carefully, And his disciples came and urged [Jesus] send her away, for she keeps shouting after us. She was an annoyance, and a burden to them. Think about the many people who have been turned away, or turned off by church attending folks; how many times we ve been driven by prejudice, and assumptions missing out on meeting new people, making new friends, widening our circle of human interactions. My wife and I once shared a meal with an Amish family. As soon as I walked in with some other friends of ours, I was asked to sit at the head of 3

4 the table and say grace. The food was glorious; real homemade cooking. But the fellowship experience of walking into a different place I will always cherish. Many of us have travelled abroad, and have been surprised and enriched by different customs, and different views about a lot of things. And so, the Jesus we see in the gospel this morning, while approaching this woman with a stonewall, minutes later welcomes her into God s favor. He says, For saying that, (in other words, Good answer! 3 ) you may go-the demon has left your daughter. And when the mother got home, she found her daughter, perhaps exhausted after the struggle with the evil spirit, but completely free (v.30). Now what about the man who was also in need of Jesus intervention? Well, if you recall, after taking him away from the crowd, Jesus used a symbolic action which the man and the culture of his time would have understood as having curative properties. Spitting on his own fingers, he touched the man s tongue. (I know its gross, and even disgusting for some of us, but culturally it had meaning). But in order to get his message across Jesus used the culture of the people, however, the healing came through his sovereign word. 4 He shouted, EPATHA be totally open, the entire person. 4 3 Ibid. 4 Guillermo Cook y Ricardo Foulkes, Comentario Biblico Hispasnosmericano, 1990 Editorial Caribe, p. 196.

5 Jesus is about reaching out to those in need, Jesus is about breaking down barriers, Jesus is about speaking to the human heart in whatever place, within whatever culture, through different approaches, and different men and women because his love and acceptance is much wider than our expectations, our assumptions, our preferences. The gospel story is about the deliverance of three precious and different human beings: a little girl who is freed from spiritual bondage, a gentile woman who is welcomed into God s salvation plan, and a Jewish man whose tongue is released and can now communicate. The man s dignity, the woman s acceptance, the little girl s freedom, were all restored by the power of Jesus extravagant inclusiveness and unwavering acceptance. All of them were the target of Jesus concern. Inclusiveness meant that in their daily mission to spread Jesus message they were to replace a table of crumbs with a table of abundance for all; they were to widen the circle so that all children of God can sit at the table not as strangers but as members of the family. Someone said, that on this day, Jesus proposed that the tables legs be cut so that no one could crawl under; so that you could only use it to set a meal of hospitality for all kinds of people. One day I was painting a red clay grotesque image of Jesus which I purchased in Cuzco, Peru directly from the hands of the artist. 5

6 As I was painting it my youngest son approached me. He was quietly observing me giving Christ a brownish tone color. Now, Alejandro has a beautiful cinnamon color. After giving the figurine a second coat of paint, he abruptly said, Stop, Dad! Now Jesus looks like me. (show the crucifix) Ever since that day, I have kept it in my home study as a reminder of the power of words, the power of images, and the power of attitudes. We are either bridge builders and nurturers of healthy and loving relationships, or we are obstacles and impediments for the gospel of Christ, and the best of our witness to touch people s lives. Conclusion Out there in our mission field, which includes friends, strangers, family members, co-workers, foreigners, citizens, immigrants, documented and undocumented, the poor, the rich, we are sent out as missionaries to tell people that they do not have to live an existence of crumbs, or with their face on the ground as dogs, under the table but they are welcomed into an existence of children of God, with access to all the riches that God has laid on the table for all of us. Remember what we heard in the first reading: The rich and the poor have this in common: the Lord is the make of them all, those who are generous are blessed, do not crush the afflicted at the gate. (Proverbs 22:1-2, 9, 22b). Amen. 6

7 7 For the Benediction and Dismissal In science we talk about centripetal and centrifugal forces. The centripetal force is a force that moves our body toward a center (i.e. satellites rotating around a planet). The centrifugal force acts outwardly (i.e. mud flying off a tire or child feeling a force pushing them outwards while spinning on a roundabout). I don t know much about this except that in terms of our mission our evangelism in the world, can be governed by a centripetal force meaning, a tendency to focus on ourselves, our kind, our circle, or we can be governed by a centrifugal force, meaning a commitment to go beyond our immediate zone of comfort and meet new people, and show them Christ in our words, and in our actions. (This week pray for 5 people you are drawn to because they are willing to listen, or you feel comfortable with and pray for another 5 you stay away from due to rejection or resistance). But in each case let us pray that our hearts are open, receptive and welcoming.