Sermon #11@ St. Paris UMC (9.6.09)

Pastor Dave Kepple

Text: Mark 7:24-37

Title: “Crumbs From the Table”

Date: Sept. 6, 2009 (14th Sunday after Pentecost)

Internet Link for primary scripture text used in this sermon:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%207:24-37&version=NIV

We’ve been hearing a lot about health care lately.
There are many strong opinions about the pros and cons of the proposals coming out of Washington. There have been and will be impassioned debates, and people of good faith can agree to disagree on these matters.
If I’m not mistaken, that’s the American way.
In fact, I’ll go a step further and say that even though there are many things that we as Christians may not agree about, there is much more that brings us together as one people. Above all, we are one in the Spirit, and we are one in the Lord – and that is something special, in a world that is given over to division and strife.
Even as the health care debate unfolds, we continue to see and hear reports about the H1N1 virus – or “swine flu” as it’s also known. We wait and watch nervously, especially as we send our children and grandchildren off to begin a new school year.
Meanwhile, the day-to-day challenges of maintaining health and wholeness touch all of our lives, and there is seldom any let-up.
Our church’s prayer chain has been busily attesting to this. In the past week alone, we have had prayer requests for at least four persons with cancer, including a 4-year-old boy. In his case, the request was for “healing this side of heaven,” which is always our hope – though it doesn’t always work out that way.
We also had a sad request Friday for a teen-ager named Josie, who remains hospitalized after a horrendous beating by an ex-boyfriend. She is experiencing paralysis. We are reminded again – we live in a broken world.
But friends, there is One who has all power.
He is the source of life – both in the here and now, and in the eternity that lies just beyond.
He is the source of all health – in body, mind and spirit.
He is the source of the boundless hope – and the endless love – that we can experience in our hearts through faith.
His name is Jesus Christ, and He is the Master Physician. And he calls us to be “physician’s assistants” – through our prayers, and our actions.
We see Jesus the healer at work in both parts of today’s gospel lesson.
In the first part, Jesus and his disciples have left their home base in Galilee, and headed north, going near the Phoenician city of Tyre on the Mediterranean coast. Jesus already had done a lot to attract attention back home – whether he wanted it or not. You may remember from last week some Pharisees and teachers of the law had even come from Jerusalem to check him out as word of his teaching and healing spread.
It could be Jesus wanted a chance for him and the disciples to get off by themselves for a while – get a break from the crowds, and recharge their batteries. Mark tells us in v. 24 he found a house to stay at, and he didn’t want anyone to know it. It sounds like he really needed that time apart. But it wasn’t to be. Soon the community was abuzz about the presence of the Jewish teacher from Galilee.
Keep in mind, Jesus and the disciples were on foreign turf. Tyre and the region around it are part of the modern-day nation of Lebanon, and for Jesus and his cohorts, this was definitely a place to be wary. This was pagan country – populated by Gentiles. In other words, these were people who were outsiders – they were not part of God’s covenant relationship with the children of Abraham. As a matter of fact, faithful Jews considered it a point of decency not to associate with Gentiles. (Sort of makes you wonder why Jesus chose Tyre for this getaway trip.)
Even Jesus appears uncomfortable or annoyed – at least at first – when he is approached by one of these Gentiles. To make matters worse, it’s a woman. She was breaking a lot of cultural taboos by approaching Jesus, but she didn’t care. Somehow she had a sense of who Jesus was – and what he could do – and her circumstances were dire.
I’m sure many of you who are mothers can relate. There was something desperately wrong with her little girl. We are told the child was possessed by an evil spirit, and whatever form it takes, evil always seeks to destroy. And in her great need, this mother came and fell at the feet of Jesus. She begged him to do something to drive the presence of evil out of her daughter.
And what a response she gets.
“First let the children eat all they want,” Jesus told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”
Now, this is not exactly the kind of thing we’re used to hearing from Jesus, because frankly the Lord seems to be insulting this woman – because of her Gentile background. When Jesus speaks of letting “the children” eat all they want, he is actually using children as a metaphor for the people of Israel – God’s chosen ones – the focal point of his mission.
Jesus himself is the bread – the sustainer of life – and guess what? He is saying the Canaanites and all the other pagans are no better than a bunch of dogs. Trust me when I say, this was not intended as a compliment.
But the woman is undaunted. If anything, her resolve is steeled because she absolutely believes this man can save her little girl. Humbled by her fears for her daughter, she takes no umbrage at the seemingly harsh words of Jesus. Rather, she further demonstrates her humility – and her faith – by countering: “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
And though Jesus knew he was “sent only to the lost sheep of Israel” (Matt. 15:24), there was something about this woman’s passion that touched him deeply.
In Matthew’s account of this same story, Jesus responds: “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
The Canaanite woman returned home and found her child well, just as Jesus had said.
And you know what? Like salvation itself, this healing was a gift of pure grace, a beautiful byproduct of faith. The Son of God looked beyond the cultural and religious divides of his time to extend the touch of mercy.
Soon, Jesus and his band of brothers were on the move again – going back to the south and around the Sea of Galilee into another pagan territory – the region of the Decapolis (or the 10 cities).
Once again, health care was on the agenda. Some people brought a man who was deaf and could hardly talk to Jesus. They begged Jesus to place his hand on the man. They really believed “the touch of the Master’s hand” could make all the difference.
Jesus led the man away from the crowd, and attended to him in a way that seems strange to us – the fingers in the ears, the spitting, and touching of the man’s tongue. But it is that final part of the healing that gets my attention. Mark says Jesus looked up to heaven. In other words, he was looking to his Father.
And then he gave a deep sigh – which maybe, in some way, reflects the deep compassion and desire to heal that Jesus always feels for those who are suffering. Finally, he declares emphatically, “Ephphatha!” – an Aramaic word which means, “Be opened!” And with the power of Christ at work in his life, his ears were “opened,” and his tongue was loosened, and he began to speak plainly.
Poor fellow. Who knows how long he has been unable to speak? And yet the first thing Jesus says is don’t tell anyone. That hardly seems fair! In fact, Jesus told them all to keep quiet about what he had done – but it was like trying to put out a fire with gasoline. “The more he did so, the more they kept talking about it.”
You see, that’s the way it is when Jesus touches our lives.
If we’ve been down and out.
If we’ve been in that place where there just doesn’t seem to be any hope.
If we’ve lost faith – or maybe we never had it in the first place.
If we’ve been hurt or disappointed time after time after time . . . by people, in general – or maybe by our own family – or maybe even by the church.
And then – in the midst of the darkness – Jesus touches our lives . . . and things begin to change. Sometimes quickly. Sometimes slowly. And what a relief it is when the healing touch of Christ comes into our hearts.
Just like that man who was rescued by Jesus, we’re going to want to tell others about it!
We’re going to want to let our light shine before others, so they may know, too, that our God of Love is right here, in our lives, today.
Jesus has come to our town, too. He’s come to Saint Paris, and to Urbana, and to Piqua, and to Tipp City, and all kinds of places.
And Jesus still comes to bring healing.
He comes to bring hope.
He comes to bring life – new life – abundant life – eternal life.
And you know what? I don’t think Jesus minds us talking about it.
I think on this side of the Resurrection, we’re supposed to share the good news.
We’re supposed to “share the love of Jesus Christ in the community” – and beyond.
What was it the Lord told his disciples in the first chapter of Acts – his final words before he ascended to Heaven?
He told them to get ready for a power surge.
It’s right there, in Acts 1:8 – Jesus says: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
But I digress. Forgive me – sometimes I get kind of excited about what the Lord’s done in my own life, and some of the healing I’ve experienced. There are many types of healing that are available to all of us yet today, through the power of the Living God.
So what are we to do with all this? What’s the “take-away” from these stories in Mark 7?
Maybe it’s as simple as – what was that word again? Ephphatha! Be opened!
On Friday I got something in the mail from Vectren Energy. As I was looking it over, I read a sentence at the bottom of the page where it said that Vectren – and here I’m quoting – “delivers not just power but possibilities” to their customers.
Now I don’t tell you this to put in a plug for the gas company.
But I think in there somewhere – along with good news of Mark’s gospel – is a message that God has for us today . . . a message that God wants our hearts and minds to be opened to – and that is this:
Jesus Christ delivers not just power but possibilities – to you, and to me, and to anyone who comes looking for him.
And you know what’s even better? Because God loves us so very much, we don’t even have to wait until we’re ready to go looking for Christ. Because the Son of God is already looking for us. He’s looking for the lost sheep of Israel. He wants to fill our lives with His power, and free us from ourselves. He wants us to experience the new possibilities that will be opened when we come seeking crumbs from the table.
We are called to receive these gifts – the gifts of:
More love . . .
More power.
More of Christ in our lives.
Let’s not let any false pride keep us from claiming these gifts right now.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.