September 8, 2024 - Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost - Jesus' Ministry with Friends and Community - The Syrophoenician Woman

Romans 12:2, reads "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." 

There is nothing in the Gospels like the dialogue between the Greek Syrian Phoenician gentile woman and Jesus in Mark, (or the Canaanite woman as she is described in Matthew). For me, their dialogue and the passages immediately before and after the story in Mark are a masterclass in God's relationship with Jesus and God's relationship with humankind.

When this woman begs him to drive the demon out of her daughter he says 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.”  She replies “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Then Jesus says, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” She goes home and finds her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

What Jesus is saying to the woman is that as: “a Syrophoenician” she is like a dog because she will “eat” any type of meat offered to her and he is judging all Syrophoenicians the same way. Yet what Mark has related in the previous verses directly contradicts this, “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” 

Pastor Emillie preached about the struggle she had with this particular story in her sermon, her first on this Gospel next. He does not teach as we would ormally expect. She gave different explanations:

1. The term "dog" did not have the same meaning or connotations it carries now. Pastor Emillie and her mother read this passage in different translations and this was not the case.
2. Jesus was tired, needed rest, and gave a human respone as a result
3. Jesus said this to show the disciples an example of their own bad behavior and responses to a gentile

There are many times in Mark's gospel where Jesus does not know the will or every plan of God the father. Jesus is never portrayed as omniscient in Mark, though he does predict. He is not omnipresent as the son of man, nor is he omnipotent. All this helps us as followers of Jesus to be inspired to take some of the same steps to be his body on earth. We know what he is experiencing when he asks "My God, why have you forsaken me?"

Jesus reacts to the Syrophoenician woman's response to him as a revelation - a new understanding of his ministry that he had not considered before. No mortal can hold a complete vision of God's purpose, will or kingdom. This discovery comes from collaboration with a gentile woman who is determined, persistent and strong in her faith.

 but he does not follow this up with the teaching that would be expected if that were the case. This appears to me to have a far more direct meaning but first we need to be clear by what we mean when talking about Jesus as both son of man and son of God.

The next two incidents appear to confirm the importance of what has happened. The deaf and mute man at Decapolis is a healing story where Jesus spits, puts his fingers in the man's ears, looks up to heaven, groans, and says, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!” This is, in effect, what has happened to Jesus and is a commentary on it. .His miracle healings after her extended to gentiles.

As recorded in Mark 8 Jesus next feeds 4,000. After the people ate and were satisfied the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of the crumbs that were left over. There is enough and no one needs to wait for someone else to be fed.

Pastor Emillie professed that she was in awe of the persistence of this woman who pressured Jesus in her demand despite his first response. Pastor also imagined and blessed the person or people who supported this woman faithfully in her past. They all gave her the courage to point out that God's grace is unlimited and no one deserves to be denied a miracle because someone else is more "deserving".