A WORD FOR TODAY, September 1, 2021
Peggy Hoppes
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Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, September 1, 2021
Scriptures for September 5, 2021, Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Isaiah 35:4-7a; Psalm 146; James 2:1-10, 14-18; Mark 7:(24-30) 31-37
“Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in Yahweh, his God.” Psalm 146:5, WEB
Have you ever known someone whose very presence could change the atmosphere in a room? Perhaps it was a favorite aunt whose sweet demeanor was able to calm nerves at a family reunion. It may have been a very good teacher who could cause a room full of rowdy children to be quiet and attentive in an instant. A romantic partner can change our mood in a heartbeat. A Sunday school teacher can plant the seeds that make us want to know more about Jesus. Some transformation is temporary, but some can be eternal.
Israel was in a bad place. They were exiles in Babylon, far from home and far from the dwelling place of their God. They felt abandoned. They had little hope. However, in today’s Old Testament lesson we hear words of hope spoken by Isaiah to those exiles, words that promised transformation. God promised that the day would come when He would save them and that day would be the most spectacular experience. God’s presence among His people would change the entire atmosphere of the desert. He would heal brokenness and restore wholeness.
The time was not at that moment; they only had the promise of what was to come. However, that promise is enough to encourage God’s people to be strong and have no fear. They might be in a bad place for a moment, but God had a plan. They would not stay in that bad place forever. He would come and He would bring change. The enemy would be punished and those who were hurting would see God’s grace.
This promise was fulfilled when God saved Israel from Babylon, but as with so much of the Old Testament, it also pointed to another day. Israel was taken home to Jerusalem, but all people would one day be saved from the greater enemies by the Messiah. This Old Testament lesson points to the reign of Jesus Christ whose very presence brought about healing and peace. He is the Living water that nourishes perishing people who are caught in the the darkness of sin and death.
These are words of hope for them and for us, yet we do not know what the future holds. Those Israelites had been in Babylon for seventy years. Most of those still alive did not even know what life was like in Jerusalem. Was there even a city where they could live? What of their enemies? Would they allow them to travel home? Would they make it, or would they die in the desert at the hands of their enemies?
Isaiah speaks to the people about what God has in store for Israel’s enemies. The name Edom, while a specific place, was also used for all those who opposed God's chosen people. “For Yahweh has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.” (Isaiah 34:8) God had plans for Edom and for Israel. The day would come when there would be joy again and the glory of the LORD would be seen. Through Isaiah, God offers the weak and downhearted a word of hope. “Be strong! Don’t be afraid! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, God’s retribution. He will come and save you.” What great promise these words hold, the salvation of God was near.
Those words are for us, too. I don’t know about you, but I feel weak and downhearted some days. I trust in God, but the struggles of this life are sometimes overwhelming. It seems like something new happens every day to cause worry and fear. We carry so many burdens that we can’t help but wonder what will happen next. We hear the words of hope in this promise, but we can’t help wondering if it is really meant for us. We know that we are saved by God’s grace and that Jesus finished the work, but we also know that we still struggle with sin. Sometimes we are our own worst enemy; will God really save us from ourselves?
Israel’s problem for most of their relationship with God is that they never really trusted Him to be there when they needed Him. They turned to others. The sought the aid of other nations. They asked for an earthly king. They tried to find salvation in God's creation, rather than from God Himself. The psalmist reminds us that we should never put our trust in men; they cannot save. They will pass away; their plans will come to an end. But those who trust in God will be blessed, for He is faithful. Are we any different? Aren’t most of our problems caused by our turning to the wrong saviors?
Israel had been saved from exile and sent home to Jerusalem. They praised God and lived under His kingship for a time, but it did not last. Years passed and the people turned away from God again. They became oppressed by an occupying nation, but the enemy was even closer than the Romans. They were trying to save themselves. They thought that if only they did everything right, if they followed all the rules, then God would bless them.
They built walls dividing people in their quest to become perfect; they outcast those they deemed unworthy of God’s salvation. They separated themselves from the sick, the foreigners, and the sinners. They did not believe God would come for them; God would only save His chosen people. Yet, the promises from Isaiah and the psalmist speak about the great things that God will do for those who are rejected. He will ensure justice, feed the hungry, free those in prison, give sight to the blind, lift the fallen, and love those in a right relationship with Him. He will protect the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widows. God will bless all those whom the elite of His day reject.
The psalmist wrote, “He turns the way of the wicked upside down.” Isn’t that what Jesus did? He turned the whole world upside down. He ministered to the outcasts, the oppressed, the sick, and the lonely. He forgave the unforgivable. He ate with the sinners, taught the women, and shared the kingdom of God with foreigners. He came for the weak and downhearted. He spoke the words of hope into their lives. “Be strong! Don’t be afraid! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, God’s retribution. He will come and save you.” The promise was no longer a future event: the Savior stood in their midst.
The Gospel lesson shows us the fulfillment of the promises found in Isaiah. In this passage we see two examples of people being healed. First, a mother came to Jesus and showed Him that she believed He could heal her demon possessed daughter. Then a group of friends brought a deaf and dumb man to Jesus for healing. They approached Jesus because they believed that He could do something. They received the answer to their request. Jesus brought transformation; He gave them healing and wholeness.
He healed the sick, comforted the grieving, and befriended the lonely. He gave sight to the blind and made the deaf to hear. Today’s Gospel lesson tells two very different stories. In the first, Jesus did not want any attention. He hid in a home, but a woman found Him. She fell at His feet and begged Him to heal her daughter. “Sir, she has an unclean spirit, please free her.” Jesus’ response seems strange. Why would Jesus insult this woman? In His words we see how the world saw the woman. To them, she was a dog. But Jesus did not reject her; He asked her to wait. “Let the children first be filled.”
There are a dozen different ways we can understand Jesus’ comments to this woman which seems to infer that she is nothing but a dog. It is shocking to us to hear Jesus refer to the woman as if she were a mangy street mutt begging for a morsel that might keep her alive. We might think of the reference in a much less offensive way, as if she were like a house pet that needed to be patient for a moment, her time would come. It all depends on how we perceive Jesus’ words: is He pushing her away or encouraging her to be bold? We don’t have the advantage of hearing His tone of voice. Is there annoyance or compassion? While the term “dogs” was probably meant in negative terms, there is something about this passage that hints at the compassion we know Jesus exuded to all He met.
She heard compassion and did not give up. “Yes, Lord. Yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” She had heard of Jesus and she came to Him in faith. She was not offended by His comments, but rather accepted their relationship as it was: He was Lord, she was a dog. This is where Jesus turned this story upside down: He didn’t accept their relationship that way. He was Lord, she was His. She got exactly what she asked from Jesus, her daughter was healed.
When I think of crumbs, I think of the unsatisfying bits that fall to my lap and to the floor. The dogs might lick them from the floor, but they’ll never fill a grumbling belly. These crumbs were much more. In those days they did not use silverware and they did not have linen napkins. They used crusts of bread to wipe the grease off of their hands and then threw those crusts on the floor. Instead of getting tiny pieces of bread, they were fed with tasty morsels filled with substance and flavor. The woman’s “crumbs” were the incredible gift of her daughter’s freedom.
The woman was far from the typical follower of Jesus. She was a foreigner, a pagan. She was a woman. It is unlikely that she would even feel comfortable talking to a man, particularly a Jewish rabbi. Yet, she sought Him out and interrupted a well-deserved and long needed moment of solitude with her request.
From the woman we learn about humble boldness. She knew her place in Jesus’ world, even if Jesus did not think of her in that way. She knelt before Him and agreed with His assessment that she was a dog. But she was bold enough to seek His grace, even if it was just the leftovers. Her words made Jesus act. He said, “For this saying, go your way. The demon has gone out of your daughter.” At first Jesus indicated that He would not do anything for the woman. Her words seemed to change His mind. The child received the healing the mother sought. With humble boldness - a boldness that first knows our place and trusts God’s mercy anyway - we can seek God’s grace even when we think there’s no chance to receive an answer. He will hear and He will be present in our circumstances and we will know the transforming power of His grace.
What about the attitude of Jesus in the second story? He followed a strange ritual, putting His fingers in the ears of the deaf man, spitting and then touching his tongue. This sounds like some sort of pagan practice; I can almost see the old witch doctor in a frightening feather mask and cape screaming some strange words at the demons causing the deafness and muted voice. Jesus healed with just a word, why the weird acts? Was Jesus reaching out to this man in a way he might understand? The same, perhaps, is true of the woman. She expected to be treated as a dog; anything else, even compassion, might have been frightening to her.
Even stranger in this story, however, is that Jesus told the man not to tell anyone about what happened. He also told the man’s friends. Yet, how can someone possibly keep silent when their tongue has been loosed? We don’t know how long the man had suffered, and I’m sure there were a million things he wanted to say. He would now be able to say thank you to his friends, I love you to his family. He would be able to hear the same words. He would be able to do business, earn a living. Jesus transformed His life. Yet, with all these wonderful things to say and hear, the most important would be praise to God for this incredible gift. When you are transformed by the presence of God, how can you remain silent?
Jesus crossed barriers and broke walls. He showed no favoritism. He healed; He changed lives. In these two stories, the ones who were healed were not even the ones who asked. The woman’s child was not there. The man could not speak for himself. Jesus healed because the woman and the friends trusted Him. They turned to Him for the sake of others.
Have you noticed what is missing in this story? There is no mention of faith in either story. Jesus often says something like, “Your faith has healed you,” or “Your faith has made you well.” Yet in these stories there is no mention of it at all. Faith is there; you can see it in the actions of the mother and the man’s friends. The ones receiving the healing are not the ones asking for it. The faith comes from others; they believed that Jesus could do something. They received the answer to their requests. Jesus brought transformation; He gave them healing and wholeness. He turned their world right side up. There is no mention of faith, but it is obvious that they believed He could make a difference.
Mark tells us that the more Jesus ordered the people to be silent, the more loudly they proclaimed God’s glory. They sang praise to God and they told everyone about the good things Jesus could do. They were so amazed and said, “He has done all things well. He makes even the deaf hear, and the mute speak!” This brings us back to the Old Testament prophecy from Isaiah. Jesus was, even from the beginning of His ministry, fulfilling the very things that were promised of the One who would restore Israel. And we see in the story of the Syrophoenician woman that Jesus’ power was not limited to Israel. Jesus would restore all people to God. Our faith makes us part of that salvation story: first as recipients and then as God’s hands sharing His grace with others, no matter who they are.
Faith does not justify sin. Faith admits our sinfulness and trusts in God's mercy. Faith recognizes that we are sinners in need of a Savior and that Jesus Christ is the one who has saved us. We might be able to point to a good life, but there are truly none of us who are good. Our good works will never save us, but James asks, “Do we have faith if we do not live as God has called us to live?” Do we have faith if we justify our sin? Do we have faith if we treat people according to what we see on the outside? Do we have faith if we seek what is best for ourselves rather than doing that which God has called us to do?
James follows up this treatise on favoritism with a comment about works. We are called by faith to a life of mercy. But if we do not show mercy, our faith is as good as dead. Mercy means loving our neighbor as we love ourselves. Mercy means loving our neighbor whether they are rich or poor, native or foreigner, healthy or sick, young or old. Mercy means being God’s hands, feet and mouth for them. It means being God's presence in the world so that the world will be transformed by His power.
When James asks “Can faith save you?” in relation to the good works he is describing, he isn’t suggesting that good works will save a person. What he is saying is that those who are saved, who live in the faith that comes from grace, will have the same mercy on those whom they see that need to be saved. When we see someone who is hungry or naked, we’ll offer them what they need. It is not enough to wish them well in their hunger and nakedness. James writes, “What good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but has no works? Can faith save him? And if a brother or sister is naked and in lack of daily food, and one of you tells them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled’; and yet you didn’t give them the things the body needs, what good is it?”
Faith without works is a dead faith, not a living faith. Just as the God who comes to save us does so in an active and powerful way, so too we are sent into the world to be God’s hands and share His grace with others. Isaiah talks about the work God is going to do in the world. The eyes of the blind will be open, the ears of the deaf unstopped, the lame shall leap like a dear and the tongue of the speechless will sing for joy. God will take those who can’t do things and make them people who can. Faith calls for action: seeing, hearing, leaping and singing! Faith is about praising God for His mercy and grace. And then it is about going out into the world to help others see, hear, leap and sing. God gives us the faith and in that faith we do.
We may wonder if God’s promises are meant for us, after all we know we are just like that woman. In our relationship with Jesus Christ He is Lord and we are dogs. Yet, because of God’s grace, that relationship is so much more than we deserve. Jesus is Lord, but we are His. He fulfills all God’s promises; He turns the world upside down, or right side up, for us. He transforms us. He heals us. He makes us whole.
Whatever His attitude about the people who disturbed His peace, Jesus was God’s presence in the world, not only in word but also in deed. He brought transformation. He gave sight to the blind, hearing to the death, feet to those who could not walk and voice to those who could not speak. He did this for us, too, even though we may not have ever thought ourselves as blind, deaf, lame or dumb. We were once prisoners to sin, but He set us free and brought us through the desert with life giving water. He gave us sight to see the truth. He gave us ears to hear His Word. He gave us feet to go out and He gave us voice to sing praises to God. He calls us to live our thanksgiving in very real and tangible ways, ways that will transform the world. He’s put the battery of faith in. Now turn it on and go. Praise God and do whatever you can to make a difference. Manifest the faith that has been given so that the world will see the glory of God.
Though Jesus repeatedly told the man to keep silent, his joy was so great he could not keep silent. The brief encounter with Jesus gave him the voice to speak and the ears to hear; he could not receive such a great gift without praising God. Hallelujah! Do we feel that same sort of joy? Do we receive God’s grace with such an enthusiasm that we can’t help but share it with others? Do we receive the answers to our own prayers and rush out into the world proclaiming the wonderful things God has done? Can you imagine singing today’s Psalm as you walk down the street? Even more so, can you imagine yourself living out that praise in very real and tangible ways, trusting that God can and does provide all we need? Is your faith a living faith that responds to God’s grace with active and joyful service?
The faith of the Jews could not save them because it looked to themselves for salvation. They did nothing for those who most needed the love and mercy of God. The faith of the Syrophoenician woman and the friends of the deaf man looked to Jesus. That is the faith that saves, the faith that looks at Jesus. But it is not invisible. It is the faith that actively reveals itself through loving our neighbors. James tells us that faith without works is dead. Faith in Jesus brings action. The woman sought Him out, asked Him to heal her daughter. The friends sought Him to touch Jesus. When Jesus made him hear and speak, they could not stop talking about it. In Christ we continue His work of breaking down walls, bringing hope to the weak and afraid, seeking Jesus to bring healing to those we love. Happy is he whose help is in the Lord.
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