“Seemingly hopeless cases”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Friday, August 4, 2023

Mark 7:24-39 (Forward, p. 6) CEV p. 1036

Here, in today’s two stories, we find two situations that really, to all intents and purposes, seem like ‘hopeless cases’. The first concerns someone possessed by an evil spirit. Here, it might well have seemed ‘hopeless’ on a number of accounts. First off, of course, demon possession wasn’t something that could be tackled by just anyone. Secondly, Jesus was ‘on his day off’, as it were. He had come to Tyre in secret, simply to get away from the crowds and all their demands. So, for that reason, He might well have turned her away. And then, thirdly, there was the exact scenario that unfolded, namely that Jesus felt that going to foreigners, non-Jews, was not part of His mandate at that particular time. However, the woman was not about to be put off or intimidated by any of these considerations. In fact, even when she was initially rebuffed by Jesus’ words, she did not allow them to deflect them from her steadfast and unwavering intent to see her daughter healed. She had faith that Jesus could well do this, and she was not going to leave until she saw this take place.

In the second instance, we see another seemingly ‘hopeless case’, a man who was deaf and dumb. Presumably he’d been this way for some time, but this didn’t deter the folks that brought him to Jesus. They had faith that Jesus could do this—and this is indeed what happened. Jesus was able to do exactly as they asked. No wonder those who heard of this were amazed and exclaimed that Jesus ‘does all things well.’

I think that we need to reclaim something of that faith, that faith that Jesus ‘does all things well’, which means that we need to be more frequent in prayer, simply in bringing people and situations to Him, and more believing that Jesus can actually ‘pull this off.’ There are so many situations around the world—and nearby as well—that need His loving care and intervention, so we do really need to take them to Him. Amen.

Forward notes: “’Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs’” (verse 28b).

“As a Syrophoenician—and a woman—the speaker here would have been considered an outsider, someone who was ‘less than.’ The good news that

Jesus preached—God’s kingdom is near—was addressed to the children of Israel. And all was well until they bumped against the boundaries of their group, until they found themselves dealing with dogs and children, those regarded as having little importance.

“This woman begs Jesus to help her, to help her daughter. In not his best hour, Jesus demurs, saying that the good things should be given to the group. But, like women forever, she persists until he finally gives in, and her daughter is healed.

“Mark passes on this story of resistance and persistence to let it be known that God is not a tribal idol. God is the God of all persons. This is the best news ever.”

Moving Forward: “Can you reach beyond the boundaries and enlarge your circle of blessing.”

A concluding note: today’s author does what so many modern critics and commentators love to do, namely to sully Jesus’ character, to suggest that He really did not know what He was ‘supposed’ to do and that He needed to learn, to be taught a lesson, by the people and situations that He encountered. While such an idea certainly bolsters the reality of His humanity, it certainly detracts from the reality that He was also divine, and that He perfectly understood, and did, the will of His Heavenly Father.

So, maybe, just maybe, Jesus uttered those seemingly derogatory words about dogs and the children’s bread, not as barrier, but as a test of her faith, that is, as a way of eliciting that profound faith that she had in Him. Indeed, His very choice of words gave her an opening. Jesus doesn’t use the usual word of dogs, the mangy, scavenger beasts that were the curse of many a city and countryside, but a diminutive, that is, a more affectionate way of describing them, thus the well-loved dogs kept has household pets. And so, with a brilliant insight—and not a small amount of wry humour—she replies, “But, Lord, the children, naughty as they tend to be, throw their perfectly good bread onto the floor where their pet dogs, even vigilant, gobble it up eagerly.” So, what she is implying is that what the children, the people of Israel, spurn and throw away, should be certainly available to the likes of her. The children, yes, should be fed first, but not only. What is left over should be available to all. And indeed, that is something that Jesus

knew fully well, for the principle of Israel’s blessing going out to all the world is emblazoned all through the Hebrew Scriptures.