In the Pulpit

On Monday morning, Monkey-Girl delivered her first-ever homily to the seminary community. She was quite nervous about it and worked very hard on it. I'm sorry that I couldn't be there to hear it in person as I had to work.

I know most of you reading this blog are at least a little curious as to what she had to say. I suggested that she post the text to her blog, but she's so busy lately that I'm going to go ahead and do it for her. (If Monkey-Girl objects, she has but to ask and I will take this down.)

The gospel reading was Mark 7:24-37

“It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” Today we hear a puzzling response from Jesus. Now, we’ve seen him rebuke people before, but they’re usually the people that seem to have it coming: Pharisees, money changers, rich young men with cavalier attitudes about Jesus’ mission. But this woman is none of these. She is a nameless gentile in a desperate situation, a situation that we would think would cry for mercy, not harsh words.

We don’t know why Jesus responds to her the way he does, but we have all heard the theories: maybe Jesus is testing her faith, or maybe he’s got tunnel vision about his mission to the Jews, or maybe, just maybe, he’s just plain wrong.

What we do know is that Jesus’ words throw an obstacle in front of the woman. She joins ranks with others who find that getting healed may take some work. Like the blind man from yesterday’s Gospel, who was told to wash in the pool of Siloam, and Naaman, who was told that his leprosy would be cured by washing seven times in the Jordan rive, the woman finds that she cannot simply put in a request with this Man of God and have her order filled.

But the obstacle she encounters is different. She’s not asked to perform some task or present an offering. That might have been easier, in a way. (After all, what parent wouldn’t present extravagant sacrifices, or perform extreme tasks to see their child healed?) Instead, she must stay engaged in a conversation with a man who just compared her to a dog. That would pose an insurmountable task for many people.

She has some choices:
She could walk away from the conversation, and write this man off as a cruel phony, no real Man of God, but that would leave her exactly where she started.

She could scold Jesus, tell him how rude and insensitive he is, and tell him he ought to be ashamed of himself. But again, that would really get her nowhere.

Or, she could accept Jesus’ strange analogy, stay engaged, and hope that somehow she can convince him to change his mind. It’s as if she says, “Okay, then I’m a dog. But I am not some pup to be kicked away until the meal is over. You’ll find me under that table, begging until you can’t stand me anymore, you’ll have to feed me if those children are going to enjoy their meal. I’m a dog, alright, but I’m a pit bull, and I won’t let go until I get what I want.”

She remains determined, and in doing so, she finds herself in a real-life conversation with the living God. This is not some gentile god, a vacant stone idol, where one leaves a sacrifice and hopes for the best. This is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and like Jacob she wrestles, and refuses to let go until she is blessed.

And then something amazing happens. Jesus tells her that the demon has left her daughter. Suddenly, she is no longer a begging dog, but a child at the table, grateful for the meal in front of her.

Often, we are presented with choices much like this mother, and the challenges we face are the same. It can be tempting to walk away after we offer our own sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving, and forget that we have a partner in conversation, a God who wants to talk to us, and wants us to talk back. Sometimes we demote ourselves from children of God to pups under the table. Relationships are hard work, and sometimes it’s easier to retreat. But that’s not what we’re called to do. We are called to claim our status as children of God through Jesus Christ. To engage our Lord and Maker. And to invite other children to join us at the table.

Monkey-Girl reported many compliments from her fellow seminarians. She's also had a few requests for a copy for themselves.

Those of you living in southeastern Wisconsin may want to consider heading over to St. Michael's Church of Racine this Sunday (March 9th). Monkey-Girl will be preaching at the 7:30 and 9:00 services. Just be sure to set your clocks ahead on Saturday night!