Jesus Repents

I like to give people the benefit of the doubt. Often, I’ve fool-heartedly assumed the best in others even when everybody around me knows I’ve just been dissed. 

As Christians, we tend to do that with Jesus. When we hear accounts of Jesus saying such things as, It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs, we either make excuses for Jesus – ah, the poor guy was weary, give him a break. Or we argue that Jesus was trying to teach the gentile woman a lesson. Or, and perhaps most common of all, we ignore the passage all together. What Jesus said to the Syrophoenician woman was appalling; it would be irresponsible and just plain lazy preaching to ignore it.

The title of this gospel story is The Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith. I believe it would be more aptly called Jesus Repents. I think Mark included this story and intentionally placed it right after the last week’s gospel on the Pharisees’ hypocrisy in order to highlight Jesus’ humanity. Every week, in the words of the Nicene Creed, we profess Jesus to be equal parts God and equal parts human. The story of the Syrophoenician woman, above all other passages, reveals Jesus as truly human. Perhaps more importantly, it shows us how to respond when we treat others as less than human.

The woman was desperate; she was doing what any mother would do to help her sick child. Desperation often leads to risky behavior. And this encounter exudes risk-taking behavior: A woman speaking to a man; a gentile interacting with a Jew. When approached by the Syrophoenician woman, Jesus doesn’t simply dismiss her plea for help, he hastily insults her by suggesting that she, and her people are dogs. But that uppity Syrophoenician woman refused to turn away in shame. Rather, she challenged Jesus with a jaw-dropping reply – 

Even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.

She didn’t give Jesus the benefit of the doubt, because she had no doubt. Jesus had stumbled and tripped over his own humanity. By slinging that insult at the Syrophoenician woman, Jesus let us know that he had some work to do on his “us and them” attitude. You know, that unflattering human tendency to focus on differences in order to separate one group of people from another. In this instance, Jesus wasn’t the wise teacher, he had a lesson to learn.

I think what happened next is that time stood still while God spoke:

My Son, do you remember what is written in Proverbs?

The rich and the poor have this in common:

the LORD is the maker of them all.

Those who are generous are blessed,

for they share their bread with the poor.

And Jesus answered, Yes father I remember, thanks for reminding me.

God said, It’s okay, you can use this opportunity to model repentance.

And that’s just what Jesus did – he paused and thought about his reaction to the Syrophoenician woman. Upon thinking twice, Jesus recognized the wisdom of gentile woman’s words. And he also recognized the damaging impact of his words.

The Syrophoenician woman was moved to action by faith and an all-encompassing love for her daughter. (Motivate us to act is exactly what faith and love should do.) She boldly spoke truth to power. And by doing so, she broke free of the chains of her culturally prescribed role and cracked open the kingdom of heaven for all the world to see. Even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs, was the Syrophoenician woman’s way of saying: The rich and the poor have this in common: the LORD is the maker of them all.

James reinforces this idea of equality by writing about the sin of partiality and showing acts of favoritism. Have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts by politely offering a seat to one wearing fine clothes and gold rings while the poor person in dirty clothes is instructed to stand? James reminds us that the royal law according to the scripture, You shall love your neighbor as yourself trumps the law of the land.

This is where Jesus messed up – in this story he neglected to love the Syrophoenician woman, a gentile, as himself. Jesus had slipped back to the old way of doing things; his response to the woman was shaped by the common hierarchical social structure in which he lived. Cultural influences and values instilled from childhood have deep roots. The House of Israel had long believed that they alone were God’s chosen. That age old belief was at the core of Jesus’ Jewish identity. 

It’s the irony in this story that makes us so uncomfortable - the one who was born to proclaim a new order, the kingdom of heaven on earth, was unable to move beyond the old order in his interaction with the Syrophoenician woman. 

Maybe it was due to physical exhaustion or any number of excuses scholars and theologians have used to defend Jesus – the fact remains, Jesus dismissed the Syrophoenician woman as “other” and put the needs of his people first.

Jesus didn’t apologize to the Syrophoenician woman with words, 
instead he publicly acknowledged he was wrong and with his actions took responsibility for his hurtful behavior. 

Repentance is a change of heart

 accompanied by regret and a change of conduct. 

You could say it’s a “do-over” mixed with grace.

Through hearing the Syrophoenician woman’s bold words, Jesus realized he had sinned. And he repented. It’s important for us to see that the acknowledgement of wrongdoing did not diminish Jesus’ power. If anything, it strengthens it because right then and there he healed the woman’s daughter. This public act of repentance by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was perhaps his most prophetic act. Of course, the healings and miracles are impressive. But I believe the lesson to be learned from this story as Mark tells it is that we are all called to walk with humility. God desires even the most powerful among us, including his almighty Son, to live humbly and treat others with respect. Every human being, simply by virtue of being human, is a product of God’s creation and is therefore deserving of the rights and respect given those in the most exulted position.

Like Jesus, sometimes we will fall short. Sometimes we will slip back to the old way of doing things. Sometime we will neglect to love our neighbor as ourselves. When these things happen, like Jesus we must strive to keep an open heart. When the Syrophoenician woman in our lives challenges our ungenerous behavior, like Jesus and with the grace of God, we will pause and think twice, acknowledge our mistakes and make the necessary changes.

I doubt the Syrophoenician woman will ever be one of Christianity's most popular iconic figures. Though perhaps she should be. But we need to do more than just recognize her – we are called to be the Syrophoenician woman. When we encounter injustice in the world, like the Syrophoenician woman we must boldly speak truth to power. That means taking risks for the sake of others. We must be advocates not just for our own sick children, but for all sick children. 

Don’t worry, I’m no going to launch into another sermon about healthcare. I think it’s pretty clear that the values of the kingdom of heaven would include providing care for all of God’s children. In the new order that Jesus brings, everybody is taken care of.

Yesterday, my daughter Firefly and I were working with our backyard beehives.

She asked, Where do dead bees go? 
To heaven, I said.

Does everyone go to heaven? 
I believe they do.

But what if they aren’t invited? 

Firefly, that’s the glorious thing about heaven, everybody is invited; they already have their invitation.

With her arm outstretched, a bee on the back of her hand she said, Oh.

And I knew she believed it. Thanks be to God.

Proper 18, Year B