God's always "hooking us," pulling us back: back to the Word, back to the Meal, back to the Font...back to the community.

This blog is for the purpose of sharing around each Sunday's Bible readings & sermon at Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church.

Get Sunday's readings here. We follow the Narrative Lectionary.
(In the summer, we return to the Revised Common Lectionary' epistle or Second Reading here.)

So, what's been hooking you?

So, what's been hooking you?


Here you can...

Monday, September 10, 2012

September 9 -- Fifteenth Sunday of the Green Season


Sisters and Brothers in Christ – Don’t you dare let Jesus off the hook!  I don’t care if you’ve been part of a Christian community for a long, long time, or this is your first time today!  Don’t you dare let Jesus off the hook.

This Syrophoenecian woman didn’t let him off the hook…and it was her first encounter (so it’s never to early to say, “Hey, Jesus can’t get away with that!”)  Ask for what you want from God – make sure it’s the right thing to ask – and don’t let Jesus off the hook, casting you off like a dog.  Don’t imagine yourself unworthy of Christ’s eyes, ears and hands.

Did you hear that in the Gospel?  Jesus called that woman asking for help a dog!  That’s bad now—sounds kind of like “bum”—but in that period in time, you have to understand, it was a racial slur.  Syrophoenecia was the area up north over by the Mediterranean sea, modern day Lebanon, only the difference of about 100-150 miles.  So just stretch it, and think of L.A.  Some stinky woman from L.A., who never went to church and cheers for the Dodgers.  Can you believe she’s got the nerve to ask our dear Jesus for a hand out?  And Jesus calls her a dog.

How do you deal with this? …Jesus making cruel, racial slurs.  Does that mean it’s ok for us to make cruel, racial slurs?  Biblical scholars have tried to soften this through the years (they used to say he was testing her, or he was just kidding) – but bible scholars now are realizing now that they can’t get around this terrible fact – that Jesus calls a woman something that would have made his mamma slap his mouth and say, “I did not raise my boy to talk that way!” 

And she knew it – the Syrophoenecian woman, she was a mama herself – she knew that it was not an appropriate thing to say, and so she spoke up; she talked back to Jesus and said:  “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs from the master’s table.” 

She didn’t let him off the hook.  And it was as if something snapped in Christ and he turned to her – and instead of chastising her (imagine if you were in a position of power over someone and they talked back to you)  -- instead of punishing her for her lack of respect – Jesus says, “For saying that, you may go.  The demon has left your daughter.” 

What a story.  What do we learn from it?  What do we learn of God from it? 

Don’t let Jesus off the hook.  Ask for what you want—make sure it’s the right thing.  And then keep coming back.  He can take it.  He can take your anger and your backtalk and your assertiveness, and he might even admire it. 

It’s not always pretty, but in the end, Christ always responds, sisters and brothers in Christ.  It’s not always pretty, but in the end God gathers us in, heals our hurts and our pains and our sins, and then—having been forgiven and transformed—we are sent back out…to go and do likewise.  To go and heal the hurts and pains of our neighbor, to forgive and love, and forgive and love, and forgive and love…and serve. 

The pesky book of James today holds our feet to the fire and says, “When someone comes into your assembly who’s obviously down and out, poor, maybe smelly.  And you say sit way over there, you dog.  Versus when someone who drives a fancy car, wears nice jewelry and designer brands, cool hair, and nice pocketbook, you say, ‘C’mon in.  Please sit here in this nice cushioned seat.  Could I get you some coffee.” 

James – last week I envisioned him as that pesky Lorax, one of Dr. Seuss’ great characters – James full on questions that person’s BELIEF IN GOD!  When our words and our actions, our faith and our works, don’t line up, James might just dismiss us—like many young people know who critique the church – and say, “Well, they must not really believe in God.  Look at how they treat the poor: They don’t treat the poor.”  Ugh, that pesky Lorax James – would have certainly held Jesus’ feet to the fire, upon hearing how Jesus himself first treated that annoying woman from South Central L.A.

Sisters and brothers in Christ – these are challenging texts today.  Here’s the Good News: First, that we get to hold Jesus feet to the fire.  Put the pressure on him.  Ask him for what you want for yourself, for this country, for this planet.  Demand justice.  Cry out for peace.  “Smart off” to him for fair treatment of everyone regardless of gender or nation of origin or religious persuasion or our other hot-button modern day dividers – sexual orientation and class.  Make sure it’s the right thing. 

Shouldn’t everyone get the same…mercy, love, forgiveness, healing care, grace, treatment from God?  The Syrophoenecian woman sure thought so.  And she demanded it from Christ.  And Christ came through in the end. 

Christ comes though with you today, sisters and brothers.   The road might have been rocky up to this point, but God is here.  Reaching out to you, promising you the same things that the Syrophoencian Los Angelian woman demanded.  God reaches out to you with a hand of healing.  Forgives you this day, and asks that we now go and forgive and serve others…with the kind of passion and commitment that we have seen in the Scriptures. 

You know the other thing we see in the scriptures?  Imperfect people, mouthy people, racist people, selfish people.  We see broken people in the Bible, and this is good news because it means that God can take even us and turn us into forgiven and blessed healers and tellers of God’s enduring love. 

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God and anyone who loves is born of God.  You are born of God – a child of God: forgiven, healed, joyful – and now free to go and tell the Good News to everyone you meet. 

May it be so, this day and all days.  AMEN.

         

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