"Jesus, What About Us?"

Proverbs 22:1-2,8-9    Mark 7:24-30

 

     Did you ever notice that the more we read the Bible the more we are challenged to expand our vision of God and God's mission?   The words of Jesus push as beyond our comfort zone.  "As you do it to the least of these my sisters and brothers, you do it unto me."  "Pray for your enemies."  "Forgive seventy-times seven."  "Love God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." 

 

      I grew up in a middle class family.  The majority of my classmates came from a similar economic background.  But we also had some children in our class that came from families that were poor. The only time we saw the kids from the poor families was at school.  They were not in the Scouting programs, they did not play Little League baseball, they were not invited to birthday parties, they were not in our churches.  There was the in crowd, and there was the poor crowd.  It was like they did not exist outside of the classroom. 

 

     At that point in my life I had not read Proverbs 22:2, "The rich and the poor meet together; the Lord is maker of them all."  I hate to admit it but I was a snob.  I didn't mean to be.  I didn't know any better.  The people that were part of the in crowd could have been more welcoming to the poorer students.  We could have made their lot easier.  We could have helped them experience God's love.  We could have invited to join in our games on the playground.  We chose to ignore them, which in a real sense pushed them farther away. 

 

      We were a lot like the disciples of Jesus.  In Matthew's version of this story, when the woman came to ask Jesus to help her daughter, the disciples begged  Jesus to send the woman away.  She was a woman, a Gentile, she was unclean.  We shouldn't have anything to do with her. 

 

       Even Jesus seems to be struggling with how to respond to this woman.  In Matthew his initial response was "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."  At that point Jesus seemed to have tunnel vision.  I am only here for the people of Israel.  I am going to take care of the people like me first.  You will have to wait your turn.  That left a lot of people out.

 

       But the woman was determined and again she cried out, "Help me."  And again Jesus seems to demonstrate tunnel vision.  "It is not fair to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." 

 

        And then the woman says something that seems to open the eyes of Jesus.  "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs."  Having two dogs I know how dogs like to lap up those crumbs.  The woman is challenging Jesus to rethink his position.  She is letting him know how much the grace of God would mean to her.  You can have tunnel vision and just help the people of Israel, but we need help too. 

 

       And all of a sudden the light bulb seems to go off in Jesus head.  According to Matthew he responds, "Oh, woman, great is your faith."  Gentiles can have faith, they can suffer, they need help too.

 

       It is not just about the house of Israel.  It is about all people.  The person who seems to be transformed in this passage is Jesus.  He discovers that his mission is not just to the people of Israel.  All people need his saving love.  There is enough of God's grace to go around for everyone.   After his transformation he transforms the woman's daughter, the demon left her and she was healed.

 

       This passage had hit home with me this week.  My sister could be the woman crying out for help.  She has a daughter who is fighting cancer and seems to be losing the battle.  I can see my sister saying, "Jesus, have mercy on me, help me.  Heal my daughter."  I can hear her saying, "Jesus, you've helped some, why doesn't you us help us.  Right now we would settle for just a few crumbs."  The hope is that some type of transformation will take place, in my sister and in her daughter.

 

       I can also see our church in the passage.  It says that Jesus entered the house and didn't want anyone to know it.  He wanted some rest.  But he could not be hid.  The woman found him.  We enter the sanctuary and sometimes I think we want to be hid from the world.  But people are finding us, young people are seeking our help.  We could be like Jesus and say we are just here for our families, for people like us.  But we can see it in their faces, we need help too.  We too are God's children. 

 

        "Yes, but our resources are for us.  We have to make sure we can take care of our own people."  "Hey, we would settle for just a few of your crumbs.  We hunger for the gifts of God that you have to share with us."    

 

         We think we have it made and we pay no attention to those who are seeking just the crumbs.  In reality we all need God's help, Israelites and Gentiles, male and female, rich and poor.  We spend our time seeking a seven course meal when a few crumbs from the Lord's Table would satisfy us.  And while we are seeking that seven course meal, we miss those who would be very happy just to have a few crumbs. 

 

        According to Proverbs, "He who has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor."

 

         May we be transformed by the crumbs from our Lord's table.