Mark 7:25-29
A woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.”
It is said that
Culture eats strategy for breakfast
Whatever strategy Jesus was pursuing
had clearly been devoured
There is little in this story
that can be considered redemptive
Just more of the same old, same old
Exclusive
Patriarchal
Divisive
Divorced from the reality
of ordinary people
struggling to scratch out a living
amidst the vagaries of Empire
It seems that healing was grudgingly given
And I wonder…
What if she had not made the right response
What then?
Are we witnessing the subtle invasion
of cultural norms
that have the potential
to dehumanise
The kind of subtleties
that invade our lives today
encouraging the ‘othering’
of our neighbour
Promoting survival of those
who play the game best
O Jesus, we see you,
caught up in that hot mess
Help us to find
a different way
for the love of God
Amen
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