Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary
Today’s lection, Mark 7:24-37, includes two vivid healing stories set in Gentile territory. Previously, Jesus has rejected the widespread view in Judaism at the time that what one eats, or the company one keeps, can render one “unclean” (7: 23). As if to reinforce the point, Jesus goes to Tyre, hoping in vain to go unnoticed. A desperate Syrophoenician mother seeks him out, throws herself at his feet, and begs him to heal her demon-possessed child. She breaks every norm. Not only is she a Gentile addressing a Jew, but she comes to Jesus without a male escort, speaks to a man who is not her husband, and then parries when Jesus replies to her anguished plea with a demeaning cliché.
Scholars have disagreed for centuries about the intent of Jesus’ sharp response. Some contend that it reveals his full humanness; he is captive to the prejudices of his Jewish culture, and, given his recent challenge to the clean/unclean barrier, hypocritical. The quick-witted woman educates him, clearing his vision. At the opposite extreme are those who contend that Jesus knew all along precisely what he would do; his taunting response is a (cruel?) test of her faith. On middle ground are those who say Jesus is quoting, sardonically, a common proverb with which both he and this woman would be familiar, actually inviting her to push back and claim her share of the bread of the reign of God. In any event, Jesus attests that he acts “because of [her] reply” (v 29). Bringing to mind Abraham negotiating with God (Gen 18:52ff), this woman opens a door that has never closed.
One preaching approach would be to present these different ways of “hearing” Jesus, admit that we cannot know the tone or subtle dynamics of this interchange, and underscore that Jesus responds to this woman’s clever retort. We can lift up the bold faith of this woman, and that of other bold women throughout history. This Gentile woman’s persistent faith has played a key role in the faith-history of all of us who are non-Jewish beneficiaries of the mission of Jesus. Jesus’ deliverance of her child from oppressive evil is evidence that the liberating power of the reign of God is for all, Jew and Gentile, and perhaps especially for women and children oppressed by powers beyond their control.
Verse 31 indicates that Jesus makes a circuitous journey through Gentile territory, perhaps acting on his conviction that his mission is expanding. He is met by friends of a man who cannot hear or speak properly. As vigorously vocal as was the previous encounter, Jesus’ encounter with this man is silent, filled with physical touch and visual cues—as it must be, for a man who cannot hear. “Be opened” suggests an act of creation. Jesus’ efforts to keep the matter quiet fail: the news spreads widely.
Jesus’ startling response to a desperate mother provokes reflection on what it means to affirm the “full humanity” of Jesus. Issues around the dignity and wisdom of the Other—whether “other” in gender, culture, religion, class, or politics—beg to be explored. Intriguingly, healing in both stories depends on the intercession of others, underscoring the significance of intercessory prayer. Also striking is the intimate physicality of the second healing. The mission of the reign of God demands more than a one-click donation. Perhaps it is only when we leave our social, geographical, and theological “safe zones,” finding ourselves in situations where we touch and are touched by needy strangers, that we begin truly to comprehend the boundary-crossing, healing mission of God.
Insights into Biblical Greek Grammar and Syntax 