Loving God, you have shown us your love and your power to heal through your Son, Jesus.  We seek your healing power today – not only in body, mind, and spirit, but in the divisions between people – through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

            In the readings that we have heard today, a number of things are described that I’m guessing you could find at most schools.  There are insiders and outsiders.  There is name-calling.  There are the popular ones and the ones who are not so popular.  There’s the one who tries to hide and find some alone time – but is found almost immediately and given some work to do.  And then there are all of those distinctions that put people into groups – in this case, Jews and Gentiles, rich and poor, deaf and hearing, male and female.  Finally, there is that gag order issued by Jesus where they’re not supposed to tell anybody what happened, and so they go out and tell everybody they can find.  Do any of these things happen at your schools?... Or maybe at your workplaces?...

         The centerpiece, of course, is today’s gospel, where we hear about two healing stories that are about as different as they could be.  In both cases, however, I invite you to imagine that you are the one who receives this healing from Jesus.

         First, however, those who are easily distracted will find at least two curiosities in today’s gospel.  The first has to do with geography. (Are any of you geography buffs?)  For those who are so inclined, I invite you to take today’s gospel and a Bible map, and try to figure out the route that Jesus takes.  Mark, apparently, is just not very good at geography (or, it just wasn’t important).  However, both the region around Tyre and Sidon, and the Decapolis are areas with a population that is mostly Gentile – in other words, both of these healing stories take place in Gentile territory – which is what was most important.

         The other curiosity has to do with how Jesus responds to the Syrophoenician woman.  And – just in case you are wondering, “Syrophoenician” means that the woman is Syrian, and is from the Phoenician coast.  This woman comes to Jesus, begging for help – for her daughter has an unclean spirit, or demon.  Jesus’ response to her seems to be downright mean: “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs” (Mk. 7:27).  Anybody who heard Jesus say this would have understood that the Jewish people are the children, and the Gentiles are the dogs.  So, why on earth would Jesus say such a thing?

         Some say that there is no satisfactory explanation.  Others believe that Jesus meant what he said and actually learned something from this woman.  And still others believe that Jesus was “speaking with a smile” – speaking words that most of his disciples would have learned along the way, but with a twinkle in his eye.  Whichever explanation you prefer, the end result is the healing of this woman’s daughter.  She simply will not be denied, and she believes that Jesus can and will do this.

         From this first healing story, which involves Jesus healing from a distance and simply speaking the word, we move to a healing story that is all touch and action.  Given that the man is deaf and has a speech impediment, a conversation would have been difficult.  And so, Jesus takes him away from the crowd, touches his ears and his tongue, and even uses some of his own spittle as part of the healing.  Then Jesus looks up, sighs deeply in prayer, and commands “Ephphatha” – “be opened” (Mk. 7:34).  The end result, of course, is the same:  The man is healed.

         I invited you earlier to imagine that you are the one being healed by Jesus.  After all, we learn from today’s gospel that there is no “one size fits all” healing formula where Jesus is involved.  Both men and women are healed – both Jews and Gentiles.  Some healing involves the laying on of hands, and some involves Jesus speaking the word from a distance.  Sometimes the person is brought to Jesus, sometimes they come on their own, and sometimes they come to intercede for a sick family member who is at home.  Every journey – every healing – every life of faith, is distinct (workingpreacher.org), for Jesus meets each one of us where we are, and knows our unique needs and circumstances.

         Another thing that happens when we seek to follow Jesus is that Jesus brings all of his friends with him.  We heard a little bit today from the letter of James, which addresses some of the things that were happening in the early church.  Today’s reading makes it clear that both rich and poor people were all part of the same congregation.  Yet, rather than treating everybody as brothers and sisters in Christ, those with wealth were being treated much better than those who were in need – and possibly were being courted as prospective members?  However, as James points out, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself,” applies to everybody (2:8).

         Whether it is at work, or at school, or in other settings, people will continue to get divided up into different groups.  However, as followers of Jesus, we are invited to learn how to break down those barriers, and to treat one another as precious children of God.  For, Jesus came for each one of us – including those who are different from us – bringing healing and forgiveness, mercy and eternal life.  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

Lectionary 23(B)                              Mark 7:24-37

September 8, 2024                          James 2:1-17

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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