PROPERS: PROPER 18, YEAR B
TEXT: MARK 7:24-37
PREACHED AT ST. PAUL’S CHAPEL, MAGNOLIA SPRINGS, ON SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2021.
ONE SENTENCE: The gift of genuine insight brings on humility.
One of the greatest – and perhaps least-appreciated – gifts we can be given is the gift of insight.
Sometimes that gift comes from within – when we learn by personal experience that we are wrong or that we have acted improperly. I have had that experience many times and it is always chastening. It has caused me to consume large servings of humble pie and has led to actions – on my part – which brought healing of relationships.
When we are unable to learn from experience, there is a tendency to become arrogant and isolated. But, when we are open to insight, there is the possibility of new or renewed relationships.
I have found that some of the most freeing words we have are, “I’m sorry.”
The gift of insight can come in many ways – if we are open to it. Jesus shows us that it is indeed a divine attribute in the gospel lesson today.
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Jesus has wandered as far north as he will go in his earthly life. Maybe he is even getting a little beach time – on the Lebanese coast, in the village of Tyre. He is on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
He may be trying to get away. The demands of his ministry likely have been weighing on him. So, he is seeking some solitude. I’m sure you know that yearning.
But it is not to be. His reputation has preceded him. His presence is like trying to hide sunshine from a rooster.
A woman comes to him. But not just any woman. She is Syrophoenician – meaning she is descended from the Syrians, who once conquered Israel, and the Phoenicians, who the Israelites (and Samson) battled for many years. On top of that, she is Gentile – a non-Jew. She would be spurned by any faithful Jew, such as Jesus.
She is seeking healing for her young daughter. Her daughter has a demon, and the mother wants the demon exorcised.
Jesus is not moved. He knows her race, her lineage, her heritage. He may be blinded by what his people have thought of other groups. He does not wish to spend time or energy on her. He says 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.”
Jesus assumes that rebuff will be enough to send her on her way. But she surprises him.
“Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
In those few words, Jesus has been given a generous gift of insight.
“For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.”
The woman went home, and she found her daughter healed.
Even our Lord learned from his encounters with others. A collection of sermons by the late Reverend John Claypool was entitled, “Opening Blind Eyes”. Jesus’ eyes had been opened.
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The gospel lesson connects in a meaningful way to our Collect of the Day. It includes
these simple words of prayer for all of us: “Grant us, O Lord, to trust in you with all our hearts; for, as you always resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so you never forsake those who make their boast of your mercy…”
The challenge is for us – for all of us, you and me – is to recognize our human frailty, our own inherent tendencies, our own arrogance, our own self-righteousness, and our own failings as human beings. No matter how “right” we may believe ourselves to be, we are to recognize that we are not yet recipients of the fullness of reality. We have much left to learn. All of us.
More importantly: We are dependent on the grace of God in life – to open our eyes to see the truth. No matter how self-sufficient and self-righteous we may feel, each of us is utterly dependent on the grace of God.
And with that realization – full and deep – we are given a generous gift of humility.
Coming with the gift of humility is the gift of insight – to be given the gift of new sight.
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