Crossing Borders

Sermon for North Ryde Community Church 16 Sept 2012

Mark 7:24-37; Proverbs22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23; James 2:1-10, 14-17
(and yes, I know these readings are really set for the previous Sunday)

When the Gospel of Mark was written, one of the biggest questions for the early church was: “Who is IN, and who is OUT?”

The followers of Jesus were initially Jews, as Christianity developed as a cult out of Judaism, but before long, the Good News spread and many non-Jewish, formerly ‘unclean Gentiles’ joined the believing community. The community was then faced with dilemmas- should Gentile believers be required to follow the Jewish laws? Should the males be circumcised? Should they adhere to the holiness code, of what was clean and unclean to eat, and other practices that are outlined in Jewish law? The Apostle Paul had a lot to say about this in his epistles to the early church.

The question about who is in or out is important to us as we read today’s Gospel reading (and I’ll be focussing on the first section of the reading today), because:

* Mark’s Gospel was written to, and in the context of, a community of Gentile Christians,

* A lot of the ‘action’ in this Gospel happens in Gentile regions

* the action often involves Gentiles, or ‘outsiders’ to the faith community of Jesus’ time, and

* more often than not, it’s those ‘outsiders’ who actually ‘get’ what Jesus is on about. (Indeed, New Testament scholar Bill Loader comments that, “It’s a common feature in Mark that he portrays the disciples as particularly dense”. With the benefits of hindsight, it’s easy for us to laugh at how dense the disciples are, but in the same position, we probably wouldn’t have fared much better.)

So, with all this in mind, we can see that a major theme of Mark’s Gospel is one of inclusion; demonstrating the breadth of God’s love and welcome. I would encourage you to read the whole of Mark’s Gospel through. It’s the shortest of the four Gospels, and is a rollicking read, full of action; a bit like the ‘Boys’ Own Adventure’ of the Bible.

We see this theme of inclusion in the story of Jesus’ encounter with the Syro-Phonoecian woman. When it comes to being an outsider or second-class citizen, this woman has the double-whammy. Not only is she a woman (seen as a second class citizen in most cultures of the day), but she is also a Gentile. Therefore it would be pretty outrageous and unlikely that she would dare approach Jesus… but she does.

Jesus’ initial response is to refuse her request; and not only does he refuse her, but he does it in a very insulting way, mouthing a common prejudice of the time.

He says, “Let the children first be fed; for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” (Mark 7:27).

I don’t know about you, but this doesn’t sit well with my picture of a loving, kind, ‘sweetness and light’ Jesus. In saying these words, Jesus is reinforcing that his primary mission is to the ‘children’ of Israel, and that the Gentiles (ie everyone else) are dogs. The image of dogs here is not one of cute pets, as we might thing of dogs in our society today. No, dogs back in Jesus’ day were wild, dirty, smelly animals (hmm... not much difference really :-) that were not pets, but nasty, scavenging animals, that were not at all nice. So calling Gentiles dogs is both insulting and demeaning.

We can never know if what we have here is ‘accurate history’ (as we must remember that the Gospels were written as theological documents, not detailed, historical accounts), or a story where the story-teller was a little careless. He certainly had no compunction about portraying Jesus as saying what many would have said- ie that Israel are God’s children, and the Gentiles are like dogs.

But the good news is that whether in story or reality, Jesus refuses to remain bound by such distinctions.

He crosses the boundary when challenged and convinced by the Syro-Phonoecian woman, and demonstrates the inclusiveness of God’s kingdom by healing her daughter.

Crossing such boundaries and borders is something Jesus did a lot of.

As humans we take great delight in creating and protecting borders. We’ve all heard in recent news about our own country’s border issues, as this week the first shipment of asylum seekers (including unaccompanied minors) was sent to Nauru.

This week’s Old Testament reading from Proverbs also speaks to this contemporary scenario:

“Do not rob the poor because they are poor

or crush the afflicted at the gate;

for the Lord pleads their cause

and despoils of life those who despoil them.” (Prov 22:22-23)

What do we do for the poor and afflicted (like asylum seekers) who come to our gate?

According to the news, we pack them off to some off-shore tent city processing centre where they will languish, possibly for years, before their cases for asylum and refugee status will be properly heard.

All because in our country, there is so much fear of the different, of the outsider, that all our politicians see our borders and the boundaries between ‘us’ and ‘them’, between in and out, as sacred (and it’s doubly tragic that both sides of politics: the government and opposition, are equally evil on this matter).

They say: 

“Let the fair dinkum Australians first be fed
(and housed and given jobs, healthcare and services);
for it is not good to take the fair dinkum Australians’ bread
and throw it to the foreign dogs
(no matter how desperate and starving they are).”

Sound familiar?

Just as Jesus crossed a well-established boundary when he acknowledged the Syro-Phonoecian woman, and opened his ministry of healing and God’s love and grace to her and others who were ‘outsiders’; so we as followers of Jesus are called to follow his example of love, acceptance and inclusion- reaching across the boundaries that exist in our own society.

Let us pray:
God of outsiders, and of those whose ears are slow to hear
and whose tongues are hesitant to sing,
please make us the agents of your joy.
Help us to hear your word more clearly, to serve you more gladly, and to sing your praises more eagerly.
Then will our daily lives be in tune with your love,
our deeds become channels of Christ’s grace,
and our souls revel in the fellowship of your Spirit.
For your love’s sake.   Amen.
(prayer © Bruce Prewer. Used with permission)