Luther Seminary

A daily devotion brought to you by the alumni of Luther Seminary

Archives for September 3, 2009

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Mark 7:24-30 (NRSV)

Read Mark 7:24-30 on biblegateway.com

Verse 24From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, Verse 25but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Verse 26Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. Verse 27He 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." Verse 28But she answered him, "Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." Verse 29Then he said to her, "For saying that, you may go-the demon has left your daughter." Verse 30So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Devotion

It is difficult to like Jesus when he is acting like a jerk. His canine insult is added to the injury of the woman’s desperation over her daughter and the indignity of her position as a female foreign beggar at the Rabbi’s feet. What do you think? Was it the bitter end of a bad day for the overworked Messiah? Was this sophisticated sparring, a subtle suggestion of intellectual equality? Shall we dare to make excuses for our savior?

Suffice it to say, the bulldog woman stands her ground and speaks her piece. And in his response Jesus becomes a bigger savior and, I think, a better man than was previously revealed. We’re told she went home, that trip made in faith that the promise spoken had already delivered, and found her house empty of demons, her daughter sleeping peacefully.

Prayer

God of the nations, we are living witnesses to the length of your reach, the scope of your love, and the power of your promises to endure. Find us in the confusion and complexity of our unclean houses and disordered days. Teach us to grip your promises with tenacious teeth, and so care for our children with a fierce and loyal love. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Marc Ostlie-Olson St. Anthony Park Lutheran Church, St. Paul, Minnesota