Our Daughters Are Sick: Sermon on Mark 7:24-37

This is my first sermon preached on my internship at Zion Lutheran Church of Amor. I had my Service of Beginning on Sunday, and family there to watch and support. With a difficult text, it was fun to figure out how to preach it in a new setting, but figure it out, I did... methinks.

Mark 7:24-37

Grace and Peace to you from God our Creator, and from the Healer of our every ill, Jesus the Christ, Amen

Jesus, after having a long hard journey to the land of the Gentiles, needed rest. He needed rest and proceeded to hide away from the crowds that followed him. He was a popular guy, this Jesus. Healing people here, feeding people there, teaching everywhere… he had quite the following. But after a while, even the Son of God needs some rest. He seemingly never gets it. No summer vacations for this guy. No lake cabin ‘up nort’ to come up to. Even when he goes home he doesn’t really rest. So, needing some time away, he travels to the land of the Gentiles to escape for a while. Slinking away, he gets to a house and hides. Apparently he wasn’t very good at ‘Hide and Seek’, because a woman with a sick kid found him rather quickly. Not merely a woman, but a Greek woman, from Syria. The other. A woman from a different land with a sick kid was asking for healing. Jesus didn’t know who this woman was; and he refused to heal her. He outright denies her, calls her a nasty name, and tells her that God’s healing is only for the right people – and she wasn’t it.  

            She tells him that even the wrong people get the leftovers. Even the ‘other’ gets the garbage. When you were a kid, and didn’t eat all of your food, how many times were you told as you were tossing your uneaten food in the garbage, “Hey, there are starving kids in Africa…” I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but – Hey, there are starving kids in your own backyard.

            So Jesus agrees that she’s right about this, and heals her daughter, just because this woman was strong enough to stand up to the inherent power difference. She knew she wasn’t Jewish. She knew Jesus could heal her daughter, and told him off. Her daughter was healed because she told Jesus off. Her daughter was healed… because she had the knowledge that the leftovers wasn’t enough. She stood up to an old, tired tradition… And advocated for her daughter.

            Getting work done can be very messy and scary. Putting on our big people pants can be difficult in the morning. When you look into the mirror every morning, you look at the person that people see. People look at you, and see the person staring at you in the mirror. Some days, it can be hard being that person. Maybe you’re fat, you’re ugly; you have too much grey hair, not enough hair, too much facial hair, not enough facial hair, too tall, too short… let’s face it, we’re imperfect beings in a culture that demands perfection.

            It may not seem like that around here, where life seems to pass us by on the lake. In our serene morning glimpses of sunrises over the water; in our causal conversations about the weather, sports, church goings on… The realities of the world seem distant. We don’t have people on the streets begging for change. We don’t have people marching in the street shouting for racial equality. People die from accidents, illness, injuries, old age… People aren’t murdered in our streets. When it does happen; when human remains are found 20 miles from here… It’s a scary thing. We’re not used to that. We love our quiet lives away from all of that. That’s why most of us are here, are we not? We’re a hearty bunch, us Minnesotans. We survive the coldest winters by either sticking around or seeking warmer climates. We survive the hottest, stickiest summers by cooling off in our lakes or sitting in our air conditioned-central aired houses. We are a hearty people.

            We are proud of our state. We are proud of being able to withstand the harsh climate, just to make a living out of the soil or live out our days in these beautiful homes on these pristine lakes. We are a proud people, because we are able to stand up to what the world throws at us. Even when floods tear apart the Fargo-Moorhead area, or avian flu destroys millions of turkeys and chickens, or tornadoes rip through our communities, we hold on to what we have because we are a strong, proud, and hearty people. Our ancestors braved this wilderness so that we could live our lives protecting what they left for us. When adversity comes our way, we withstand the blow.

            We stand up in the face of reality, and we say no. So when a change to the standard order happens, the things we’re used to standing up to… don’t make sense anymore… we fall into disarray.

 

            We are a proud people, but we are a stubborn people. This resistance to change is inherent to the core of our being. We withstand so much, why should we budge any more than we have to? Like Pastor Jim preached on last week, we have our traditions, and we hold on to them. But there are times when traditions that seem tired, or useless… need to change. But we are a strong, hearty people, and we will stand up for a fight.

            Our daughters are sick. There are problems in this world, in this state, in this community… that need to be rectified. There are people in this community that don’t have enough to eat at night; people who struggle with their identity, in fear of judgment or retribution. There are people suffering silently with mental health problems; people with physical ailments that go unnoticed. We live in a world that demands perfection, for we are a hearty stubborn people. We are a humble people. We don’t want people to know we have problems, because we don’t want to know people have problems in their lives. That is what I mean by this world demanding perfection. Our houses are kept clean, just in case people come over. Our churches are pristine and kept up. Yes, sometimes they leak or fall apart, but for the most part, our churches are kept in order. We fear other people’s thoughts on our problems. We fear other people knowing about our problems. When our children do adequate in school, we demand perfection out of them. Their grades can always be higher. Their sports performance can always be better.

            Why do we do this? Survival. Survival and tradition. We do these things to maintain our way of life. We want to keep our legacy alive. When the Washington Post calls a county in Minnesota the worst county in the country, we cry out in anguish and pain. We have such pride for Minnesota. We stand up for one another, no matter what. We advocate for one another.

            But when new Minnesotans come into our state, we’re wary. When the Hmong, Laotian, Bosnian, Latino and Somali immigrants come into our community, we’re wary of change. We have to redefine who we stand up for. The sooner we start seeing every Minnesotan as a beloved child of God; the sooner we start seeing every person as a beloved child of God; the sooner our daughters can be healed.

            For this Jesus who healed a Syrian woman’s daughter, and a deaf man by spitting in his face, heals us all. This Jesus, who told his disciples to not tell anyone about these miracles, would soon understand his calling, and fate. Jesus would soon understand that he was the Christ, the Messiah sent from God to save humanity from itself. For this Jesus would soon face death on a cross, on a lonely hill, surrounded by criminals, the other, the forgotten… Jesus the Christ would die on that hill to save us all from ourselves. The undeniable, unshakable, unwinnable Grace that was bestowed to all flowed out of Jesus that day, so all may know God’s love, grace and mercy. It is in response to that Grace that we are called to bestow our own grace, love and mercy upon our neighbors, no matter their lot in life.

            We have a strong sense of community in this state of ours. Read the response to the Washington Post article posted on Zion’s facebook page. I’ve posted it on my office door too. The author talks about his mistake in calling Red Lake County the worst place to live. He noticed the strong bonds we have for one another, and the strong sense of civic duty we have for things. ‘Minnesota Nice’ was true for him that day, and it’s true for us too.

            So when power stands in our way, we have a duty for our sick daughters to stand up for them. We have a calling to stand up to those who oppress us and our neighbors. For we are a hearty people. We can withstand the blow when adversity hits us. We know what the crumbs taste like, because our ancestors survived on crumbs to carve a life out for us in this beautiful state of ours. We honor their legacy by continuing to offer other, new Minnesotans the same chance at a better life. We have it good out here. If it takes a little push back now and then, we must remain vigilant and strong for our neighbors. Our daughters are sick, but through the Grace, Love and Mercy we fight for, they can be made well again.

I leave you with words from one of Minnesota’s children; Robert Zimmerman, better known as Bob Dylan. He wrote Blowin’ in the Wind in 1962, and his words still ring true today.

Yes, and how many years can a mountain exist,

Before it's washed to the sea

Yes, and how many years can some people exist,

Before they're allowed to be free?

Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head,

And pretend that he just doesn't see?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind

The answer is blowin' in the wind.

            Let’s not leave it blowin in the wind for too long folks. Our daughters are sick. Fight for them. Stand up for them. Live for them.

Amen.