Sunday, October 21, 2012

Resources

Resources
Mark 7:24-30
            I remember our New Testament professor telling us about the first century attitude towards resources.  People believed all resources were finite.  In order for me to get more of something, you, or someone else would have to lose an equivalent amount.  If I gained property or money it was at your expense.  The only way for the rich to get richer was to take from the poor.  We find the same belief in the Hebrew Scriptures.  It is the basis for much of what the prophets—and Jesus—say about the relationship between the rich and the poor.
            Today we have a much different understanding.  Some natural resources are finite, we know.  Scientists tell us there is only so much coal, oil, and natural gas in the earth, for instance.  When the supplies are gone there will be no more.  Hence the search for sources of renewable energy.  Land is also finite.  There are only a few places (the Big Island of Hawaii is one) where more land is being created, usually from volcanoes emitting lava flows.
            On the other hand, it is possible that economic resources may be practically unlimited.  When we raise the standard of living in developing nations we create larger markets for the goods we make.  In turn, these countries produce goods we may be interested in purchasing.  We can argue about consumerism as a value, but we feel confident that economies can continue to grow to everyone’s advantage.
            Today’s reading is a story about resources.  Jesus has left Galilee for the region of Tyre and Sidon, a non-Jewish area.  Instead of being surrounded by his own people, he is in a land of Gentiles.  We know what this means.  To the Jews, Gentiles were not just foreigners, they were unclean.  If we back up to the beginning of the chapter we find Jesus debating cleanliness laws with the Pharisees and the scribes.  Mark tells us the Jews washed all food that came from the marketplace.  Before we congratulate them on their hygiene, let us remember that they washed the food not because of germs (which they knew nothing about), but because it (and they) had been in contact with Gentiles.
            In today’s story, a Gentile woman, Syro-phoenician by birth, comes to Jesus asking that he heal her daughter who was possessed by an unclean spirit.  Jesus refuses on the grounds that his healing resources are only for the Jews.  He uses the example of giving food to dogs that should be given to children. 
            What is Jesus doing here?  It sounds as if he’s taking up the argument of the religious leaders.  It seems he’s asking:  “Why should I help someone who is not a Jew—someone my people consider unclean?”  It has been suggested that perhaps he was testing the woman’s faith.  If so, he comes off badly.  It just doesn’t sound like something Jesus would do.  It has also been suggested that he spoke not for the woman’s sake, but for the sake of his disciples.  They needed to learn that people were not clean or unclean simply because of an accident of birth.
            The woman replies,  “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”  Jesus rewards her faith by telling her that her daughter has been healed.  But what if she hadn’t been quick-witted enough to come up with the perfect answer?  Would Jesus have healed her daughter anyway?  We’ll never know, just as we will never know why Jesus made his seemingly insulting comment.
            Whatever Jesus’ reason, one thing is clear:  God’s resources are infinite.  There is no end to God’s grace.  We know also that God does not play favorites.  We are all God’s children, and God loves all of us.  Some of the resources we have been given on earth may run out, but there will never be an end to the blessings we receive from God.

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