“From 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, but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He 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.” But she answered him, “Sir,[b] even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” And when she went home, she found the child lying on the bed and the demon gone.” -Mark 7:24-30 NRSV
This passage of scripture is often challenging for us to hear. Most of us have likely heard several sermons preached on it that are somehow justifying the harsh words of Jesus. We’ve likely heard twists and turns about how Jesus might have been trying to get the woman to somehow prove her faith before he would respond to her.
A look at this text through the lens of someone from a different social location from most of the people I’ve grown up worshipping with would likely help us see this text through a different lens. Syrophoenician people were Gentiles and were among the marginalized people in the historical context of this story.
Initially Jesus and his disciples ignored this woman’s request for Jesus to heal her daughter. Not only was she ignored, but Jesus spoke to her using harsh words implying that her child is less worthy or less important than others. This response was embedded into Jesus and his disciples, revealing their implicit biases. Like all human beings, Jesus grew up hearing words that were said about other people, and some of these words came out of his mouth unexamined. Throughout his spiritual journey he developed cultural humility, an openness to listen to, be challenged by, and transformed by people who he encountered.
As Janet Wolf points out in Practicing Resurrection: The Gospel of Mark and Radical Discipleship, “[The Syrophoenician woman] confronts the narrowness of Jesus’ theology and uses his language of oppression to come right back at him. She is, by writer and activist Alice Walker’s definition, a “womanist…a feminist of color…usually referring to outrageous, audacious, courageous or willful behavior. Jesus is utterly changed, liberated by his encounter with this woman.”
Considering the social location of the biblical writers, and the cultural lens that most of the text has been passed on to us through, it’s pretty amazing that we have this story in the text at all. This should challenge us, as it offers us an example of how we should open ourselves to be challenged and transformed by the people who we encounter on our spiritual journey.
For reflection:
- How have you interpreted this biblical text in the past? How have you heard it reflected on in sermons you have encountered?
- Are there people you consider as less worthy or important than those of your culture? Where did you learn that bias?
- Can you name people who effectively confront narrow theology? How do they accomplish this?
- Can you name outrageous and courageous people who might be inviting you to pay attention to a different narrative? How might you be transformed if you approached these relationships with cultural humility?
Peace,
Claire
