Mark 7:24-30: Rejection
Sunday, January 13, 2019
How do we react to rejection? Do we cave in to harsh criticism? Do we evaluate the words and actions we have heard and seen? Do we put our experience in a proper context to measure its validity? Do we ask God for advice? Do we ignore what has been said entirely without giving it further thought?
Jesus has gone to Tyre, the city of Jezebel, a pagan center out of reach of the influence of the Jews; and here he encounters a woman who challenges him with his own good news, reminding him that even the lowest of the low deserve respect and fair treatment. What I like about this Greek woman, this Syrophoenician by birth, is that she enters into a dialog with the master and is not cowed by his authority. Perhaps she has lived so long in subjugation she has nothing to lose.
There is something to be learned here: that when we experience rejection we ought to evaluate it, and take it apart to discover its origin. Once satisfied that we have heard and understood, and once we have established that we come in justice and peace . . . then we must pursue justice. We must be bold, we must be constant. We must enter into a conversation with Christ to further our argument. And if – as in the story of Job about which we thought yesterday – we bring an innocent heart to the healer, we may find that which our own heart seeks . . . justice and peace . . . in place of the offered rejection.
Image from: http://floscarmelivitisflorigera.blogspot.com/2010_08_01_archive.html
A re-post from January 13, 2019.
The Noontimes 