We Are Not Worthy So Much as to Gather Up the Crumbs
Our relationship with the Bible is an ongoing one. It's a revelation of God to us. This is why we can't just have a set of once-and-done interpretations that we pass on to future generations. God speaks in fresh ways to us every time we sit down and meet God in the words of holy scripture. Some days it's hard to reckon what certain passages might be saying to us. Not so today. Today's passage from Mark's telling of the Gospel speaks right to the heart of so many troubles in our world.
But we don't start with the Gospel. Our pattern on Sunday is to hear the Gospel proclaimed in context surrounded by other readings from scripture. The reminder we receive in Proverbs is an important one. It is more important to be a just, good, and godly person that to be a rich person. A neighbour's vulnerability is not an opportunity to exploit them for God wishes good for the vulnerable and pleads their case directly. A neighbour's vulnerability is an opportunity to show forth in action the faith we speak, meeting our neighbour's need in love. There is also an ominous warning that, on the day of our judgement when we are most in need of mercy, God will recall how we treated those in need of mercy in this life.
This reminder about the connection between our faith, the needs of our neighbour, and our actions dovetails right into today's portion of the Letter of James. This passage has been controversial for many Christians and is central in the long debate about the relationship between faith and works in God's plan of salvation. We can take up that question on another day. What matters most for us today is the reminder that we, because of the great love we have been shown, are to address the needs of our neighbours, demonstrating love as we do so.
James firmly believes that true faith will spur the believer on to actions. If we like the sun, we will move outside to enjoy it when it shines. If we dislike being rained upon, we will find shelter when it rains. If we know and love Jesus we will do as he has asked and continue his works of mercy in the world. The rich man in today's passage has has everything he needs. He may not yet have everything that is coming to him, especially as James echoes the concern in Proverbs about final judgement, but today the rich man does not need the most comfortable seat in the house. He is plenty comfortable already. The poor man, however, has need of mercy and those who show him none will be remembered for it.
Both of these men have needs. The rich man joining the assembly has a need to hear the word of God proclaimed and to know Jesus Christ in community and sacrament. These needs should be met. The poor man has these same needs and several others. The assembly should do what it can to meet these as well. God's mercy is for all and is enough but that does not mean that it is the same for each of us. Which brings us to the two healing stories in today's passage from Mark.
From Mark we hear two different stories about the response of Jesus to need. They both end in healing, but the paths they take to get there are quite different. In the first story, Jesus encounters the Syrophoenician woman who asks for healing for her daughter. There is a harsh exchange about the intended recipients of Jesus's gifts, comparing this woman and her people to dogs rather than children. The woman pushes back and reminds Jesus that she has not asked for one of the seats reserved for children, only for the crumbs that fall under the table, which even dogs are allowed to collect. Jesus proclaims that for saying these things, her daughter has been made well.
On returning from Tyre to Galilee, Jesus heals a deaf man with a speech impediment by touching him, a bit of spit, and a deep sigh, commanding his ears and mouth to be opened. There is no record of an exchange of any kind, other than the request that this man be healed. Jesus is also a Galilean, so to the ethnic difference he highlighted with the woman in the first story is not present, but there is no question, negotiation, or conversation of any kind here. The man is in need and Jesus does what he can to meet it.
The differences between these two experiences are stark. We can know a bit about why they happened so differently and we can learn something about our own responses to the needs of our neighbours. Reading the first part of this passage from Mark, it is easy to get caught up part way through the story. Many preachers will spend the entire homily on that exchange between Jesus and the woman, teasing out the cultural motivations and the possible reasons for why Jesus responds as he does. What is useful to know here is that Tyre is a large, prosperous, cosmopolitan city immediately northwest of Galilee. There are long-standing cultural and religious differences between the people of the region and their Galilean neighbours. I suspect many Hamiltonians can imagine what it is like to live next door to a huge city that seems to suck up most of the attention and resources in the region, including some that we believe should have stayed here.
When the woman approaches Jesus and asks for healing for her daughter, his harsh cutting off of her may not be the absolute denial that it first seems. Given how the exchange plays out, this may be a challenging of her sense of entitlement. Being Tyrian, she may think that anything from Galilee is as good as hers, should she want it. Jesus makes it clear that, while he is able to grant her request, it is not a miracle that she has earned or to which she is entitled. This is a gift and it is his to share or withhold as he sees fit. When she demonstrates humility and that she is not asking for more than her daughter needs, Jesus helps her.
There is a reminder in the first healing story that our week begins with the nourishment and support of the faithful, here, in church, with Word and Sacrament. Jesus Christ present in Word and Sacrament for the children of God. But there is also a reminder that our calling, mission, and work do not end with our own healing and nourishment. We can stop and fixate on the harsh exchange between Jesus and the woman, but if we stop there, we do a disservice to the Gospel. The end of the story, in spite of the difficult and humbling middle, is that the girl is healed. Her need is met. Her mother's tenacity, love, and humility—all traditional signs of holiness—are enough to see her daughter healed. "For saying that, you may go the demon has left your daughter." The crumbs are enough. The woman knows it and she receives those crumbs with humility and gratitude. We, being fed and healed with more than crumbs, are called to meet the needs of our neighbours, in gratitude and humility, and to share from the abundance God has given us.
The exchange between Jesus and the woman is a significant influence on the Prayer of Humble Access in the Book of Common Prayer. This prayer, said by everyone immediately before receiving communion, is intended to be an acknowledgement that God's gifts are given, not because we have earned or deserve them, but because God is gracious, merciful, and, above all else, loving. Treating us all as beloved children and feeding each of us in the way that we need. It is a prayer much-loved by some because they hear a reminder in it that God's love is sufficient to cover all of their inadequacies and more. We may not be worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under God's table, but we can rest assured that we do not need to be so worthy in ourselves. Jesus Christ, in taking our human nature, living and dying as one of us, defeating death and sin, and ascending to heaven has made us worthy.
"The crumbs are enough," is an easy thing to say for folks who have always had more than crumbs. For those who have always had full plates at the first serving, knowing that the crumbs are enough is a pleasant thought but not one they have to spend much time with. For people who have only ever had crumbs while seeing others feast, this is cold comfort. God's kingdom is supposed to be different from those of humanity. The good news here is that the crumbs, even if that's all one ever receives, are enough. The good news is that if you have long been feasting and find the table has less on it than before, it's still enough. The good news is that we all come to God's table trusting in God's grace and mercy, trusting that we will leave with what we need. Not what we deserve, but what we need.
The challenge and the good news offered by these readings today is one and the same. It is the reminder that God has given to us in abundance out of love, not because we have earned those gifts nor because we are entitled to them. If we have not earned them and are not entitled to them, we must then rely entirely on our trust in God that they will continue to be given. We must also remember that God knows, not only how we receive the gifts ourselves, but also how we treat the abundance. Did we approach the table with entitlement or humility? Did we share the abundance in a just and godly way? How did we seek and meet the needs of our neighbours?
We all come to God's table begging but Jesus does not leave any of us as beggars. Jesus gives us all a seat at the table. Crumbs would be enough but Jesus sets a feast with more than enough and room for every one of us, from every tribe and language and nation. When we are filled and realize that our neighbour has not had enough or has arrived late to the table, we must share with them. We must remember that it is God, not us, who chooses those seated at the first serving and those who receive the crumbs. As scripture reminds us again and again, the last shall be first, the hungry will be filled with good things and the rich will be sent away empty.
