[Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Breaking Habits

[Joe Parrish]

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-----Original Message-----
From: Frank Fisher <f.fisher.obl.osb at comcast.net>
To: midrash <midrash at joinhands.com>; PRCL-L <PRCL-L at LISTSERV.LOUISVILLE.EDU>; propertalk.topic <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org>; SBA <SBA at SBAbbey.com>; sermonshop.sermons.topic <sermonshop.sermons.topic at ecunet.org>
Sent: Fri, Aug 12, 2011 12:25 pm
Subject: [propertalk.topic] Breaking Habits


Here's my second draft for Sunday using the Gospel pericope.  It's actually
part of a short sermon series, which started last week, of letters between
Simon Peter and his Mother-in-law.


__

Frank R. Fisher, Obl OSB
www.ffisher.net
Interim Pastor
First Presbyterian Church of Kewanee, IL
www.fpckewanee.org
Elmira United Presbyterian Church
www.elmiraunited.org

aka

Brother Oscar Romero
Oblate of St. Benedict's Abbey
Bartonville, IL
www.SBAbbey.com


"When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so
that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice."-Cherokee proverb

_________________________________

Simon ben Hodiah the fishermen,
a disciple of Jesus of Nazareth,
to Anna bar Mariam of Capernaum,

Greetings.

No,
the scribe still won't let me begin an epistle
with "Dear Mom."
But as I promised your daughter 
on our wedding day,
I certainly think of you
 as my 'mom.'
I don't break promises.
And speaking of promises,
I'm writing again,

as I promised,
to tell you more about Jesus.

I know ever since he healed you 
of your fever
you've wanted t
o be with us on the road.
But you know a Rabbi like Jesus
wouldn't have a woman 
among his disciplies.
And of course you also know 
your proper place 
is in your home.
God intended 
all good women
to stay out of the public eye.
Just as God intended 
the people of Israel
to stay separated 
from the human trash
who inhabit other nations.

Well anyway,
we're all 
emotionally and physically 
exhausted here.
Jesus has had us 
tramping 
all over the place.
And anytime he lets us rest
someone always comes along 
and starts an argument with him.
  I thought we'd get a rest
after we  crossed over
 the Sea of Galilee.
You remember I wrote to you 
about  about the horrible storm
and about Jesus 
walking to us 
on the water.
But instead of resting
Jesus dragged us all from Gennesaret 
where we landed
to the land 
of Tyre and Sidon.

All along the way Jesus 
had argument after argument
with the scribes and Pharisees.
They kept bugging him 
about how we all 
should be better
at keeping the elder's traditions 
about food and cleanliness.
But no matter how much 
they bothered him,
he'd just calmly say,
"Listen and understand,
it is not what goes into the mouth
that defiles a person,
but it is what comes out of the mouth
 that defiles.
For what comes out of mouth
proceeds from the heart,
and this is what defiles.
For out of the heart come evil intentions,
murder,
adultery,
fornication,
theft,
false witness,
slander.
These are what defiles a person .. ."

I wonder what he meant by that.

Well,
 we finally got away 
from the Scribes and Pharisees.
But as soon as we'd escaped 
from their badgering,
we found a problem e
ven worse.
We'd just arrived 
in the marketplace,
when we met a Canaanite woman 
named Justa.
Now this Justa 
may be a nice enough person.
That is,
nice enough 
for a Canaanite 
and a woman.
But she obviously 
doesn't know her place!
She should know
 a woman shouldn't be noticeable
 in public.
And of course 
she had to understand
how a Rabbi of Jesus' station
could never associate 
with any woman.

But Justa didn't seem to care.
She burst right out of her house
and ran right up to Jesus.
And if that wasn't bad enough
she actually spoke to him,
"Have mercy on me, Lord son of David,"
she called out.
At first we were all so shocked,
we couldn't speak.
How,
we thought,
could a Canaanite,
a part of the ancient 
and hated enemy of our people
use those words 
meant for 
our king.

Well of course 
Justa took advantage
of our silence.
She shouted 
over and over again,
Have mercy on me,
Lord son of David;
my daughter 
is tormented by a demon."

Jesus didn't say a word.
He just kept on walking
while Justa kept on screeching.
Finally I couldn't take it anymore.
I ran up to Jesus 
and pleaded with him,
 "Send her away,
for she keeps shouting after us."
That caught Jesus' attention.
he turned 
and looked right at Justa.
He had a funny look
 on his face.
It was sort of a half simile
 which seemed directed
 more toward me
than toward Justa.
Then Jesus said,
"I was sent only to the lost sheep
of the house of Israel."
That's putting this Canaanite
 in her place,
I thought.
Surely now 
she'd just turn around
and slink back to her house 
where she belonged.

But I was wrong.

I can see your daughter smiling 
when she heard
that sentence Mom.
Yes,
I guess I can be wrong 
once in awhile.
And I sure was wrong 
about how determined
 Justa would turn out to be.
For she just kept pleading,
"Lord,
 help me."

Jesus looked at Justa 
as she continued to cry out.
There was a light 
in his e
yes.
The kind of light I've seen there
when he's trying to make 
an important point.
The light intensified.
It also 
seemed to be somehow 
directed toward me,
as Jesus said,
"It is not fair
to take the children's food
and throw it to the dogs."

Oh my.
Did he really say that,
I thought!
I knew Justa 
was getting way
 out of her place.
But I never thought Jesus 
would use a word like dogs
while talking to her.
You know that's 
one of the words
your daughter and I
 never let our children use
when they're talking 
about Gentiles.

Let me tell you;
I was so embarrassed,
 I was blushing.
But the word 
didn't seem to bother Justa at all.
I thought she'd be shamed or angry.
I was wrong again.

For Justa 
fell to her knees
 in front of Jesus.
Then she lifted her arms up
as if she was in prayer.
And she answered,
"Yes, Lord,
yet even the d
ogs eat the crumbs
that fall from 
their Lord's table."

  A smile lit up Jesus' face
as he heard Justa's answer.
He reached out his hands to her,
lifted her up from her knees,
and said,
"Woman,
great is your faith!
Let it be done for you 
as you wish."

I heard later,
Justa's daughter was healed
at the instant 
Jesus spoke those words.

"Woman 
great is your faith!"
That's quite a bit different
 from the words 
he spoke to me 
on the Sea of Galilee.
You remember he called me,
"you of little faith."
I think 
I detect a pattern there.
And yes I know
 how I can be slow
 to see the patterns
obvious to you 
and to your daughter.
But I never claimed 
to be overly clever
and I do see 
the pattern now.
For Justa challenged everything
I've ever been taught
 about women and
 about gentiles.
Yet she still 
was accepted by Jesus.
That means of course
I've been wrong once again.
And this time 
I've been wrong big time.

I've been so wrong,
I've been defiled by my wrongness.
That's what Jesus meant
when he was talking a
bout the things
 coming from out of the heart
 and the mouth.
For my mouth's spoken the words
I felt in my heart.
Words that became habits to me.
Words I even spoke in prayer
when I gave thanks every day
for not being born a woman 
or a gentile.

Those words were wrong.
And if I want to keep
 following Jesus
I know 
I must break them.
I must break t
he habit of saying them
I must break 
the habit of meaning them.
Gentiles are not trash.
Jesus accepts them
and I must too.
And women 
aren't supposed to be 
confined to their homes
or kept silent in public.
They too 
are a part of this kingdom
Jesus is always 
talking about.
They too 
have an equal place with Jesus
in the kingdom of God.

But you know Mom,
this must go beyond
 women and gentiles.
For if Jesus wants me
 to accept them 
as equals,
he must want me to accept 
others too.
He must want me to accept as equals
those people 
from distant lands.
The ones whose skin color
differs so much
 from our own.
And he must even 
want me to accept
all others whom 
I've considered unclean.

Yes,
they too 
are equal in Jesus sight.
And they aren't unclean.
Jesus has taught me
 that much today.
But hatred and prejudice 
against any 
of God's people;
that is unclean.
May the Holy One 
always keep that fact 
in may heart,
and protect me
 from such  defilement.

Give my love
 to your daughter.
And Mom,
come join us.
Please hurry and meet us.
Bring your daughter a
nd my children too.
All of you come join us
as we break the habits 
separating God's people
from one another.

Oh,
and when you do come,
remind me 
to introduce you 
to the new disciple.
Her name's Justa.
She'll tell you
how there's a place 
waiting for you here
in those who follow the Lord,
the Son of David.

Peace be to you
in the name of Jesus,
the Son of David, 
the only begotten Child of God.
Amen.



 
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