September 10, part 2
Thinking of other people who have pressed God and made an impact brings up Abraham, who kept negotiating with God to save the life of his nephew Lot, slated to die in God's planned destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Also others, like Moses asking God for water and food for the people in the wilderness, who didn't so much change God's mind as simply reach out and grab a hold of what God wanted to give all along. That's the mood of the Isaiah reading pared with this week's gospel, 35:1-7. God wants to bring the people home from exile and calls them to claim that promise, to hitch themselves to God's desire and live into it.
As I was reading on the Mark passage, I came across a blog by someone named Jerry Goebel who had a very interesting take on this passage in the light of recent events in Tyre, one of the places Israel bombed during the recent battles in Lebanon with Hezbollah. Using the favorite catchphrase "WWJD" (What Would Jesus Do) as his starting point, Goebel writes "What Would Jesus Do in Tyre? We already know. The same thing he did 2000 years ago in that ancient city. He would find the most ignored, most forgotten, most desperate person in the city and he would heal her daughter." Actually, to be more accurate to the text, I might say he would be open to being found by her and be moved by her need and her wisdom, despite the fact that she seemed to be an enemy. That takes this is a rather interesting, different direction that intrigues me.
The other piece of this passage that is sitting with me, considering we begin our Sunday School program this week, is the fact that the one matter that helps Jesus and the woman overcome the barriers between them is the well-being of a child. The original Mother's Day was an attempt by some women to rally the women of the world to stop war and the killing of our children (wow has that gone by the wayside as card companies have taken over the holiday). Can the well-being of children be the thing that overcomes barriers and unites people in one purpose? shelly
As I was reading on the Mark passage, I came across a blog by someone named Jerry Goebel who had a very interesting take on this passage in the light of recent events in Tyre, one of the places Israel bombed during the recent battles in Lebanon with Hezbollah. Using the favorite catchphrase "WWJD" (What Would Jesus Do) as his starting point, Goebel writes "What Would Jesus Do in Tyre? We already know. The same thing he did 2000 years ago in that ancient city. He would find the most ignored, most forgotten, most desperate person in the city and he would heal her daughter." Actually, to be more accurate to the text, I might say he would be open to being found by her and be moved by her need and her wisdom, despite the fact that she seemed to be an enemy. That takes this is a rather interesting, different direction that intrigues me.
The other piece of this passage that is sitting with me, considering we begin our Sunday School program this week, is the fact that the one matter that helps Jesus and the woman overcome the barriers between them is the well-being of a child. The original Mother's Day was an attempt by some women to rally the women of the world to stop war and the killing of our children (wow has that gone by the wayside as card companies have taken over the holiday). Can the well-being of children be the thing that overcomes barriers and unites people in one purpose? shelly
posted by shelly @ 1:34 PM
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