August 25, 2015

“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, 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.” So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.” Mark 7:24 – 30

“The word dog was in fact sometimes a Jewish term of contempt for the Gentiles. No matter how you look at it, the term dog is an insult. How, then, are we to explain Jesus’ use of it here? He did not use the usual word; He used a diminutive word which described, not the wild dogs of the streets, but the little pet lap-dogs of the house. In Greek diminutives are characteristically affectionate. Jesus took the sting out of the word. Without a doubt his tone of voice makes all the difference. We can call a man “an old rascal” in a voice of contempt or a voice of affection. Jesus’ tone took all the poison out of the word.” William Barclay (1907 – 1978) The Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Mark, “For All The Saints” volume II (p. 402-403)

How often we come to realize that we have used a word that has offended someone, when we did not intend it to be understood in that way. I think this happens more and more in our society where people have become “hyper-sensitive” to the use of words. Not that long ago President Obama used the “N” word in an interview — this is a word that is highly offensive to most people, yet he chose to use it for its impact in that situation and that interview. Jesus did the same when he called the woman (who was a Gentile) a “dog”. The word could have been offensive to the woman, but she understood the context and the purpose of Jesus’ word choice. Her quick comeback and persistence in the face of the situation showed Jesus that the word did not matter — what mattered was her need for Jesus to heal her daughter.

Just recently, Donald Trump, a republican presidential front-runner (for the time being) has received a lot of attention because he stated that he did not believe that Senator John McCain was a war hero. What ever the reason for his remarks, Donald Trump understands how words can get the attention of people, voters, and the media. As Christians we need to seek ways that we can use words that bring healing to relationships, that bridge social and racial chasms, and that build up the body of Christ.

Pastor Dave