Two weeks ago, the pastor at my church, Wellshire Presbyterian preached a phenomenal sermon on the healthcare debate. I asked him for the text and will be posting it in two blog posts. The first is below.
Guest Blogger: The Rev. Dr. John H. Bell, Jr., Pastor - Wellshire Presbyterian Church
Sermon entitled "O Divine Physician"
Disclaimer: This is a copy of the notes that were used by Dr. Bell to preach on Sunday, September 6, 2009, at Wellshire Presbyterian Church. It was intended for oral delivery to a community of faith in worship. Minimal attention has been given to spelling and grammar in this manuscript.
Listen for the Word of God: Mark 7:24-37
24From 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, 25but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. 26Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27He 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." 28But she answered him, "Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." 29Then he said to her, "For saying that, you may go-the demon has left your daughter." 30So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
31Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. 34Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." 35And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37They were astounded beyond measure, saying, "He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."
In the overall sweep of the Gospel story, as it is told in the Gospel of Mark, the story of the Syrophoenician woman contains lots of mystery and intrigue, but is important for one primary reason: this story clearly shows that Jesus did have compassion for Gentiles, as well as Jews. The Gospels are clear that Jesus thought his primary responsibility was to the Jews, the people of Israel. He obeyed Jewish law; he went to the synagogues; he made pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. He was considered to be “a rabbi” by his followers; he observed the Sabbath and Jewish Holy Days. BUT he did exhibit compassion for some Gentiles – like this Syrophoenician woman, suggesting that the Kingdom of God is open to all … and later the early church would decide that there should be no distinction between Jews and Gentiles - or for that matter slave or free or men and women, for, the early church recognized that we are all one in Christ Jesus our Lord, that we are all the same in the eyes of our Lord and Savior.
It is not too strong to say that in Christ there are no distinctions among us, in Christ we are all equal, in Christ we all are expected to rise above our differences and stand together in Christ: Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and liberals, rich and poor, Presbyterians and Baptists – and Roman Catholics, black and white, Hispanic and Caucasian, the simple and sophisticated. Whatever differences we do have, whatever labels the world puts on us or categories that we are placed in, it is important for the witness of the church that we rise above our differences and seek unity.
Notice that the daughter of the Syrophoenician woman was demon possessed. This – to me – is particularly important, because today in America it seems that people want to demonize their opponents and dismiss them or destroy them. Many conservative folks on the right wing want to label those on the left evil or demonic, and many on the left try to do the same thing to those folk on the right. By labeling their opponents evil or demonic, they seek to devalue the humanity of their opponents, fuel their own anger and justify their own hate.
Friends, listen: Jesus actually had compassion for those that were generally considered to be “demon possessed.” He did not hate the daughter of this woman, he did not devalue her existence, he did not seek to humiliate her or dismiss her or lampoon her; no, he showed compassion to her BECAUSE she was demon possessed.
There is certainly a lesson here as you try to relate to those with whom you disagree, and it is this: do not demonize your opponents, do not devalue those with whom you disagree, do not seek to humiliate or destroy those that you consider to be your enemies. In the name of Jesus Christ love them, show compassion to all, learn to love your enemies, for you, Christian, represent the one who exorcised demons, made peace and taught YOU to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute YOU. This does not mean that we do not fight for our causes or stand up for what we believe; it does mean that we must treat our opponents with compassion, we must think of them as human beings created in the image of God, valued by God. This does mean we must be civil and respectful in all of our relationships, regardless of how others treat us or where others stand on the political or religious spectrum.
Ellie Weisel, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and Holocaust survivor, once wrote, “Even if I meet the devil himself on the street, I will be treat him as a gentleman, I will speak politely to him, I will try to divine his evil.” Now, Weisel is not a pacifist; he is not a naïve person; he is certainly aware of the power and the destruction that demonic forces can do, but he also recognizes the importance of treating every human with dignity, for the one who measures himself against reality of evil is always defeated.
Guest Blogger: The Rev. Dr. John H. Bell, Jr., Pastor - Wellshire Presbyterian Church
Sermon entitled "O Divine Physician"
Disclaimer: This is a copy of the notes that were used by Dr. Bell to preach on Sunday, September 6, 2009, at Wellshire Presbyterian Church. It was intended for oral delivery to a community of faith in worship. Minimal attention has been given to spelling and grammar in this manuscript.
Listen for the Word of God: Mark 7:24-37
24From 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, 25but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. 26Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27He 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." 28But she answered him, "Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." 29Then he said to her, "For saying that, you may go-the demon has left your daughter." 30So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
31Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. 34Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." 35And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37They were astounded beyond measure, saying, "He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."
In the overall sweep of the Gospel story, as it is told in the Gospel of Mark, the story of the Syrophoenician woman contains lots of mystery and intrigue, but is important for one primary reason: this story clearly shows that Jesus did have compassion for Gentiles, as well as Jews. The Gospels are clear that Jesus thought his primary responsibility was to the Jews, the people of Israel. He obeyed Jewish law; he went to the synagogues; he made pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. He was considered to be “a rabbi” by his followers; he observed the Sabbath and Jewish Holy Days. BUT he did exhibit compassion for some Gentiles – like this Syrophoenician woman, suggesting that the Kingdom of God is open to all … and later the early church would decide that there should be no distinction between Jews and Gentiles - or for that matter slave or free or men and women, for, the early church recognized that we are all one in Christ Jesus our Lord, that we are all the same in the eyes of our Lord and Savior.
It is not too strong to say that in Christ there are no distinctions among us, in Christ we are all equal, in Christ we all are expected to rise above our differences and stand together in Christ: Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and liberals, rich and poor, Presbyterians and Baptists – and Roman Catholics, black and white, Hispanic and Caucasian, the simple and sophisticated. Whatever differences we do have, whatever labels the world puts on us or categories that we are placed in, it is important for the witness of the church that we rise above our differences and seek unity.
Notice that the daughter of the Syrophoenician woman was demon possessed. This – to me – is particularly important, because today in America it seems that people want to demonize their opponents and dismiss them or destroy them. Many conservative folks on the right wing want to label those on the left evil or demonic, and many on the left try to do the same thing to those folk on the right. By labeling their opponents evil or demonic, they seek to devalue the humanity of their opponents, fuel their own anger and justify their own hate.
Friends, listen: Jesus actually had compassion for those that were generally considered to be “demon possessed.” He did not hate the daughter of this woman, he did not devalue her existence, he did not seek to humiliate her or dismiss her or lampoon her; no, he showed compassion to her BECAUSE she was demon possessed.
There is certainly a lesson here as you try to relate to those with whom you disagree, and it is this: do not demonize your opponents, do not devalue those with whom you disagree, do not seek to humiliate or destroy those that you consider to be your enemies. In the name of Jesus Christ love them, show compassion to all, learn to love your enemies, for you, Christian, represent the one who exorcised demons, made peace and taught YOU to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute YOU. This does not mean that we do not fight for our causes or stand up for what we believe; it does mean that we must treat our opponents with compassion, we must think of them as human beings created in the image of God, valued by God. This does mean we must be civil and respectful in all of our relationships, regardless of how others treat us or where others stand on the political or religious spectrum.
Ellie Weisel, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and Holocaust survivor, once wrote, “Even if I meet the devil himself on the street, I will be treat him as a gentleman, I will speak politely to him, I will try to divine his evil.” Now, Weisel is not a pacifist; he is not a naïve person; he is certainly aware of the power and the destruction that demonic forces can do, but he also recognizes the importance of treating every human with dignity, for the one who measures himself against reality of evil is always defeated.
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