Spiritual Growth :: Sermons

Sunday, September 6, 2009.
Proper 18 RCL. The Rev. Sabeth Fitzgibbons

We all pray Yep Prayer looks different for and from everyone because we are all different people and we all have different ways we approach God We might be a popcorn prayer person – sending up one and two word notes to God (thanks, help) We might be an out-loud pray-er: “God give me strength” was one of my mom’s favorites when I was growing up We might live in a state of mindfulness about God’s grace and love and be constantly trying to be aware of how we receive and live into them We might be someone who has or makes time to have focused quiet and prayer time with God – in a chapel or out in nature or on retreat Or we might pray while running, like our Presiding Bishop Whatever our prayer form, we all communicate with God

The two stories of healing in today’s gospel talk about two ways to approach God

The Syrophoenician woman reminds me of my friend Barb Her daughter Elisa was diagnosed with leukemia 2.5 yrs ago, at the age of 8 Devastating news to parents who were just wanting to clear up a persistent low fever Once the situation really settled in, Barb flew into action While friends mobilized around them to take care of the other children and household details, and her husband kept working to keep them housed and clothed, Barb did everything possible to help Elisa deal with PIC lines and spinal taps and endless trips to children’s hospital She even spent an entire day teaching Elisa how to swallow pills so she wouldn’t have to taste the foul chemo medications Nothing was too much, too far to go or do to help Elisa get better

The Syrophoenician woman has that same desperation about her daughter’s illness that my friend Barb had She is a foreigner, a woman, and a Gentile Breaking every social norm and polite consideration, she enters a private Jewish home seeking Jesus

Jesus’ reputation has clearly spread, and he is actually there in the country resting – looking for solitude and anonymity But this woman found out, and in her concern for her daughter who had an unclean spirit, she persists in tracking down Jesus

She throws herself at his feet and begs him to cast the demon out of her daughter And when Jesus tells her that the children – that is, the children of Israel, the Jews who are God’s chosen people – should be fed, or should receive his gifts from God first, she doesn’t give up She challenges Jesus She challenges his presumption that God’s gifts of healing are only for the Jews Pretty gutsy

And what does she have to lose? In one sense, nothing As a woman with no man representing her, and a Gentile, she is already at the bottom of the scale in social status compared to Jesus And she has everything to lose – her daughter Her hope for the future, her joy and delight

And Jesus considers her response We don’t know how long that pause was between her response and his – maybe it was minutes Maybe he’s bothered by the truth of her observation, by the reminder that God’s kingdom is open to everyone, not just the Jews And he changes his mind and heals her daughter

This Greek, Gentile woman is the only person in any gospel to challenge Jesus and prevail Her bold love for her daughter and deep faith impel her to break social norms

Her approach to Jesus is not polite and measured, it’s desperate begging because she is unwilling to let go of her hope for her daughter

We all have something we are unwilling to let go of, maybe not the life and future of a child, but something that seems so precious and important that we persist with it Or it persists with us, it won’t let us go

What is that thing for you? How does it come through in your prayer life?

I remember a point in my discernment process for ordination when I was consumed by the phrase “Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me” That phrased echoed in my mind and prayers for weeks I remember struggling with letting go of my own plans and desires and listening to God calling me to ordination I remember sitting in an empty church, praying that phrase over and over I don’t remember how or when the resolution, the healing and openness I was asking for happened I do know I came to some peace and the phrase ceased to have such a hold on me

Second story today is about a deaf man with a speech impediment, who is brought to Jesus for healing Again, this healing takes place in private, a private moment with God Jesus touches the man’s ears and mouth, and speaks the word Ephphatha Be opened And the man can hear and speak clearly

In the 4th century believers who were baptized were anointed with oil on their eyes, ears, mouth, chest and head This multisensory anointing was so that all of their senses, all of their being, would be open to God Open to seeing, hearing, speaking, knowing, and internalizing God’s restoring love

The deaf man’s story doesn’t have the same desperation as the Syrophoenician woman’s, though he also comes to Jesus, telling him what he wants and needs Their healing stories are not magical moments by Jesus Jesus isn’t randomly walking around the countryside, zapping healing on anyone he sees These healings also depend on the faith of the person asking for healing

We are reminded to keep on telling Jesus what we want and need To ask from our hearts And to stay open to the Word made flesh, the Word that casts out demons

It doesn’t matter what form our prayer takes, or whether we stand, kneel or dance It’s our faith and openness to God’s desire for us, our inward posture, that matters most

These stories also remind us that healing is not an end in itself Jesus’ healings are a sign that the reign of God is come near As an outsider to the Jewish community, and someone who has heard about Jesus’ healing ministry, the Syrophoenician woman senses some of the larger implications of Jesus’ healing ministry Jesus heals the broken – broken bodies and spirits and relationships Including the broken relationship between Jews and Gentiles, Between insiders and outsiders

Healing is not merely alleviation of suffering and symptoms, but testimony to the wholeness God intends for us Healing to God’s wholeness may not always take the form we want or expect St Augustine reminds us that even when God refuses the desire of our hearts, he never refuses the heart of our desires

Healing is why we are all here We cannot know why or how or when that healing will happen We can trust that God’s goodness will prevail

PS – Elisa just finished her final round of chemo and has been declared cancer-free