COMPASSION UNLIMITED (35 OF 49)
Scripture: Mark 7:24-37
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Compassion Unlimited (35 of 49)
Lectionary, Year B, Proper 18
Christopher B. Harbin
Mark 7:24-37
As humans, we seem hard-wired to dump people into categories. We draw lines by where people were born, to whom they were born, where they live, what language they speak, what schools they attended, what teams they support, to whom they listen, what artists they appreciate, what entertainment they enjoy, where they shop, what foods they eat, what clothes they wear, and how much wealth they control. The more they check the same boxes we check, the more likely we are to consider them worthy of our attention and compassion. The more alike we are, the more we are willing to consider them as fully human, as part of our tribe. When Jesus calls us to love even our enemies, why would we still have categories of people we deem unworthy of acceptance, love, and compassion? Why would we retain a category of ''other''?
Jesus had just been talking about ritual purity and how the religious society around him excluded so many as unworthy of entering the Temple grounds or participating in the other forms of public worship. The definitions used had a basis in attempts to distance Yahwism from fertility cult rituals. Absent any real temptation for syncretism, there was no reason to retain those norms. Rather than cleansing Israel from idolatry, these rules were being used to denigrate those who could not measure up. They were using definitions of religious purity to make a certain class of people feel superior.
Having addressed the issue in words, Jesus led his disciples beyond Israel to a land of an unclean people. He took them where they were sure to encounter mostly, if not only, people who were ritually impure. He immersed them in this reality. Then Jesus took a step further, entering a house in a land where everyone was considered unclean, unworthy, ritually impure. If ritual impurity were an issue for God, Jesus made himself and his disciples impure by walking through ...
Lectionary, Year B, Proper 18
Christopher B. Harbin
Mark 7:24-37
As humans, we seem hard-wired to dump people into categories. We draw lines by where people were born, to whom they were born, where they live, what language they speak, what schools they attended, what teams they support, to whom they listen, what artists they appreciate, what entertainment they enjoy, where they shop, what foods they eat, what clothes they wear, and how much wealth they control. The more they check the same boxes we check, the more likely we are to consider them worthy of our attention and compassion. The more alike we are, the more we are willing to consider them as fully human, as part of our tribe. When Jesus calls us to love even our enemies, why would we still have categories of people we deem unworthy of acceptance, love, and compassion? Why would we retain a category of ''other''?
Jesus had just been talking about ritual purity and how the religious society around him excluded so many as unworthy of entering the Temple grounds or participating in the other forms of public worship. The definitions used had a basis in attempts to distance Yahwism from fertility cult rituals. Absent any real temptation for syncretism, there was no reason to retain those norms. Rather than cleansing Israel from idolatry, these rules were being used to denigrate those who could not measure up. They were using definitions of religious purity to make a certain class of people feel superior.
Having addressed the issue in words, Jesus led his disciples beyond Israel to a land of an unclean people. He took them where they were sure to encounter mostly, if not only, people who were ritually impure. He immersed them in this reality. Then Jesus took a step further, entering a house in a land where everyone was considered unclean, unworthy, ritually impure. If ritual impurity were an issue for God, Jesus made himself and his disciples impure by walking through ...
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