Readings for the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Year B – Track 1 – Proper 18)
Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23
Psalm 125
James 2:1-10, [11-13], 14-17
Mark 7:24-37
This sermon was preached at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Crescent City CA on Sunday September 8, 2024.
Good morning! It’s a joy to be with you today. My name is Father Daniel London and I’m the rector at Christ Church in Eureka and I want to thank Shirley and all of you for welcoming me today. I drove up here this morning with my two Yorkies, Seabury and Gubbio, who have been extra needy now that my wife is no longer at home. For those who don’t know, my wife Ashley was invited to teach and do research at Harvard Divinity School for the better part of this year. So, she and I have been spending a lot of time on the phone and FaceTime so that I can show her live videos of our Yorkies, whom she misses dearly. They both look for Ashley each morning on her side of the bed and then spend the afternoon sleeping next to her desk and cuddling beside her clothes. Their behavior reaffirms the meaning of the Hebrew word for dog, which is kelev, a combination of two other Hebrew words: kol which means “all” and lev which means “heart.” So, a dog is “all heart.” I’m sure Jesus (who knew Hebrew) was aware of this meaning, and I have no doubt that Jesus loved dogs. In fact, there is a story in the medieval Sufi tradition about Jesus and a dog: While walking along with his disciples, Jesus encounters a dirty, stray dog on the side of the road. As the disciples exclaim how repulsive the dog looks, Jesus praises the dog’s beauty, especially the dog’s teeth, which he says look whiter than the finest pearls. Also, one of the earliest followers of Jesus was a monk who lived in the desert named Abba Xanthias and he said, “A dog is better than I am because it also has love, but it does not pass judgment.” So, all three Abrahamic faith traditions share a deep fondness and appreciation for dogs, a fondness that could not have been foreign to Jesus.
In the Koine Greek language, the language in which the Gospels and New Testament are written, there are two different words for dogs: kuon (κύων) and kunarion (κυνάριον). The former, kuon, has a less than positive connotation. Jesus uses this word in the Gospel of Matthew when he says, “Do not give what is holy to dogs and do not throw your pearls before swine” (Matt 7:6). However, the word kunarion refers to a pet dog and is a much more affectionate term which translates to “doggy” or “puppy.” For instance, I would refer to my two Yorkies not as kunes (the plural of kuon) but as kunaria (the plural of kunarion).
In our Gospel this morning, Jesus is approached by a Gentile woman who asks him to heal his daughter; and Jesus responds in a way that is certainly disturbing to our modern ears, saying, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs” (Mark 7:27). Did Jesus really just call this woman a dog?!
Now we may interpret this passage in different ways. Some might see Jesus as testing the woman and others might think Jesus was just having an off day. Either way, we are left with a bad taste in our mouths, especially since the pejorative term for a female dog in our culture today is one that should never be spoken in church, especially by a man to a woman. Although I believe that the Gentile woman is indeed opening Jesus up to a larger understanding of his own ministry, it is worth acknowledging that the term Jesus uses for “dogs” in this verse is not kunes, but kunaria, which is the more affectionate and loving term, the term I would use for my puppies who often enjoy eating crumbs from my table. (I’ll admit that I’ve been dropping more crumbs for them these days now that Ashley isn’t here to keep me in check.)
Let me be clear: I’m not saying that what Jesus said to the woman was ok. What I am saying is that Jesus’s use of the word kunaria (as opposed to kunes) suggests that he had a level of affection for this woman from the get-go. Jesus’s response to the woman’s faithful persistence and quick-witted retort confirms his growing affection and admiration for this incredible woman. In Matthew’s version of the story, Jesus says, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted” (Matt 15:28). Jesus’s love and affection for the woman grows and grows even unto infinity. So, although disturbing and jarring to our ears, Jesus’s initial words indicate that he was already looking at the woman with more affection than we might think, with at least the same amount of love and affection that I have for my kunaria, for my doggies.
Speaking of this love and affection, I invite you to reflect on the love you have for your most cherished loved ones, perhaps your spouse, your children, grandchildren, parents, siblings, friends, and even your pets. Reflect on your love for them, a love that can sometimes feel overwhelming. Now imagine that love as a mere fraction, a mere drop in the ocean of God’s love for you. It’s difficult for us to grasp.
I recently spoke with a clergy colleague who told me about an experience he had while going through an especially challenging time. He walked into his church when it was empty one day and asked God, “What the hell is this all about, anyway?” The response he received from God was, “My child, you won’t understand.” The priest then responded with the chutzpah of the Gentile woman and said to God, “Try me.” And at that moment, he began to feel an overpowering sense of being loved tremendously by God. And this feeling of being loved kept growing and growing; and it felt like it was going to keep growing even unto eternity. He then became concerned that the love was so strong that it was going to completely overtake him, so he said, “Stop”; and instantly, the overpowering feeling subsided, and he became convinced that God’s immense love for us is simply more than we can bear.
It is this immense love that holds the entire universe together. It is this immense love that brought each of you into existence. And it is this immense love that Jesus Christ perfectly embodied, even when his words and behavior might seem bizarre and confusing to us. And it is this immense love that convinces me that my affection for my kunaria, doggies is a mere drop in the ocean of Jesus’s overwhelming affection for my doggies; as well as his overwhelming affection for you and me. May we abide in that love and affection today, especially as we receive God’s very self in the bread and wine made holy. Amen.
Final Blessing inspired by the original Hebrew of Psalm 125
Psalm 125 Shir Hamaalot – A Song of Ascent
Habotchim ba’Adonai k’har Tsion / lo yimot, l’olam yeshev
Y’rushalaim harim saviv lah / v’Adonai, saviv l’amo – me’atah v’ad olam
Ki lo yanuach, shevet haresha – al, goral hatsadikim l’ma’an
Lo yishl’chu hatzadikim bavlatah y’dehem
Hetivah Adonai, latovim; v’lisharim b’libotam
v’hamatim aqalqalotam yolikem Adonai, et po’aley ha’aven shalom al Yisrael
May you have confidence in the Lord so that you may stand steadfast as a mountain
and may God’s love encircle you as the mountains encircle the city of peace.
May your hands be God’s hands in this world
as you work for justice and as you let the goodness planted in your heart
lead you along the way of love to the haven promised to those willing to wrestle honestly with God.
And the blessing of God, the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Sustainer be with you and remain with you now and forever. Amen.
DANIEL DeFOREST LONDON 