Staking Your Place

The Syrophoencian Woman from the website http://breadsite.org/

The gospel reading on Sunday, Mark's story of the Syrophoencian Woman, is one that I have blogged about before. But it is a story I love to think about, write about, and talk about because it is one of those rare moments in the Bible where the average person suddenly sees Jesus as the "not-so-nice" guy. There is no way around this. No way to pretty up this story. A woman, a Gentile (read "Icky" in the parlance of the First Century) takes a chance and asks Jesus, the Son of David (read Jewish man of "the right stuff") to heal her sick daughter. She's heard about this Jesus because no matter how many times he tells people not to talk about what he's done... that's the first thing they run-off and do.

Take a good look at this picture above because this depiction of the scene is an accurate portrayal of the situation. She's down on her knees, and Jesus is hovering above her, his shoulder turned to block his heart from her. The posture is not welcoming, not friendly, and neither are his words:

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." (Mark 7: 27)

Ouch!! Not fair? Dogs? At the service I attended this past Sunday in Austin, the priest admitted that this is not the Jesus that he likes to acknowledge is in the Bible. He doesn't want to admit that what the Messiah has just said to this woman is extremely insulting and dismissive and, well, thoughtless and mean. That Jesus, of all characters in the Scriptures, has now drawn a line of there are MY people... and YOU people.

Tough as it is, though, as I talked about this story in my Education for Ministry class last week... I think this is a good story for all of us to hear. How many times have we said something thoughtless, something cutting, something dismissive to another person? This gets back to last week with James' letter and the "unbridled tongue" that will curse and bless out of the same mouth. Jesus himself had just finished an eloquent argument about the ritual cleansing laws and how it's not what goes in that defiles, but what comes back out. And then, here he is, in a land of the Gentiles being... well... a jerk with curses coming off his tongue.

And I say, "Good!" Not "good" that he was a jerk. But good that Mark (and Matthew, too) gave us this example of Jesus, so that we see that he really was "just like us" as a human. Even with his divine DNA, he is not without the ability to stub his toe on prejudice during a moment when approached by yet-another person wanting to experience the wonders he was bringing to the world.

And then there is the woman. While in the portrait above, she is shown in her moment of pleading in desperation and love of a daughter possessed by a demon, I imagine that when he called her a dog... her spine straightened, her chest became full, and her gaze became more focused and intense:

But she answered him, "Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs."

Take that, Jesus! You can call her a dog, but this dog will not cower and whimper and hide, but instead stands her ground in the face of one with incredible authority and power greater than even she was really aware. We don't know from Mark if Jesus felt the slap across his cheek that this woman just delivered to him. But you get the sense that his decision to tell her, "For saying that, you may go--the demon has left your daughter" may indicate that Jesus, realizing that she has just given him pause to consider who is a "dog" in the First Century, maybe got schooled in what his mission really entailed. A lesson that would translate into the events in the book of Acts with apostles learning who's in and who's out... and discovering that many of those who they thought were supposed to be out are very much in.

As a lesbian, I love the Syrophoenician woman for her courage to stand her ground in a society that was very patriarchal. And I love considering the potential that this, another of the nameless many in the Bible stories, was the place where Jesus had an awakening about welcome... and who is part of the Kingdom of God. Not only does it make Jesus seem so incredibly human; in his humanity, you get the idea that even the most stubborn powerful men can soften and do change... and do become broader in their thinking. It leaves me feeling like there is always hope for humanity, even when the current posture is the cold shoulder.

I'm Baaaacckkk

Well, Texas sure was fun! Good food, great company, and a chance to experience a different Episcopal liturgy. How wonderful to be in a downtown city church where they announce that the "Gay, Lesbian and Everyone Else... or GLEE Club... will have a potluck dinner!" St. David's was rather large (three levels, and a parking garage to boot!). And yet the atmosphere wasn't stuffy or unfriendly. Such a nice backdrop to a Sunday with lessons from the Letter of James about how one treats the poor person vs. the one in all the finery... and one of my all-time favs from Mark with the Syrophoenician woman ("'Xcuse me, Messiah boy; who you callin' a dog here?!?!") Such a great set of lessons on a Sunday when I'm the stranger in the crowd. Oddly, the same thing happened last year when I was in Durham, NC, and was present for the service when the reading was the parallel story from Matthew's gospel. I don't plan these things! Really, I don't.

I also took some time to explore favorite haunts in Austin... namely Sweetish Hill Bakery, BookPeople, and Anderson's Coffee. And we had a wonderful time celebrating my friend Terry's mother's 85th birthday. The family rented out a room at a Middle Eastern restaurant called Phara's, and we were spellbound by the belly dancer who balanced a sword on her head... her hips... and her chest. It was fantastic!

I also took a walk around the campus of the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest. It wasn't open due to the holiday weekend, which was too bad. But it was small, and the neighborhood seemed fairly quiet. I was really sorry not to have had a chance to go in and look at the Episcopal Church Archives. Perhaps another time.

Overall, it was an active and fun 48-hours in Texas. And a really nice and badly needed get-away.

More theological thinking to come: stay tuned!

The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You

Well, they'll be upon me very soon. I'll be out of here for a few days. Everyone...keep reading, praying, hoping, loving and learning! I'll be back to check on you Monday!!

Too Funny for the Tea Party

For reasons unknown to me, I have wound up on a mailing list for the people who think of themselves as modern-day New England revolutionaries.

I am, of course, referring to those who have been throwing "Tea Parties" to denounce anything and everything President Barack Obama is trying to do as "taxation without representation". Now, I am a native of New Hampshire. We are notoriously anti-monarchy... Live Free or Die... folks. So, when I hear people saying they are throwing "tea parties" against our current government, I laugh, and think, "Oh, yeah. Isn't it awful! They are trying to find a way to provide people health care, and they aren't going to let your elected Congress people debate and discuss this bill at all!" Sheesh!!

Still, the funniest part of this for me as a lesbian, is to watch these folks with their tea bags talking about "teabagging". "Teabagging", when said to a person of the queer persuasion, recalls images best left to a John Waters movie. Because of this, gay people across the country have been chuckling shamelessly as arch conservatives talk about being "teabaggers".

Well, somebody finally let the tea out of the bag in southern Ohio. According to a "news" release I received via email, a Congressman who is being harassed by the football coach from a Christian private school used the term in reference to this crowd of right-wingers... and somebody didn't appreciate it:

On Wednesday, Thornville resident David Daubenmire was on Fox News channel's "America's Newsroom" with Megyn Kelly. Daubenmire is a local football coach at Fairfield Christian Academy. He has been sleeping on the sidewalk outside Democrat Representative Zack Space's office in protest of the Congressman's refusal to hold a town hall meeting for his constituents in southeast Ohio.

In the interview with Daubenmire, Fox News' Megyn Kelly read the following statement which came from Rep. Zack Space's office:
"Coach doesn't comprehend reality. The rain or fatigue must be getting to Mr. Daubenmire. There was a town hall meeting yesterday five blocks from where he is setting up camp featuring Secretary of Energy Tom Vilsack, Senator Brown and Congressman Space. It had been publicized for days by all offices. If it was "secretive," then more than 300 people found out the secret, including a number of Mr. Daubenmire's teabagger colleagues who were there and talked to the Congressman."

Local small business owner Darin Hill took offense to Space's remarks.

"The unmitigated gall of Mr. Space's comments is shameful," says Darin Hill, owner of Hillsway Ag and Turf in Gratiot, Ohio. "Those words are disrespectful, condescending, and more than that, they're dishonest."
"I don't feel comfortable with my Congressman using sexually perverse terms like teabagging. He shouldn't be talking that way to constituents," continues Hill. "If Zack Space needs a history lesson on taxation without representation and the Boston Tea Party, I'd be happy to enlighten him. There's nothing perverse about an American citizen questioning his government."

True, there is nothing perverse about questioning government. But I guess "teabagging" coming out of the mouth of a Republican is different than when it comes out of the mouth of a Democrat?? Suddenly, the term the Republicans have become so fond of is about oral s-s-s-s-s- bwahahahahaha!!! Come on!

Welcome to the secret chuckling behind your backs, southern Ohio!! Chris Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly... all into "teabagging"! That's a hoot!!

Bridled Tongues

"For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue--a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not be so."--James 3:7-10


It ought not to be so, but how often do we do it? I'll answer for me: lots. Tons. Just mention the Bush family, wind me up, and watch me go. And it doesn't even have to be that removed from my immediate experience (although as a public radio reporter I had my fair share of face time with Governor Baby Brother Bush). The other night, I was in a foul mood showing up for our Faust cabaret auditions and I took it out on one of the writers, unnecessarily so. I later apologized for my bitchiness and all was well.


Words are extremely powerful. We can use them to inform, to entertain, to share, to build up, or to tear down. As a journalist, I know how charged and diffused some words are. Certainly, there were many times where what I said was being analyzed from those on the right and the left of the political spectrum to "figure out" what I was really saying. Where was my bias? Often times, they were sadly disappointed to come away not being able to claim (a charged word!) that I was either "fer 'em or agin 'em". Still, I was in public radio; hence I HAD to have a liberal bias. Whatever.

When I think of the words spoken by people in places of power and authority, I am always struck when they utter things that are best described as curses. Calling other nations, "evil", or those within a Church saying that those with whom they disagree are "unorthodox" are words that breed contempt for the "other". In the political setting, labeling a country or a people 'evil' can justify going to war. Within the Church, claiming that those who don't think like you do are "unorthodox" leads to splits and schism. Or war.

I find it interesting that we are reading these words of James during the week in which we started on Sunday with the story out of Mark in which the Pharisees and the scribes are up in arms because the disciples are eating without doing the ritual purification first. This leads Jesus to the teaching: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile. If we constantly snipe at each other, what is that saying about what is inside of us? It's not what we have put in, but what has come back out. If what we have inside is anger, pride, prejudice, etc. than this is what will come out of our mouths. And our curses will, in all likelihood, come back to settle on us.

I'm far, far away from being able to say that I don't speak "curses". I wish I were more apt to utter blessings on people all the time. Maybe it will take a talking mule to knock that kind of sense into me! :) For now, I reflect on the wisdom of waiting to say something, and learn a better way of communicating that doesn't tear a person down, but rather builds them up.

The Irish Get It Right

Watch this video from the marriage equality campaign in Ireland. It nails the absurdity of the marriage debate!

Awww...That's Sweet!

The state of Vermont has started marrying lesbian and gay couples today, and native son ice cream makers Ben and Jerry have re-dubbed their "Chubby Hubby" flavor to "Hubby Hubby" to celebrate marriage equality. They'll be serving the flavor in Vermont Scoop Shops for the month of September as a way to support Freedom to Marry.

The company has had a long-standing commitment to social justice action, and so this is one more serving of standing up for the right thing!

They are encouraging everyone to not only buy their product, but also to sign up to support the cause at the website: freedomtomarry.org.

Go to the website. Sign the petition. Buy more Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Yum!! Marriage Equality tastes so good!