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Morning Meditation

August 1, 2025

Reading: Mark 7:24-30

From 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, but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 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.’ But she answered him, ‘Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.’ Then he said to her, ‘For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.’ So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Meditation-Rebecca Northington

I have always loved this passage from Mark, for it reminds us yet again to value those we perceive to be on the outside. This woman was a gentile, an outsider; and yet she knew who Jesus was. She understood, even when the disciples did not. For that her daughter was healed. It can also be a dangerous piece of text for the same reason. If we just believe, our demons can be exorcized. Sometimes demons have been understood to be mental health challenges, or physical challenges, including disease. This has been an argument in many Christian communities throughout the last two thousand years; just believe, be more devout, more holy, and you will be saved from whatever it is that plagues you.

For the purpose of today's meditation I want to lean into an analysis of belief, not the subversive intent of pressuring others to believe. The mother in Mark talks about even the lowly dogs wanting to eat the crumbs from the table. I think what she is reminding Jesus, is that understanding and appreciating God’s love is accessible to all of us, regardless of race, origin, location or creed. In fact the lectionary for today acknowledges Joseph of Arimithea. Joseph was the wealthy man who asked for Jesus’s body after the crucifixion-dressed the body and buried it with honor in a tomb meant for himself. Beyond the Biblical reference of Joseph, legend says that his wealth came from a tin mine in Cornwall and that he traveled there from time to time. People believe it was Joseph who brought the grail from the last supper to Britain and buried it, prompting the literature of King Arthur and the quest to find the Holy Grail. In fact many believe Joseph, a wealthy Jew, was likely the origin of Christianity in Great Britain, and his early belief and understanding of Jesus was crucial to the spread of Christianity.

Authentic belief is perhaps more central to a life of faith than we always realize. The Syrophoenician woman believed. Joseph of Arimathea believed; and many of us believe. Exactly what we believe may not be the point.

This past Thursday night my family was invited to the monthly parsonage dinner at our pastors house here on the Island. In attendance was a 90 year old woman who has lived every year of her life on this island. As a child and young adult she had no electricity or central heat, only a wood burning stove. Her education did not go beyond the one room school house on the island. Next to her was a 75 year old woman from Michigan; a Congregationalist, highly educated and full of worldly opinions. Next to her was a 65 year old woman who had been in the Peace Corps for years, had fallen in love with an African man and settled in Burundi until he died of Malaria, at which point she came back to Hamilton Village where her father had taught at Colgate University. My oldest son Jack was next to her. He is 24 years old and has taught high school English for two years and is now applying to law school. My daughter Clare, 14, was next, a rising 9th grader; then myself, and our host, a 65 year old clergy person and Theology professor at Colgate University.

The question for the evening was “what does Church mean to you”. Jack and Clare quickly jumped in and said music and community. Music as a way to talk to God with more reverence and intention than causal prayer. Community because it is a place where you can explore belief with multi-generational support and interest. The woman who had lived in Africa said that the Church was home. Wherever life and love had taken her, she could count on Church to be the place where her roots went deep and she felt held. It was the safe place of retreat when the world felt lonely or off kilter.

The conversation lasted well over an hour and the variety of responses was fascinating. For me, church is a place to safely explore who Jesus was and what it means for us today. How does the life and death of a man who was born in modern day Palestine and lived and taught in Israel, impact all of us here on the East Coast of America in 2025? What do we believe, and how does it guide us? Do we recognize those we perceive to be on the outside as just as worthy of God’s love and salvation? Do we offer that love ourselves without being reminded, or more importantly without expecting anything in return?

What do you believe, and how does it influence or inspire you?

A Prayer by Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Disturb us, O Lord

when we are too well-pleased with ourselves

when our dreams have come true because we dreamed too little,

because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, O Lord

when with the abundance of things we possess,

we have lost our thirst for the water of life

when, having fallen in love with time,

we have ceased to dream of eternity

and in our efforts to build a new earth,