Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time/ Proper 18 (B), September 5, 2021—Proverbs 22:1–2, 8–9, 22–23; Mark 7:24–37

Proverbs 22:1–2, 8–9, 22–23  

Who Are the Real Stars?

 

I know a man who seems to thrive on constant adulation,

So much so, that he seems to live by straight-faced fabrication,

Proclaiming he would be the brightest ever constellation,

So astronomical, he must deserve a coronation!

 

Perhaps his Christian followers could hear or read this passage,

And note, to follow such a man, their faith they surely damage;

And I, as well, should always guard I never am complacent,

If I eclipse the poor, then I'll proverbially be chastened.

 

The text is very clear that it's the poor the LORD still favors,

Apparently, if you mistreat them, there will be no waivers;

The life of those who hurt the poor, by God will be required;

Presumably, this quirk of God's in force—and not expired.

 

Scott L. Barton

 

A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,
and favor is better than silver or gold.
The rich and the poor have this in common:
the Lord is the maker of them all.
Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity,
and the rod of anger will fail.
Those who are generous are blessed,
for they share their bread with the poor.
Do not rob the poor because they are poor,
or crush the afflicted at the gate;
for the Lord pleads their cause
and despoils of life those who despoil them.

 

+  +  +

 

Mark 7:24–37

 

Jesus exorcising the Canaanite Woman's daughter,

from Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, 

15th century, Musée Condé, Chantilly, France

 

(Written right after my younger brother Brian's death six years ago, the following poem could be useful in its entirety, or, the first main section can stand alone.)

 

It Is Not Fair

 

It is not fair, the good Lord said,

That dogs would get the children's bread;

The woman, very wise, replied,

Dogs on the children's crumbs rely.

Perhaps the Lord re-thought his plan;

More likely, though, this Jewish man

Provoked her, standing there, to think

That no! She was not out of synch

With God's great love for humankind.

And now, I am much more inclined

To think the Lord knew all along

She had to—for herself—see wrong

In categories we devise

That keep God's love for all disguised.

 

It isn't fair when things go wrong,

I mutter in some language strong

To God and to the midnight sky;

And angry, ask a constant "Why?"

About a loved one who has died,

Where suddenly I cried and cried;

Or one more shooting bringing grief,

From which we all yearn for relief;

Or why we have such race divides,

Where fear of other still misguides;

Atrocities of war so stick

Inside my craw, they make me sick;

Imagining my death, I rage,

That I will have to turn life's page.

 

Someday I'll learn life's not possessed,

But see it's given, and be blessed.

 

Scott L. Barton

 

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.

 

Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”