The mystics, maybe more approachable the spiritual writers of every age from St. John of the Cross to Anne Dillard, seem to have two modes of talking. Call them when God draws near and when God is far. The common expressions of these would be the euphoria of the mountaintop experience when God is so near the planets sing. The dark night of the soul is when God is far. The music of the spheres is barely a memory. The cave and the tomb seem the only end. Who shall give you praise if I am in sheol the Psalmist might ask.
But our gospel reading for today gives us a different experience of near and far. In these it is not that God himself seems to move. Jesus is equally present in the region of Tyre and Sidon, a far gentile territory, and in the Decapolis of the Galilee, his hometown region among the Jews. God is the God of all the earth and we all – even the atheist – has an inkling of this. “If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! (Ps. 139:8 ESV)” Simply ponder our existence on this ball of dirt in the midst of the vast universe. The entire universe seems to have been tuned to keep us alive here. Yet God sustains all of it by his majesty.
The question is not God’s presence or absence, because “you are there.” The question is why is God there? Are you here for my good, or are you here like Zeus for Leda? Are you here as a mere watcher, or as a trickster, or as the lover of mankind?
The first picture in our Gospel text (Mark 7:24-37) is of the unnamed Syrophoenician woman who has a little daughter possessed by the evil of the universe. Matthew is more explicit than Mark. Syrophoenician is a then current territory marker that would say not Jewish to a Roman hearer. Matthew calls her a Canaanite, the ancient enemy of Israel who God once told Israel to kill all of them. Is that still God’s stand? Kill all of them? While being near, is this God still far away? The woman intends to find out. She risks bridging the distance. She begs Jesus cast the demon out. And Jesus’ response seemingly reinforces that distance. That this God is far away from this person, even though he is right there. “It’s not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But the woman’s response is the only one that makes sense, at least if we have any hope. If the God who is present everywhere on who our being rests is against us, we have no hope. But the earth gives all their daily bread. If this God was against us, surely the rain would not fall on the Canaanite. Or the rain that does fall must be enough. “Even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” And those crumbs of this god – however far away he might be – are enough to cast out the evil. And this is what Jesus does. The Word of God is a gracious word for those who are far. “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter. And she went home and found the child well.”
The second picture is of a man who is deaf and whose tongue doesn’t work. This is a man of the Jews. One of the children. And as we all know children expect things and they aren’t going to say thanks. And we all know that sometimes as parents our patience with that runs out. For a moment instead of being the mother of the runaway bunny who loves him to the moon and back, we might be content for the entitled brat to go. If we are near and have always been near is this how God feels sometimes?
Jesus takes the man aside from the crowd privately. God does not treat us by groups. This child of God is his child and the only one that matters at this moment. And he heals him. Unlike the far word to those who are far, this is a near word for those who are near. He puts his fingers into his ears to open them. Jesus puts his spit into the man’s mouth to loose it. And he says to ears that hear something for the first time, “Be opened.” Even though near we might have been closed to this God. But the Word draws nearer into our very selves. The word of God is a gracious Word for those who are near.
Whether you feel yourself far or near from the God who supports your entire being, the Word Jesus speaks to you is his grace. The challenge is more how we receive this word. And how we tell others.