Power and Authority in a Border Context: Mark 7:24-30
Mark 7:24-30 sheds light on power dynamics and authority in a border context, as Jesus encounters a woman seeking help for her possessed daughter. This narrative explores themes of socioeconomics, culture, religion, and gender, highlighting the complex interactions between different groups and challenging societal norms.
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Power and authority in a border context. Mk 7,24-30
Mark 7:24-30 Mc 7, 24-30 24 And he went away from there to the country of Tyre and Sidon. "24.Y partiendo de all , se fue a la regi n de Tiro, y entrando en And he went into a house, desiring that no man might have una casa quer a que nadie lo supiese, pero no logr pasar knowledge of it: and he was not able to keep it secret. inadvertido, 25 But a woman, whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, 25.sino que, en seguida, habiendo o do hablar de l una mujer, having had news of him, came straight away and went down at his cuya hija estaba pose da de un esp ritu inmundo, vino y se feet. postr a sus pies. 26 Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth: and 26.Esta mujer era griega, sirofenicia de nacimiento, y le rogaba she made a request to him that he would send the evil spirit out que expulsara de su hija al demonio. of her daughter. 27.El le dec a: Espera que primero se sacien los hijos, pues no 27 And he said to her, Let the children first have their food: for it is est bien tomar el pan de los hijos y ech rselo a los perritos. not right to take the children's bread and give it to the dogs. 28.Pero ella le respondi : S , Se or; que tambi n los perritos 28 But she said to him in answer, Yes, Lord: even the dogs under comen bajo la mesa migajas de los ni os. the table take the bits dropped by the children. 29.El, entonces, le dijo: Por lo que has dicho, vete; el demonio 29 And he said to her, For this saying go your way; the evil spirit ha salido de tu hija. has gone out of your daughter. 30.Volvi a su casa y encontr que la ni a estaba echada en la 30 And she went away to her house, and saw the child on the bed, cama y que el demonio se hab a ido. (Biblia de Jerusal n) and the evil spirit gone out.
With Mark 7, 24-30 we attempt to deepen and illuminate our understanding of POWER and AUTHORITY. In this text we discover several important elements that model the understanding of Power and Authority. Mark allows us to get closer to a context in which we can find some clues of reality: Border Socioeconomic Cultural Religious Gender
CONTEXT Mark 7,24-30 TYRE GALILEE CONFLICT Rich city, famous for its maritime trade, purple cloth, and metalworking. Economically disadvantaged. Jews are abused, exploited Border: Galilee-Tyre. Jewish-Gentiles. Peoples and cultures that do not understand each other. Women of Greek culture, Syrophoenician by birth. Jesus is Jewish, male he has power he seeks to go unnoticed, he has had problems with the scribes for not complying with the law of purity. He is well-known, famous. Tyre is frowned upon by the Jews. Lives a difficult situation, her daughter is possessed by a demon. Culture: Phoenician, Jewish y Hellenic. Ethnicities-cultural-religious-political- economic The encounter between Jesus and the Syrophoenician is on the outskirts of Tyre, in the countryside. He is there only for those of Israel-they are the children. Relationship: prejudiced, aggressive, hostile, distrustful Those who are thrown off their land, those who live under the table, arrive.
What was happening to Jesus before he retired to Tyre? Let's look at Mark 7, 1-23. Jesus is questioned by the Pharisees because his disciples do not live the tradition of their ancestors, they eat with unclean hands. Jesus answered: Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me. But in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men. The power of the Pharisees is rooted in tradition of what is pure and impure, therefore they cannot open themselves to a different proposal. The Authority of the Pharisees is based in fulfilling the law of purity. Clinging to tradition closes the possibility of listening and dialogue...Conflict arises. The Pharisees are focused on external practices... For Jesus, what comes out of the heart is what contaminates.
Jesus goes to the region of Tyre, and his intention is not to do mission, one could say that he wanted to be alone, to go unnoticed. Jesus got up and went away from there to the region of Tyre. And when He had entered a house, He wanted no one to know of it; yet He could not escape notice. Break with the traditional places with those whom Jesus has been in relation with. Crossing geographical boundaries of Jewish territory Living the risk of crossing geographical, cultural and Religious borders. Entering a house on the border, the HOUSE symbolizes the PRIVATE. Jesus on the outskirts of Tyre
But after hearing of Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet. Travels on the outskirts of Tyre. Walks outside of the HOUSE. To be outside symbolizes the PUBLIC Her daughter remains bedridden in the HOUSE. Carries in her being the pain, the despair of a mother with a sick daughter. Breaks the border of the house, the values of honor and the shame. She had heard about Jesus. Approaches Jesus with a clear intention, to seek the healing of her daughter. The Syrophoenician Woman That going outside of Tyre, catches the attention: Jesus goes from the public scene to the private He had entered a house, He wanted no one to know of it The Syrophoenician woman moves from the private scene to the public scene, outside the HOUSE
Between the boundaries of the PRIVATE and the PUBLIC, the ENCOUNTER of Jesus and the Syrophoenician woman takes place, The HOUSE symbolizes the place of women, there they go unnoticed, without name The PUBLIC symbolizes the space of men, they are visible, recognized The encounter at the border takes place in an atmosphere that ruptures the culturally-defined POWER spaces for Women and Men. For Jesus, the public space in Galilee was one of intrigue, conflict, risk He goes to a house where no one will know Him. The HOUSE for the Syrophoenician woman was suffocating, agonizing LIFE was escaping from her daughter The woman goes out to the Public space, hears about Jesus, goes to the house where Jesus is to ask for help But after hearing of Him came and fell at His feet. The need of a non-Jewish woman transforms Jesus need to remain hidden into an opportunity of life for her daughter. Now the woman was a Gentile, of the Syrophoenician race. And she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.
And He was saying to her, Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the childrens bread and throw it to the dogs. Jesus words are in accord with his Jewish identity, He has come for His people, not for the Gentiles. His POWER before the woman, originating from a Jewish culture, is hard, offensive, excluding. the children be satisfied first Closes the dialogue. His AUTORITY is to care for and guarantee the bread that satisfies the hunger of the children, it is not good to take the children s bread and throw it to the dogs. the Kingdom is not yet possible for the Gentiles. But she answered and said to Him, Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children s crumbs. The Syrophoenician woman s reaction: It is the reaction of a woman that listens, responds by taking up the words of Jesus, opens the dialogue. Her answer is creative, wise, audacious, daring She overcomes passivity, shyness, fear of risk, characteristics culturally assigned to males. She recognized Jesus authority, but pursues her goal, overcomes the boundaries of that authority. Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children s crumbs.
With her response, the Syrophoenician woman reveals the presence of two groups: The children have the POWER of the TABLE, seated around the Table they are satisfied from that position, they live their AUTHORITY even the dogs under the table feed on the children s crumbs. She places herself under the TABLE like the dogs without renouncing her dignity as a WOMAN, as a PERSON in such a way that she is prepared to receive the SCRAPS and transform them into BREAD for those who are not the chosen children Her POWER grows from under the TABLE and confronts the POWER and AUTHORITY of Jesus. Her AUTHORITY lies in her ability to turn crumbs into RIGHT, to put those who are not children and are under the TABLE in the place of the chosen children. From where do we live the POWER and the service of AUTHORITY ? From the point of those who are seated at the table? From the point of those who are under the table waiting for the crumbs to fall?
And He said to her, Because of this answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter. Jesus changes his mind and recognizes the POWER of the words of the Syrophoenician woman Because of this answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter. The mother s words heal the child. The strength that inhabits within the Syrophoenician woman gives her AUTHORITY to cast our demons, to heal. Her words also broaden the horizon of Jesus, now, his Kingdom crosses borders. And going back to her home, she found the child lying on the bed, the demon having left. Returning to the HOUSE is no longer the same, everything has been transformed, the girl is in bed, the demon is gone. Now, LIFE reigns. The woman has overcome cultural, gender, ethnic, and religious barriers She has been liberated, now she is a DAUGHTER, as well as her CHILD. Jesus was also forced to leave this world, to free himself from the limits imposed on Him by his culture and tradition. Now his POWER returns COMPASSION to its source.
How does a woman and a man of prayer live Power and service of Authority? From what personal, social, and community structures do I feel it is necessary to free myself in order to live the POWER AND AUTHORITY with greater freedom, openness and in an attitude of service? As authority, how do we open ourselves to listenting to others?
