Half full

Mark 7:30 ESV

And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.”

It is wonderful how God orchestrates in the eb and flow of life to create special times and places in our lives that bear significant weight for the silliest of reasons. Over the years Ground Hog Day, the movie with Bill Murray, has developed into a romantic nostalgic touch point for Kelly and I. Eighteen years ago the female scholarship house invited my scholarship house to play tag at night. It was done wearing black and you were tagged with socks full of flour. Afterwards we came back and watched Ground Hog Day. I can’t count how often I have watched that movie and as such I started watching the special features and learned a great deal more at this point. One comment from the director, Harold Ramis, is of special note. Talking about how the movie has been received and its appeal to a wider audience, he goes through how Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Christians, etc. have all come up to him and praised his movie for how it exemplifies their religion.

I am unqualified to speak to the faiths of those other groups named and the movie, but for the Christian, I can say it does have a claim on defining or representing the Christian faith. We are so quick to assign things that move and compel us to be of religious import, but we are not the ones allowed to import into Christianity. Christians and the Church are defined by Christ, not by themselves. Salvific principles are defined not by “glass half full” mindset, by continued self-improvement, nor by treating others how you want to be treated. Without Christ as savior, blood shed, dead on the cross, risen on the third day, we are doomed and our attitude is inconsequential to that reality.

Was it not the attitude of the Syrophoenician Woman that saved her daughter? Was not her humble and heart what changed her life? No, it was not. Just prior to the story of this woman is the explanation of what defiles a person, that being what proceeds from their heart. Yet, Jesus says “for this statement” meaning it was her mouth that provided the impetus for this act of mercy. Her daughter was relieved from the demon, not because of her mom’s attitude but her mom’s faith in Christ. The act of faith in Christ and dependence on him is the defining moment that lays the groundwork for us understanding that we are clean not because of our exterior obedience to the Law of do this or that, but because of our faith in Christ. Christ is the one who makes us acceptable to him, we do not. Christians are saved because they are adopted into the family, an act undertaken by the father not by the child. For all we desire to look like and act like our elder brother, our achievement of that goal does not make us more or less saved. We long for and desire it because we love Christ and our father in heaven not because greater grace is distributed to us or we want more blessings while on earth.

Let us join the Syrophoenician woman in declaring that we are nothing and are in great need of Christ’s grace to us. That there is NO other place for us to go for he has the words of life. (John 6:68)

CRUCE, DUM SPIRO, FIDO