Basic human behavioral theory posits that when a person faces a threat physiologically one responds with the acute stress response, commonly called the “fight-or-flight” response. It was first described by American physiologist Water Cannon in the 1920s. It represents the choices available when facing an imminent threat: to fight, flee or freeze. To fight means to defend oneself against the threat. To flee means to avoid the conflict, especially important when the threat is formidable. And to freeze means one becomes paralyzed by fear where the body becomes immobilized. But here’s my question: is fight, flight or freeze the only responses a Christian has? It’s my hope to show you there is a fourth choice: to fall.
This fourth option available for all believers in Christ is illustrated beautifully in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. A composite of passages from Matthew 15.21-28 and Mark 7.24-30 tells the story of an encounter Jesus had with a Canaanite woman whose daughter became demon possessed,
And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. And behold, a Canaanite woman, a Syrophoenician by birth, from that region came out and begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. And she was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! For this statement you may go your way. Be it done for you as you desire; the demon has left your daughter.” And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone; her daughter was healed instantly.
Jesus had spent some time in Gennesaret—a village between Capernaum and Magdala on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee—healing the sick and sparring with skeptical Pharisees. Afterwards, he took his disciples into Gentile territory, to the ancient Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon, for a much needed retreat and rest.
Their hopes of peace and anonymity was shattered when a Canaanite women came to the house they sought solitude. Interestingly Matthew’s use of the term “Canaanite” is the only time it’s used in the New Testament. Obviously, Matthew intentionally made a theological contrast between the faith of this Gentile woman, whose ancestors opposed Yahweh, and those of the Pharisees, who actively opposed Jesus in Gennesaret.
She cries out from the outside, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” It’s clear that she was familiar with Judaism and the long-awaited Messiah, the Son of David. She believed Jesus is the Messiah. And this mom in despair begs him for mercy on her daughter’s behalf.
At first Jesus ignores her cry. And then his disciples beg him to make her go away because she was interrupting their vacation naps. Strangely his reply to them, that he was only sent to find the lost sheep of Israel, sounds like a prejudicial statement.
Not taking silence as a response, this desperate mom barges into the house begging for help. Shockingly, Jesus’s response to her sounds extremely derogatory, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” Many commentators take the effort to distinguish the choice word Jesus used for “dog” is the Greek kynárion, meaning a house dog or pet, in contrast to Pharisees referring to Gentiles as kýōn, a pejorative. But regardless you’re a pet or a stray, you’re still a dog, something less than human. Without going down rabbit holes, suffice to say, Jesus was directing his speech to his disciples more so than to her.
Facing such offensive words this under-duress mom had the three normal human responses to choose from—to hurl an insult back at Jesus, to return home in tears and disappointed, or be stunned and speechless. Yet, she chooses option four, the response of faith, falling at Jesus’s feet and agreeing with him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs” (Mar 7.28).
Jesus commends and rewards her faith by telling her at that very moment her daughter is no longer demon possessed. When she got home she found her daughter in the condition just as Jesus said. Jesus demonstrates to the disciples that he’s not only the deliverer of the Jews but also the Gentiles. All is required is the recognition of who he is and what he came to do for humanity.
Life is full of stresses; it’s full of existential threats, both physically and spiritually. And when we face them, we have more than just typical human “fight-or-flight” responses available to us. You and I have a faith-enabled response of falling at Jesus’s feet and cry out to him for help. Just as Moses promised the Israelites in the wilderness that it is Yahweh who fights for them (Deu 1.30), exercise your faith by trusting Jesus will fight for you when you fall on your knees.
1badpig's Blog 