Don't Say I Didn't Warn You

(Mk 7:31-37)

The thing that unsettles me about this passage is that I don’t understand why Jesus would tell the crowd to keep quiet about what he’d done. He can’t be serious, right? The best way to make sure gossip spreads is to tell people not to talk about it: we all know that from belonging to parishes. The more he commands them to keep it under wraps, the more they’re determined to make sure everyone knows.

I personally doubt their disobedience had Jesus pacing around, anxiously pulling out his hair and thinking, “Why doesn’t anyone ever listen to me?!” This leaves me with a problem, because now I have to question why Jesus would say something he doesn’t mean.

I think that Jesus intends to test their faith in a way similar to his interaction with the Syrophoenecian woman in the passage immediately before this one, when he initially refuses to heal her daughter because she doesn’t belong to the chosen people – in both cases, he says something that elicits a proclamation of faith. A proverbial “you say that you believe: prove it.”

This healing episode is particularly interesting because it brings to life Isaiah’s prophesy about the healing of a mute man, and thus contains a message of Jesus’ messiah-hood that goes beyond his reputation as a wonder-worker. Here, Jesus-as-Messiah appears to everyone, and not just a select group of disciples. The story presents a conflict between silence and speech, between secrecy and proclamation. It is from within this conflict that the people must decide what to do.

Deciding whether to preach the Gospel or to curl up with it somewhere safe is a choice each person must make for himself, and the crowd’s decision not to shut up about it testifies to their belief that it should be told. They’re courageous in their own way, risking the wrath of Jesus himself. And we’re left with the uncomfortable truth that Jesus intends what he’s saying to have a different effect than what’s implied in the words themselves.

It shouldn’t be that surprising: most of Jesus’ teachings are parables. To understand him, it’s necessary to look beneath the surface and search for the truth. Mutely accepting everything he says could lead to some scary consequences, like not spreading the word, or thinking that God’s Kingdom is a giant mustard bush in the sky. I guess what I’m trying to say is that to really live the Gospel, you have to be willing to challenge it and allow it to challenge you, to push at it and follow what it calls you to do, even if the words you challenge come from Jesus himself.

I wonder what would have happened if the people in the crowd had actually done what Jesus told them to do. I don’t think it would have made much difference. The deaf-mute man walking around hearing and speaking probably would have given it away. And even if this story never spread at all, the effect of God’s Kingdom would still be present. Their involvement in it, their decision to act and participate, is what would have been lost; the real and crucial effect of their decision is in their own lives.

Of course, this thought experiment is a moot point, because the people in the story do go out and tell everyone. I don’t think they would have been capable of secrecy: revealing the Kingdom’s presence and then expecting the people to shut up about it is about as effective as trying to smuggle sunshine past a rooster. There are places in Mark where people do agree to keep silent, and their decision is the correct one. The key is discretion and judgment, allowing the Gospel to successfully reach into a specific time and place.

Our response to the Gospel should be no different. We should be fearless, always exploring our faith and proclaiming it, but never letting our own designs or desires displace the message of God. Our response to the Good News requires discernment. It requires the joyful courage to stand up and proclaim what we know, even when every voice is against us, even when it’s something no one wants to hear, even knowing that telling it isn’t without risk to ourselves, at the same time always being careful to discern what it is the Gospel calls us to do, and when.


(additional texts: Ps 81:8-16; 1 Kgs 11:29-32, 12:19)