Syrophoenician

So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

 - From Mark 7

We get a couple glimpses of Christ's activities during this time of His life and ministry; a time when He was riding high. His reputation was going viral throughout the ancient world. His fame was so astounding, and His deeds so remarkable, and His attitude so super-human, that I would not be surprised if almost every human on the planet had not heard about Him. Even without the Internet, humanity is very good at getting the word out. 

He's going from one place to the other. In the course of an ordinary day, He is followed, and people are insisting that they get close to him. Their desperation is like people clinging to departing aircraft, in order to get to a better life. Crowds grew around Him, instantly; and they grew geometrically. 

His fame was even greater than the Beatles, in 1965.

He touched this person, and then that. He had short conversations with people, that were worth volumes. He had peculiar methods, involving spit, and fingers in ears. But almost always, it seems . . . He touched. 

A person came up to Him, not wearing a mask. As the person got nearer, the people around Jesus moved away from the maskless person, which meant they got further away from Jesus. This person was making no effort to stay clear of others. As they spread out, you could see, in their eyes (for they were masked and you could not see the most expressive part of their face, which is the bottom half) bitter sneers directed at and against the unmasked one. Among the murmuring, you could hear many people in the crowd insisting that the person be roped and dragged away from the people that obviously cared more about others. And certainly away from the Lord . . . for He was not safe while in the presence of this maskless infidel. A hush came over the crowd as they waited to see what the Lord would do. 

They could see that the two were carrying on a conversation. Jesus was unaffected by the mask-status of the person. It was as if it were unimportant to Him. They got closer as they chatted! They were less than a fathom apart! (Look it up). But soon, the unmasked person flashed a smile so bright, that it couldn't help but lift the spirits of the previously angry throng. The person turned, and began to walk. The walk turned into a fast clip. The clip turned into a full sprint. And the crowd, overtaken by an overwhelming spirit of goodwill, forgot that the person had no mask on, and began cheering, and following along, some distance, as the maskless one disappeared on the horizon.

Oh, did I say maskless person? 

The person was a woman. And the woman was a Syrophoenician. 

Until

. . . until the day dawns . . . 

 - From 2 Peter 1

Peter had seen all of it, firsthand. He is a witness to so many things documented in the New Testament. He's writing his account of all of it, based on his memories, and perhaps his own journaling. He was there. 

By the time he's writing his epistles, probably long enough for many in the Church to become impatient: "So when is Jesus going to come back, after all?" They were getting tired of waiting. The Roman world wasn't getting any better. Like any great civilization in its early stages of sliding from it's plateau, things were getting very scary. And the Church had this expectation that if they just be patient. Wait. Have faith. For another moment. Another hour. Another day, Another week. Another month. Another year. 

Another century . . . 

That their patience would be rewarded, and Christ would return, and they would never again have to fear living in the counter-culture underworld of society; or being refused the benefits of society as second-class citizens, or torture, or the gallows, or crucifixion. 

But then members of the first generation Church began dying. And then another generation. And then another. 

Two thousand years have passed. Christ has not returned yet. 

But now we are in a situation that is as close to the downfall of Rome, as any national slide since the time of Christ. I am not exaggerating. The world today is faced with conditions more chilling and dire than at any time, perhaps ever, in history.

Peter wrote to the Church . . . to us . . . to keep our light shining in a world of darkness . . . until . . . the day dawns. 

The world is in darkness. It is the just before the first twilight, called the "astronomical" phase . . . the darkest period of the day. It's also the quietest. At some point after midnight, the creatures of the night stop their din . . . and the world is quiet. Any sound, even benign ones, sound menacing, in those wee hours. 

The world alone isn't just dark, today. The Church itself . . . so many churches everywhere, are also silent when they should be calling out world events, and marking them as guideposts of what's to come. 

Peter wrote encouraging words to us. Is there world dark? Let us be the light. Let us continue until . . . 

And until can be a very, very long time. 

But so can a long, quiet, dark, menacing night, turning nervously, unable to sleep. 

But the light finally returns. It always does.