His Cup Runneth Over

Today is not a good day to have my windshield wiper break. Luckily, it's only the passenger side wiper, but still. I actually vow not to talk about weather very often - it will always be the same whine about how I really don't like rain- but the Oregon weather has begun. We've had a few sprinkles here and there before, but today is the first day since I've moved back that we've had the relentless downpour and wind. Ick. It's supposed to still be summer!!

Service this morning was interesting. Our normal pianist, who is wonderful, was gone. The girl subbing in didn't have the music/didn't know the music. So that was fun. Luckily everyone is really good at just rolling with things so I don't think we'll have anyone leaving the church over it. The sermon was great, though! The verse was Mark 7:24-30

²⁴From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, ²⁵but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. ²⁶Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. ²⁷He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁸But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” ²⁹Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go – the demon has left your daughter.” ³⁰So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

I don't think I've every really studied this verse before. Kirk's explanation was really fascinating. Jesus was initially telling her that his miracles were only for "The Chosen People," God's children. She countered that there was enough love and grace for the scraps to nourish everyone, regardless of where they fit. And then he healed her daughter and she moved on. It never says that she became Jewish, or a Jesus follower at all. I like that part. It's not really important whether she followed particular rules, there was enough grace spilling over for her. I feel like people get really bogged down in being not just Christian, but being the right denomination of Christian who uses the right translation of the Bible. This would seem to suggest that it doesn't really matter, God's love spills over for everyone.

Classes don't even start until Friday and I already have a paper to write! For Church History we have to do weekly 3-4 page papers that summarize a theme of the reading. It shouldn't be too awful, but I'm still a little intimidated. But I got my books, new pens and notebooks, and a new backpack this weekend! It's very exciting, even at my old age, to get new school supplies.