Dogs and Swine–O My!
Okay, I admit it, I find this passage more than a little confusing. I have spent a great deal of time pondering and trying to find a truth that I like to share with you. I didn’t find one. I have prayed with it and researched it, but I still find the words hard to hear and offensive. I find it hard to imagine Jesus saying them. But the words are there, and somehow, I need to make peace with them. Even though I know they are from a different time and a different culture, they make me cringe.
Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.”
The research I did tells me that Jesus was referring to groups of people when he said this. That didn’t help my quest for understanding at all. He was saying if someone does not want anything to do with our teaching, don’t waste your time on them. The article compared it to the passage when Jesus said,” if you go into a town, and they do not accept you, leave it, and shake the dust from your feet.”
Still not helping.
In another article, it was compared to the passage where Jesus speaks to a Syrophoenician woman. The woman wants him to heal for her daughter. Jesus says, “Should the food from the Master’s table be given to the dogs.” In essence, he was referring to her as a dog.
My journey down the road seeking peace with this passage, just kept getting worse.
So, in the end, I have very little to share with you today.
The nugget I will hold onto is that faith is precious and should never be treated carelessly. God’s presence in our lives is to be held dear and not ignored, given away, or denied. Faith is a precious gift, and we are responsible for taking care of it and nurturing its growth.
Speaking only for myself, sometimes to be socially non-offensive, I do not defend my faith and call others to see God’s goodness. I allow negativity and judgments that I know are not of God to flourish in my presence. I remain silent to keep the peace.
We can show that we treasure what is holy by living our faith to the fullest, whether convenient or inconvenient. What is sacred is the seed of God planted within each of us. That I can understand. That I can treasure and protect from those, who would want to destroy and denigrate it.
I am still not at peace with the dogs and the swine. But that’s okay, I’m just not done yet.
May we all reverence the Holy and pray God gives us the strength to defend His message of love and tolerance.
In God’s unending love,
Gwen
