Mark 7:24-30.

24 Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. 25 In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an evil spirit came and fell at his feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. 27 "First let the children eat all they want," he told her, "for it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs." 28 "Yes, Lord," she replied, "but even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." 29 Then he told her, "For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter." 30 She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Imagine you are on holiday and you are bothered by a native trying to sell you something. You don't want to be bothered. Do you tell them to go away, or give in and buy the item to get rid o them?

In today's gospel Jesus is trying to escape the crowds and rest in non-Jewish territory. He is interrupted by this foreigner.

This story tells us that the good news of Jesus is for everyone who trusts in Jesus.

This Gentile woman begs Jesus to help and he, initially refuses. Why was this ?

Jesus did not see his mission solely as that of a healer or miracle worker. One of the ways we see this is in his efforts to elicit faith from the people that he healed. He challenges the woman by saying 27 "First let the children eat all they want," he told her, "for it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs."  

The Jews called Gentiles 'dogs' in a derisory way. Jesus could have been saying to the woman "I have come to minister to Jews first of all, and haven't got time for you Gentile 'dogs'", perhaps with a twinkle in his eye. The woman's reply suggests that while she cannot expect the best food she can still have some of what is left over after the Jews had had their fill.

Verse 28 is the only time that Mark records anyone calling Jesus 'Lord', showing the trust that she placed in Jesus. The word in the Greek, kurios, was used by a slave to his/her master or owner. It reflects the respect due to a superior but, for the Christian it acknowledges the authority of Jesus over and in the universe. It also acknowledges the place of Lordship that Jesus is to have in the life of the believer. Making him the number one priority.

The woman believed that Jesus could drive the demon out of her daughter. She showed humility in begging Jesus for help, and suggesting that she would be happy with leftovers. Her faith was rewarded when her child was delivered from the demon. Jesus has power over evil even from a distance.

This account shows that Jesus has come for everyone.

Where do you think the centre of Christianity is? Jerusalem? Rome? Canterbury? St. Martin's or St. Mary's? No, Timbuktu.

There is a statistical centre of Christianity which is the point where the numbers of Christians living to its north and its south are equal, and, in like manner, so are the numbers living to its east and west.

In AD 33, a possible date of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the statistical centre of Christianity was, not surprisingly, Jerusalem. As the Christian faith spread so its centre shifted. For the first 500 years, it moved around the Mediterranean region. Then, from AD 600 it began a journey north-westwards in a consistent trajectory. By 1000, the centre was near to Constantinople (today's Istanbul). By 1500, the statistical centre reached its northernmost point ever, in Budapest, at which it began a movement south that has continued to this day. In 1600, Zagreb in Croatia hosted the centre; by 1900 it arrived in Madrid, Spain, on its way to Africa. By 1970, the centre was in Morocco; In 2000 it had turned up in Timbuktu.

Compared to the early centuries of Christianity, the centre is now moving very fast, at something like 19 km per year.

By 2100, it is predicted that the vast majority - almost 80% of Christians - will live in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania, and that the statistical centre will be even further south, in the northern Nigerian city of Sokoto.

The gospel is for everyone, you, me, even the people of Knebworth. Our duty and joy is to live out the gospel through prayer, word and deed. To share the good news of Jesus with others. And, if God blesses this, our church will grow and proper and perhaps the centre of Christianity will move southwards a little less fast.