How could I?? I\u2019m in charge of the fucking luggage today and am stuck way back here. Why is the crowd always biggest when I have luggage duty?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The big guy just got dissed in front of everyone! <\/strong><\/p>\n Are you shitting me? Tell me!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n He was already in a pissy mood and this woman kept nagging him and bothering him until he finally put her in her place with one of his patented one-liners.<\/strong><\/p>\n What else is new? That\u2019s what he always does.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n HE ADMITTED HE WAS WRONG??? Oh My God!! You mean \u201cMISTER PERFECT\u201d made a mistake?? MISTER PERFECT admitted he was wrong?? Oh how the mighty have fallen! Priceless!!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Admit it. Every one of us has participated in a conversation like this at some point\u2014probably more than once. Because deeply embedded in the heart of human nature is the desire to see the high and mighty take a pratfall. The conversation above is what I imagine was going on behind the scenes of a classic story of someone\u2019s imperfections showing in a very public way. The Sunday gospel readings during the summer in the common lectionary wander through Jesus\u2019 activities and shenanigans as described by the gospel author of the year. As the group presses forward, a woman elbows her way to within shouting distance of Jesus. Her accent and clothing show that she is a Caananite, a non-Jew, but that doesn\u2019t stop her from doing whatever she can to attract Jesus\u2019 attention because she has a big problem. Her daughter is \u201ctormented by a demon,\u201d and she knows by reputation that this itinerant preacher is also a healer. He has cast out demons before. \u201cHave mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon!\u201d she screams at the top of her lungs. And for a time Jesus simply ignores her. He\u2019s too busy, too tired, too annoyed by the crowds, too something<\/strong> to be bothered with this woman. But she continues screaming for his help, so much so that now it\u2019s getting embarrassing. \u201cSend her away,\u201d a disciple or two mutters to him. \u201cShe keeps shouting after us.\u201d \u201cJesus Christ\u201d (really) Jesus finally sighs. \u201cEnough already.\u201d Turning to the annoying foreigner, he says \u201cI was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.\u201d Ignoring this rather gentle dismissal, she simply gasps, with tears flowing down her cheeks, \u201cLord, help me.\u201d That should work, right? This is Jesus, after all, the ultimate good guy who never turns down an opportunity to help the needy who come across his path.<\/p>\n But no. Jesus counters that \u201cIt is not fair to take the children\u2019s food and throw it to the dogs.\u201d Oh my. That\u2019s not very nice. And we know from other stories that Jesus has often addressed the needs of non-Jews without hesitation. The hero of one of his best stories, the Good Samaritan, is a non-Jew. So what the hell\u2019s his problem? Simple enough\u2014he isn\u2019t in the mood. Just as all human beings\u2014and he was one, after all\u2014he\u2019s having a tough day and he\u2019s not at his best. He doesn\u2019t feel like helping this foreign bitch (he just called her a dog, after all) and has provided a perfectly good rationalization for why he doesn\u2019t have to. Not quite. This woman is not only insistent, but she\u2019s also as quick on her feet as Jesus is. \u201cYes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters\u2019 table!\u201d Touch\u00e9! In your face, holy man! This is impressive\u2014her retort is the sort of thing that I always come up with hours after the conversation is over and I\u2019m alone. \u201cMan, I should have said . . .\u201d But despite her panicked concern for her daughter, the unnamed woman is able to match Jesus one-liner for one-liner with her daughter\u2019s health, perhaps her life, at stake. And even more impressively, it works. Something here, her persistence, her intelligence, her lack of regard for propriety, cuts through Jesus\u2019 bullshit. \u201cWoman, great is your faith. Let it be done for you as you wish.\u201d \u201cAnd her daughter was healed instantly.\u201d The Jesus posse continues on its way and we never hear of this woman again.<\/p>\n So what\u2019s the takeaway? Without the exchange between Jesus and the woman, this tale would be indistinguishable from dozens of other accounts of persons healed by Jesus. Why does the author choose to tell the story in this fashion? In the estimation of many, Jesus is the ultimate and cosmic \u201cMister Perfect\u201d\u2014their faith depends on it. Back to the behind the scenes conversation:<\/p>\n![\"images0EW9Y1AO\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/766\/2014\/08\/images0EW9Y1AO.jpg\")
<\/a>Yeah, but she came right back at him with an even better put-down! And he admitted he was wrong!<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a>We love hearing about the peccadilloes and foibles of those we put on a pedestal and enjoy finding out that they are flawed and limited just like the rest of us. It\u2019s great to know that Henry the Eighth was afflicted with gout and that Napoleon suffered from hemorrhoids. <\/a>I would love to find out that The World\u2019s Most Interesting Man has an embarrassing case of athlete\u2019s foot or dandruff or has bad teeth. Anything is welcome that lets us know that those who we, on the one hand, praise to the skies and worship in some fashion, on the other hand have feet (or other body parts) of clay.<\/p>\n<\/a>Last Sunday we encountered Jesus putting the finishing touches on yet another devastating dismantling of the religious authorities of the day. The disciples ask \u201cDo you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?\u201d No shit\u2014people usually don\u2019t like being called white-washed tombs and hypocrites. Jesus is still pontificating as he and his entourage hit the road for the next town, undoubtedly still heated by self-righteous energy. Cue up yesterday\u2019s gospel from Mark.<\/p>\n<\/a>And she keeps screaming\u2014her daughter\u2019s health and well-being matter more than the fact that as a woman and as a foreigner, she has no reason to think that anyone, let alone Jesus, will take notice of her.<\/p>\n<\/a>End of story\u2014the demons can have your daughter.<\/p>\n<\/a>So why make a point of showing that even Jesus had off days, could be rude and judgmental, and had clay body parts just as we all do? In addition to driving home the \u201cJesus was a human being\u201d point, one the Nicene Creed tells Christians every Sunday but that we tend to ignore, there\u2019s a more direct behavioral lesson to be learned here. Jesus listened. Even on a bad day crowded with distractions and annoyances, he was able to hear the truth, recognize he was being an ass, and wake up. We all have bad days, perhaps many more than Jesus did, and we tend to use \u201cI was having a bad day\u201d as a justification for all manner of bad behavior, even to those we love the most. The story of Mister Perfect having a bad day lets us know not only that the best of us occasionally fail to live up to expectations, but also that such failures need not be debilitating. Each of us can hear the truth and change a bad day into a not-so-bad one. Even Mister Perfect.<\/p>\n