The Saint 85
There is the life of Jesus and there is the business of the world. Soul
exists and must exist in relation to Self. It behooves every individual
to understand the diff erence between these states. The living man
or woman must fully comprehend his relation to worldliness. All of
us may not be able to live like Jesus. His own distance from worldly
matters is signifi ed by the fact that he must ask one of his questioners
for a coin. “Bring me a denarius,” he says, “and let me see it” (Mark
12.15). He is apparently not carry ing one himself. This fact, as much
as Jesus’ answer, conveys his relation to the question. If you are as
pure as Jesus, you owe nothing to Caesar and everything to your
conception of God. Others may be compelled to set the terms of the
equation diff erently. But what matters here is that they stop and
think, as Jesus does, and then set those terms. How much must I
give to Caesar and Self hood—if anything? What do I have left for
the Soul?
At the center of Jesus’ gospels is compassion, loving- kindness. He
shows it to his own people, he shows it to the Romans. But com-
passion is sometimes a diffi cult virtue to sustain even for the teacher
himself. In Mark’s Gospel a Gentile woman, a Syrophoenician,
comes and bows down before Jesus and begs him to cast a demon
out of her dau gh ter. Jesus says to her: “Let the children be fed fi rst,
for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs”
(Mark 7.27). Jesus’ language is shocking. Because this woman is
a Gentile, not a Jew, he calls her and her dau gh ter dogs. But the
woman is undaunted. “Sir,” she says, “even the dogs under the table
eat the children’s crumbs” (Mark 7.28). We’ve heard your teachings,
the woman all but says, and there’s nothing in them that applies
to Jews and Jews alone. The good news is for all of us. Jesus is
surprised by her resolve. “For saying that,” he replies, “you may
go— the demon has left your dau gh ter” (Mark 7.29).
The story may well dramatize Jesus’ own clinging to the old ways.
He is still able to think of himself as a member of a tribe that is in