Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs

From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden. For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet. The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. But Jesus said to her, "Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs." And she answered and said to Him, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs." Then He said to her, "For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter." And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.

Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee. Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him. And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue. Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."

- Mark 7:24-37

In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught about the importance of the Laws of God, and the precedence they should take over the traditions or customs of men. In a dispute with some Pharisees and scribes, Jesus pointed out how some of the customs of their oral tradition act as impediments to God's Law as given by Moses. The Pharisees and scribes had criticized His disciples for their lack of ritual washing. Jesus taught the multitude, "Hear Me, everyone, and understand: There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man."

From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden. Jesus has been traveling in Gentile territory, and here is no exception. These are Gentile cities on the coast of Palestine. It's so interesting that Mark tells us how He wishes to be secluded; such is His fame and His work that He seems to seek out solitude and needed rest, "but He could not be hidden."

For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet. The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. My study points out the persistence of this woman, and that it shows to us all that one must be persistent in prayer. She "kept asking him" for what He could do for her daughter's spiritual healing.

But Jesus said to her, "Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs." And she answered and said to Him, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs." Then He said to her, "For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter." And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed. This conversation is a little more elaborate as it appears elsewhere, but the essential understanding is the same: Jesus is goading her, in a sense; He is testing her persistence and even her faith. One would guess that "a little dog" is a puppy that is pestering and barking at one's feet, begging! This dialogue teaches us something essential and important about our faith: sometimes we wrestle with God, and God will draw out of us what is there, a persistence and determination that this is what we really want -- this depth of relationship. It reminds us of the parable of the Sower. The seed that falls on truly fertile ground withstands persecutions and distractions, the things that test our faith. So it is with this woman; in effect His words engaged her, and she responded. It is her response that He truly admires; she shows that she loves what He has to give. My study bible says, "Such persistence the Lord seeks from all."

Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee. Again, Mark's gospel shows us that Jesus continues through Gentile territory.

Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee. Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him. And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue. Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. In this case, we have a private healing, because it is something extraordinary and a true messianic sign. My study bible points out all the various and diverse ways that Jesus performs His healing. "Sometimes He speaks a word, sometimes He commands people to act, sometimes He touches people. Here He takes a man aside for a private and unusual act of healing. The ways of God at times do not make sense to us, not because He is illogical but because His nature transcends our capacity to understand." Looking up to heaven reveals an intimacy with the Father in prayer.

Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak." Although He has sought to guard His secret, it simply can't be contained. This, of course, has repeatedly occurred in Mark's gospel. It's so interesting that we are told many times of Jesus' desire for solitude and rest, and also His attempts to guard the secret of His identity. Yet the reality of who and what He is simply cannot remain hidden; it is a powerful reality present to those who need it in the world, and it is proclaimed in their enthusiasm.

But what is the faith that Jesus seeks, really? In these examples, everything is personal. Even speaking before the multitudes, as in yesterday's reading, His message is personal. There He teaches that it is what is in the heart that is essential to His message and to relationship to Him. Here, a Syro-Phoenician woman, a Gentile, receives the healing for her daughter that she persistently asks from Him. It is her personal act of faith that forms the relationship so that the daughter can be healed. The extraordinary sign of the deaf and mute man is done in private, in secret -- but it will be proclaimed everywhere. Yet, it all starts with relationship, an intimate moment: not simply the man's healing in private, but also the friends who "beg" Jesus to lay a hand on Him to heal. Today's reading is all about the power of prayer, of petition, and ways in which we come to Christ: the woman for her daughter, the friends for the deaf mute. And we have the great example in Christ Himself, who looked to heaven, and sighed. It is all about the intimacy of relationship, of love and all that goes with it. When we pray, this is what we must remember. We ask, we petition, we return, we desire, we participate, we seek - and this is the way that God engages with us, what Christ desires and loves. It is all in prayer, all in love. What do you return to in relationship each time you feel the need?