He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden

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

On Saturday, we read that Jesus' renown has spread so far that some Pharisees and scribes come from Jerusalem to meet with Him. When they observed that His disciples don't ceremonially wash their hands before eating, thus not holding to the tradition of the elders, they complained. Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?" He answered and said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: 'This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'" He said that they stick to these human traditions but use them to subvert the Commandments of God as given by Moses, and gave the example of Corban -- or the ability to declare possessions a promise to God upon one's death, therefore using the possessions throughout one's life and keeping aged parents from the ability to use property if they are in need. Thus, this violates what Moses taught. Jesus said, "For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.'" Later on, Jesus taught the crowd: "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. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!" In private, He explained to His disciples, who did not understand. "Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?" And He said, "What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and 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. Here, Jesus is again in Gentile territory, Gentile cities of mixed populations on the coast of Palestine. I find it so fascinating that repeatedly, Mark tells us Jesus looks for a place to be alone -- to pray, to rest, to calm His disciples and get them to rest, so that they can talk to Him about what they have been doing. But He never seems to manage to find His privacy; He is too well-known and too sought after for the things He does, He heals. That "He could not be hidden" tells us something about this Kingdom. He is a human being (incarnate in human form) with human needs, but the Kingdom's growth and its good news is just too great, too potent for any of the circumstances He's in.

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." The woman is indicated to be Gentile because she is Greek-speaking (as is common in the region); she is a Syrian of Phoenicia. The "children" are, as Jesus puts it elsewhere, "the lost sheep of the house of Israel." "Little dogs" is quite literally what the word here in Greek means, a diminutive of dog. Properly we can understand it as a puppy, or a house dog (one allowed into the house and therefore might be under table).

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. Jesus responds to her quick retort in a very positive way. My study bible says that He resisted her in order to test her faith. I find this conversation has a flavor of the Middle or Near East, even witty and penetrating. One would have to understand the ways in which these peoples already related to one another, the common understanding of their differences. But Jesus, it seems to me, is truly prodding her to respond here, testing her persistence in some way. It reminds me of the story of the poor widow and the unrighteous judge in Luke, and it has the same effect, the same understanding, about our persistence or perseverance in prayer. Repeatedly we find stories in the gospels that teach us about coming back to God in prayer, finding our way through persistence and effort, and even others helping us to get there (like the mother petitions for her daughter). This is likened to persistence in our faith even when we don't get what we think we want.

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, we are in a Gentile region of mixed races and religions. Widely Greek-speaking (as a common language for trade), it was also home to a Jewish population, and had been the site of Greek and Roman rule.

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. Here, Mark gives us a healing command done with a word from Jesus, in the common spoken language of the Jews, Aramaic. It's worth noting that we would consider the conversation above, with the Syro-Phoenician woman, a kind of intimate, private conversation, not taking place in the hearing of others. (Remember, He's gone into a house to be away from the crowds, to be alone, but she finds Him -- another sign of her persistence in seeking the "hidden God.") Here, Jesus takes the man away from the crowd, in a very unusual healing in the gospels. But we have His exact word, the command, reported to us by Mark. The moment is made even more intimate by the vivid picture we're given of Jesus' very movements: He looked up to heaven, and sighed. The man is not just in a piteous condition, but to heal the deaf and the mute is an extraordinary act, one quite consciously able to be done only by Messiah. The "intimate moment" is with His Father in prayer ("looking up to heaven"). So, in both healings in today's reading there is the great contrast between Jesus' wild and uncontrollable fame, and the intimacy of the two healings, both in private places.

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." Again, Jesus tries to command privacy, but it is of no use. What He does is too astonishing. And there is a note here about the crowd: it will do what it will do. It doesn't always (or even often) act in the best interest nor will of Christ. Of course, this will play out in its own awful way at the Crucifixion. But it is a teaching to use about following the crowd or the opinions of others, especially when contrasted with the private moments of healing and prayer in today's reading. We seek first the will of God, the relationship in prayer, in the love of God. From there, we understand who we are and what is best for us, and also how best to love our neighbor as ourselves.

I personally don't think there is any substitute for personal and private prayer, for the time alone with God in relationship. Today's intimate moments in our reading teach us that; healing may often be a private and intimate matter. Perhaps we may even be led by God to keep it secret, far from the prying eyes of the crowd, the "inquiring minds" that don't really have our best interest at heart nor see with the eyes and heart God wants us to know. We have to remember what is best for us, and in the loving relationship with God we can trust that we will find that. From there, we see how we are taught to relate to crowds and to neighbor. But fame, as we know from popular headlines, and as the Gospel is teaching us, is not always something that works in ways that are wise nor that Christ will sanction at all. Today, He takes His children aside for private healing, for prayer, as He seeks even His own privacy from the wild and uncontrollable fame, the impulse of the crowds. Let it be an intimate moment for you, sometime in your life today, when you reach out in persistence to the Lord. His word in our hearts will keep us in good stead for the day, how to handle the crowds, that don't always have His best interest in mind, nor the understanding that He gives. He wants us to be loved and know love through Him, so that we may know how best to love as well. Don't take fame as an example of love; the "famous" or popular may even be called idols for a reason. Find it where it truly will stand you in good stead for your life, where true love and care really is.