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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
Yesterday, we read that the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Jerusalem. Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches. 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.' For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men -- the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do." He said to them, "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.' But you say, 'If a man says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban" --' (that is, a gift to God), then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do." When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "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!" When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable. So He said to them, "Are you thus without understanding also? 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. 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. My study bible tells us that Jesus goes to the Gentile region of Tyre and Sidon in order to withdraw from the Pharisees, and not to preach. Hence, "He entered a house and wanted no one to know it." But the power of this ministry, even among the Gentiles, is clear -- that's illustrated by the text. The children (as we can read more explicitly in Matthew's account, Matthew 15:21-28) are the Jews; the "little dogs," meaning a puppy or a house dog, and therefore under the table, are Gentiles like this woman. We can imagine a little dog under the table begging, like this woman is so insistent! Her faith, as expressed by her tenacity and her engagement with Him, makes the difference.
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." My study bible reports this sigh from Jesus as a sign of divine compassion for "the sufferings of our fallen human nature." In yesterday's reading and commentary, we discussed the perspective of the Gospels in which such sufferings aren't really natural, rather our true nature of health (and here, expression and communication) is what Jesus restores to us.
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." My study bible comments that it's good that we not seek acclaim or praise when we do good for others. But it cites the commentator Theophylact as praising the actions of those who disobey Jesus in this story: we should proclaim those who've done good to us even if they do not want us to.
Here's a tie to today's stories that doesn't often seem noticed: that is Jesus' upholding of the virtue of communication and expression. The Syro-Phoenician woman "wins the day" with her wit and engagement of Christ, responding clearly to His comment that even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs. This is real engagement: she's got to be paying attention to His every word to respond in this way. It gives us a taste of the persona of Jesus, and what it is that He responds to and praises in human beings. She's smart and using her intelligence in order to communicate with and to the Lord. I don't really think there are coincidences in the Gospel, and in that sense, it's no accident that the next healing He does is to heal a man from deafness and the inability to speak. These are two essential facets of communication: hearing spoken word and expressing spoken word. Where the Syro-Phoenician woman is expert, this man is deficient. The qualities in her that enable her to convince Christ to help her are completely lacking in this man with such a serious impediment. In this context, Jesus' sigh of compassion to heaven becomes even more eloquent, telling us how deeply He feels this impediment or handicap. Communication is essential to right-relatedness, and above all else, it is relatedness that is important, how we engage with God and with one another. It puts us in mind of the positive view of Jacob who wrestled with God for his blessing. The final note here is the praise that can't be stopped, even if Jesus wants it stopped -- and Theophylact's upholding of those who praise. That's also a positive notation for communication and expression. We come to see how central it is. The whole of the Gospel is all about expression: the "good message" is the essence of the Book we're reading. It's the "breath of God," the communication to us that is essential to our salvation. The word angel comes directly from the Greek for "messenger." How often does Jesus cry, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"? None of this is accidental or coincidental. We have to take very seriously the importance of communication and dialogue, and know what a gift this is to human beings. We have to understand what it is for and how essential it is to salvation, the nature of what it is to be saved and to be a part of this Kingdom. Communication is the act of interaction with others, dialogue is a give-and-take. This is not about isolation, but about being drawn into a Kingdom, being part of a great communion, being in relationship to God and thereby to neighbor. It's about the use of the intelligence with which we're created, the capabilities with which we're endowed. What is a truly healed state of such capacity like? How healthy is our praise? How monumental is it that Jesus heals this Gentile woman's daughter because He commends her mother's wit, tenacity, and response to His words? Let's remember what health looks like in this picture, and what it is Jesus praises, what impresses Him. Let's remember what He sighs over, and think about our own use of our ability to express, to use language, to interact -- and why it's important to our true nature as human beings. What do you communicate today? How do you interact with God, and with God's creation? How do you use the gift of language, with which human beings are so graciously endowed? Let us note His praise of a foreign woman, who -- in the custom of the time -- shouldn't even be speaking with Him! How far away is His response from what we might expect from another in a position of authority?
