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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 Jesus, 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 mother, making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many other 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 the 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. Jesus goes into Gentile territory. In yesterday's reading, the Pharisees and scribes had come to Him, with their inquiries and criticism, looking to find fault. Jesus clashes with them, criticizing in turn their emphasis on human institutions that don't uphold the Law, and speaking on what is truly defiling -- the evil things that come from the heart of a person. Here He withdraws, again teaching us about the need for rest, even His own need. But once again, He simply cannot 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." Similar to Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue (see this reading), she cares deeply for her daughter and so comes to Christ to repeatedly plead for her. The "little dogs" are house dogs, puppies. In some sense, Jesus words -- the "children" are the Jews, "the lost sheep of the house of Israel" to whom He's first come -- emphasize the fact that He's attempted to withdraw for a time from His ministry, and come here to Gentile territory for rest.
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. The woman's persistence also reveals her humility. She's willing to accept His "primary" ministry -- but in turn Christ accepts her because of her great faith (in persistence) and humility, which He has drawn out of her. In Matthew's Gospel, it's the disciples who are tired of her repeated requests; in some sense this is a way to display to them her faith before Jesus' eventually acceptance.
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." The Decapolis is a region that is a center of Greek and Roman culture in among a Semitic people, so it is a place of mixed populations. Jesus gives an example of liberation from affliction and bindings, in the "loosing" of this man's tongue, and in his freedom to hear. Thinking about these two afflictions, one can see how they both isolate people from community, from dialogue. This is linked to the news that can't be suppressed, those who are commanded by Jesus to tell no one, but instead all the more widely proclaim it. The commentator Theophylact upholds their example, saying that we should proclaim those who have done good to us even if they do not want us to.
Jesus' words to the Syro-Phoenician woman truly sound like a shocking insult. I do believe it's important that we note that "little dog" is not the same word that would be commonly used for an insult; it indicates puppies, house dogs, such as would be begging at table. But it reminds me about challenges in life: what He's said has actually brought out and revealed what was truly in her -- both her faith, and her humility. My study bible calls it a means of revealing her virtues both to herself and to the disciples. She points the way to the gathering of the Gentiles into the Church. What I like in particular is Christ's appreciation of her persistence, and if you will allow me to say so as a complement, her "doggedness" -- her feisty and witty reply to Him. He rewards her for her willingness to engage, and not simply walk away in seeming resignation to His words. He's also, importantly, rewarding her for standing up for herself, her daughter's cause. To me, this is another facet of Christ who goes beyond the customs of His time in His appreciation and acceptance of women. According to those customs, they should not be speaking at all. Instead, He actually rewards her for her reply ("for this saying"), effectively praising her willingness to continue to engage, for using her wit and meeting the challenge of faith with resourcefulness and persistence, a true desire for dialogue. The second miracle of the healing of the man who is both deaf and mute enforces the aspect of the creation of community and communion by dialogue; as Creator He frees both this woman and the deaf and mute man in the same sense of liberation from restrictions of dialogue and communion. The story of the Syro-Phoenician woman is an invaluable lesson about how challenges can bring out what we have inside of ourselves, encouraging creativity, resourcefulness, and persistence we didn't know we had. They bring out virtues, as my study bible points out, that we might need to appreciate and recognize as part of our own development, particularly our spiritual development. I think the whole of the Bible calls us to see things in this light, teaching us to meet challenges with faith, with God. Challenges can teach us our own limits that we need to recognize, and they can give us an opportunity to stretch in ways we didn't know. Self-knowledge is an invaluable thing. Jesus' interaction with this woman teaches us also that faith works to give us true confidence of a kind that is not self-centered, but based in God's drawing out and expanding character traits and virtues for us to see and understand. Let us also remember dialogue with our Creator. God's loves our engagement, not our isolation. What has often been called the "struggle for faith" is done so in a very positive way. Meeting challenges, with God, is a way of life that offers us so much more than we think or know.
