Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it

 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 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 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.   As Jesus has recently been under attack by the Pharisees and scribes (see Saturday's reading, above), He withdraws to the Gentile region of Tyre and Sidon, north of Galilee (see this map).  The text makes note for us that Jesus could not be hidden.  It is another important understanding and effect of His ministry, and the working of the Holy Spirit, and God's presence.  This is a story which teaches us, among other things, about the importance of persistence in our faith.  Jesus has not come to this region to preach; as a human being, He wishes to withdraw from the conflicts in Israel, and has no intention to carry on preaching in this Gentile region, as the text makes evident by telling us that He wanted no one to know that He was there.   But God's work and divine will draw this Gentile woman to Him, and she persistently endures even the obstacles Jesus names (such as that He was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, as reported in Matthew's version; see Matthew 15:24).  Her persistence wins her favor, and expresses her faith.  In particular, Jesus responds to her resilience in dialogue with Him, which she does in a sense that also conveys her complete humility.

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."  My study bible makes note of the fact that Jesus sighed.  It says that this is a sign of divine compassion for the sufferings of our fallen human nature.  Again, also, we note that despite Jesus' best efforts to avoid more conflict with the authorities, word of what He does spreads despite Himself:  the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it.   My study bible says that Christ's example shows that we mustn't seek acclaim or praise when we do good to others.  However, Theophylact upholds those who disobey Him in this circumstance, and sees them as a good example, as we should proclaim those who have done good to us even if they do not want us to.  Indeed, it is one sign of gratitude.

Let us consider Jesus' work in today's reading.  He goes even where He has not intended, in order to escape from the beginnings of conflict with the authorities who begin to pursue Him, and yet, the ministry follows and is everywhere.  Even this foreign woman demands His help, and reveals her true faith.  The Decapolis is another region with many Gentiles, a place whose name means "Ten Cities" in Greek.  It was a region of much influence of Greek and Roman culture, mixed with the Jews.  And there, too, His fame spreads despite His best efforts.  "Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it."   Jesus' ministry spread despite Himself, His healing spreads far and wide, despite Himself.  It's important, I think, that we understand this aspect of ministry, because without it, there is an important reality we don't come to know.  It is not only true that He is here for everyone, that He has been sent into the world not simply into the best of circumstances, but into the worst, and through all things.  He is sent to be with us.  But faith isn't for the nominal few who form some elite or elect group.  What today's readings show us is that Christ faith is that which gathers "the least of these," those who are outside, those for whom every other avenue of help might not be possible or available.  And this is one aspect of our particular faith that we cannot forget.  Jesus defines family, in an earlier reading, by saying, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother."   This does not mean that He rejects His own family, nor family on worldly terms.  But it does define something essential for our understanding of our faith that surpasses and transcends all things.  It means that there is essentially no one left out of possibilities of belonging.  It is simply faith that is the power to bind together, and to heal.  It means truly that Jesus is present even in the places where we think people are left out of the nominal "group."  God expands this ministry beyond even where Jesus' human expectations go; but the chosen are those beyond even Jesus' human understanding of the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  Or perhaps we could more truly say that those belonging to this House are far and away beyond all boundaries we expect or imagine.  Jesus reminds us that no matter how great our understanding of what and where our nominal group is, there are always outsiders, and God is always present to them too.  The only requirement is faith.  Every boundary is to be opened in the realm of faith, hope, and belonging in this House;  every expectation of limits to God's love and grace befuddled and astonished.  All are gathered to this House.  The psalm tells us, "Though my mother and father forsake me, the Lord will take me up" (Psalm 27:10). Let our eyes and ears be opened, and our mouths be full of praise.  God's hope will not be stopped.