The Gospel of Mark: The Syrophoenician Woman's Faith

From there (Jesus) set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone. ~ Mark 7:24-30


Didn't Jesus just say something about things that come out of us are what defile us?

Didn't he just call the Pharisees to task for their abuse of the law and tradition?

So, how fitting and telling that the first person he encounters after this is a Syrophoenician woman - a Gentile - who is outside the Jewish law. A woman who will give Jesus a chance to put his money where his mouth is, so to speak.

He seems to hedge at first. Seems to buy in to prejudice against this outsider.

Seems to utter words that are defiling to her: calling her a dog.

We don't know what Jesus was thinking or what his reasons were for seeming to call her a dog. We could make ourselves crazy trying to analyze it.

Or we could see that in this amazing moment, the Jewish Rabbi who came to inaugurate the Kingdom of God, met a Gentile woman who helped him broaden his focus.

A woman who would change his trajectory from here on out.


Holy God, thank you for the gospel - the good news - of your Son. Open my mind and heart to this good news and enliven me with your Spirit of servanthood that I might share this good news with a world in need. Amen


Engagement Question:


Who is someone that was an "outsider" to you (whether by religion, race, politics, economic status, gender, sexuality, etc) who broadened your thinking about or seeing the world?

 


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