Thoughts for the Day

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.

Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into 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.’ And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. They were astounded beyond measure, saying, ‘He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.’

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Today we have two accounts of Jesus healing people, a Syro-Phoenician's daughter, and a deaf man with a speech impediment. Although well-known the accounts present us with some real problems, and cannot be ignored. For a start both healings concern those who are outcast and whom no strict Jew would go near. The Syro-Phoenician woman was a gentile and even if a Jewish healer would engage with the problem of her daughter, he would expect to deal with her husband or father. As for the deaf man, he was an outcast because of his disability, since it was thought to be caused by sin, and to touch him would mean Jesus would be ritually unclean. These might seem odd concerns to us, but they would not have been to people at the time.

Another problem is Jesus' words to both of them. His rudeness to the woman seems very hard to accept, while his words to the man about not telling anyone seems odd. We might expect Jesus to be immediately compassionate to the woman in her request to heal her daughter, but Jesus says, ‘Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’ At the time this is a pretty awful comment (even it was a lap dog), since he is calling her a dog! However, her spirited comment wins Jesus round and he heals the daughter from afar. As for the deaf man, Jesus actually touches him, then says he is "to tell no one", which of course doesn't happen!

These two incidents show us a real turning point in Jesus' ministry. He is in gentile territory, and his mission is to the people of Israel, but if we recognise that Jesus is both fully human and fully divine as we say in our Creed (Nicene Creed) then to be fully human means he can grow into his work and he can change his mind. He is 30 years old, and has learnt over the years about his relationship with God the Father, and about his role as the Messiah. Certainly from this time onwards in Mark's Gospel Jesus begins to head south towards Jerusalem and to the cross. Alongside this, the word "first" becomes of paramount importance. Jesus says he must "feed the children first", indicating his mission will then go to us, the gentiles, for the Kingdom of God is open to everyone, whatever their race, gender, or status, who seeks with faith!

Lord Jesus Christ,
You know the joys and woes of our world,
as You faced Your own challenges on earth.
May we seek to find out Your plans
for each day of our life,
and when we take a wrong path
turn again to You for guidance.
Help us to listen to Your whispered words
and follow Your lead,
putting You first and self last.
Amen.