MARK 7:24-30

Jesus went off to the district of Tyre. He entered a house and wanted no one to know about it, but He could not escape notice. Soon a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him. She came and fell at His feet. The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth, and she begged Him to drive the demon out of her daughter.

He said to her, “Let the children be fed first. For it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” She replied and said to Him, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.” Then He said to her, “For saying this, you may go. The demon has gone out of your daughter.” When the woman went home, she found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

REFLECTIONS

The woman was a Greek. The Syrophoenician woman is a caring mother to her daughter. An outsider and a Gentile, she does not care what people may say or how they may react. In humility, she comes and falls at Jesus’ feet. She accepts her unworthiness and acknowledges that she has no right to the food meant for the children. But she firmly believes that Jesus, in His kindness, will let her have the children’s scraps.

Everyone shares in God’s blessings. No one is beyond the pale of God’s goodness and love, providence, and care.

Like the Greek mother, let us not hesitate to approach Jesus and fall on our knees before Him. Let us beg from Him with complete trust and patience, relying on His power and placing our hope only in Him.

Offer your seat, your place, for a disabled or elderly person.

SOURCE: “366 Days with the Lord 2012,” ST PAULS, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: books@stpauls.ph; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph