Mark 7: 24-30
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.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Jesus’ Healing Love
Jesus enters the region of Tyre, hoping to remain unnoticed. He seeks quiet, perhaps rest, yet he cannot escape the presence of someone in need. A Gentile woman finds him and kneels, pleading for her daughter’s healing.
On first reading, Jesus’ response is unsettling. His words are not gentle or reassuring. Yet this Gospel is not only about a healing. It is about encounter. The woman speaks back with courage and persistence, and through this honest exchange, the wideness of Christ’s mission is revealed. God’s mercy is not confined by boundaries of culture, religion, or belonging.
Like the Syrophoenician woman, we are invited to seek Christ with honesty. What part of your life are you tempted to hide or believe is unworthy of God’s attention? Where might Christ be inviting you to trust that nothing in you is beyond his healing love?
—Br. Bobby Nichols, SJ, is a Jesuit of the Midwest Province serving as a Campus Minister at Loyola University Chicago.
Prayer
God, your love cannot escape me.
Today, I ask that your healing love encounter my life.
Make your presence known to me, especially in moments when I feel weak, abandoned, or distant.
Help me to trust that even then, your love still reaches me.
Amen.
—Br. Bobby Nichols, SJ
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