A Reading from the Holy Gospel According to Mark (Mk 7: 24 – 30)
Jesus went 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.
The Gospel of the Lord
Reflection:
We hear that Jesus tried to sneak into a house without getting noticed. Why? Most probably because he was tired. It is easy for us to forget that Jesus was fully human as well as fully divine. And, in his humanity, he also was subjected to all feelings and emotions we deal with, including getting snarky. However, at the end, Jesus ended up doing God’s work.
Though most probably Jesus wanted to rest, people noticed his presence. The Bible does not specifically say that he took care of other people, but we could assume as much for it does say that “Soon a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit … came and fell at his feet.” That is when we hear that Jesus was not very nice to the woman. Jesus even referred to her and her kind as “dogs”. Obviously, that was not a God-like act at all. That is why it is not hard to conclude that Jesus was experiencing the human aspects of exhaustion.
Now, it has been said that this interaction between Jesus and the Greek woman was a form of test. It has been explained that Jesus’ pushing back was intended to see how much faith she really had. Perhaps there is truth in that. One day, when we go to heaven, we will have a chance to ask him about the truth of it. But, in my view, I say that Jesus was just being human. However, I have no doubt that because of her persistence, humility and faith, she actually prevailed over his humanity.
We all have experienced exhaustion and we all have gotten cranky. Like you, I have done and said things that I later regret. Things that are not particularly “nice”. This is so, even though we are supposed to be a reflection of God’s goodness and compassion to all others in need.
Yet, when that happens to me, I often remember this passage and feel comforted. I feel God comforting me because in today’s Gospel we see how we must do in those moments: get over ourselves and continue doing the task that God has charged us with. That is what Jesus did at the end!
Action for the Day:
Reflect on the last time you got snarky at someone who came to ask you something: whether be your wife, your child, grandchild, perhaps a friend, a coworker, or even a stranger. Then, think of a way that you can, even now, mend your offensive words or actions by doing exactly what they were asking you: maybe help with the chores around the house, play in the park, read a story to a child, assist with the work load, share of your blessings, etc.
Click below for the recording of today’s reflection:
