Mark 7: 24 From there he 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, 25 but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 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." 28 But she answered him, "Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." 29 Then he said to her, "For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter." 30 So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone. 31 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. 32 They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. 34 Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." 35 And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 They were astounded beyond measure, saying, "He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."
"No somos dignos de aun recoger las migajas baja de tu mesa." From years of celebrating the Sacrament of Holy Communion, that is the line that stands out loud and clear from the Great Thanksgiving; "we are not worthy even to gather up the crumbs from under your table," a part of the confession the celebrant prays and acknowledges our state before God. In the passage from today, Jesus had sought a quiet place to rest and reflect, but as was the custom, people found Him and wanted something from Him. In this case, a foreign woman, a Greek, "of Syrophoenician origin" wanted healing for her daughter. The daugher was demon possessed and she knew Jesus had the power to cast this demon out. Jesus' reply was an interesting one for He said that "the children" must be fed first, "for it is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." Her reply was a wise one for he said, "Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." It was a statement of faith that touched Jesus and at that moment the demon had fled and Jesus tells her so.
Jesus goes to yet another place and they bring to him a deaf man who also suffered from a speech ailment. The plea from loved ones and friends was that Jesus just touch him and heal him. This healing Jesus does away from the crowd but in the presence of His disciples and the man is healed. The crowd reacts with disbelief, though they knew of Jesus' power and abilities; their declaration, "He has done everything well; He even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."
We all come with needs before God on a daily basis. Our needs may be smaller or even greater than the ones mentioned in Scripture, yet our faith should tell us that while we may think we are unworthy, God thinks otherwise. We are worthy and we are going to be blessed. Our nagging spirits of fear or doubt may be keeping us from peace, especially at night, but God through Jesus has the power to cast those spirits out of us. We may think we cannot function fully before God that we may not understand all things so we keep our mouths shut from sharing as we should, but God can help us not only to hear but to understand completely and fully and thus we have loosened and healed lips to share our story. In other words, the limitations we may think we have or that we have placed on ourselves are nothing for God to remove; we must ask and receive and then utilize these to help bring others to the salvation knowledge of God.
PRAYER: Loving God, come and cast out from me those spirits of doubt, fear, mistrust, or whatever is keeping us from feeling or being whole. We celebrate that while we may think we are not worthy of eating crumbs from underneath your table, You invite us to the banquet of celebration and wholeness. May we share that celebration with others with new tongues and lips that proclaim Your love and goodness; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
