Reflection On Mark 7: 24-30

After declaring that all foods are clean now Jesus proves that all people are clean too, by curing a gentile child; not only the Jews are worthy of God’s grace, but all are. When Jesus is rejected in Nazareth and opposed by the Pharisees and the scribes, he goes to a gentile territory. A painful incident turns out to be for greater good. Similarly, when the Syro-Phoenecian woman is tested, she gets the opportunity to express her faith strongly and get her daughter healed. Actually, the term ‘dog’ is a contemptuous term of dishonor. But she takes it as a chance to attract Jesus’ appreciation. She approaches Jesus, requesting a cure for her daughter, comes to Him in a humble manner both in mind and body. She did not just genuflect or bow, but she literally crouched at his feet. Someone is crouching when the head is bowed and both knees are bent, once could easily observe how very sincere she was about her request.
Jesus, somewhat reluctant at first to grant her petition, was over whelmed by her profound faith. He told her, “………… be off now!” the demon has already left your daughter.” When we are serious about getting the attention of the Lord in prayer, we might assume a crouched position. While in that stance we should make our request. A crouched position is the one which a sprinter assumes while waiting for the gun to sound in the 100 meter clash. It’s an intriguing extended image, to picture this fine lady coming to Jesus with so much confident faith that she is ready to dash off with the good news. Once her request is granted, Jesus told her that her daughter was cured, can’t you just see her dashing back home, not so much to verify the cure but to celebrate it? Yes of course she did it. Her extreme happiness extended while she saw her daughter alright.
Once Buddha took out a small pebble from his bag and said, “Look, here is my teacher!” the disciples were surprised. He explained, “I was walking on my way, immersed in thought. Then this small teacher got into my sandal. I stopped a while, to remove it from there and I looked around. What a beautiful scenery I saw! The blue sky, the greenery around, the singing birds, the consoling breeze, the smiling flowers and the dancing butterflies on them! It was this little teacher that gave me such mesmeric experience.” If only we use such pebbles in our lives as occasions to go ahead and march towards God! The same was found by the woman like Jesus the pebble – a widened way to the good will.
Questions to ponder:
How do you interpret woman’s faith in modern terms?
Do you see Jesus’ power in times of suffering, persecution and all types of evil against human virtues?
How do you build up your relation with Jesus in concerning your neighbor?


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