Thiên Chúa đang hành động trong tâm hồn của tất cả mỗi người chúng ta, không phải chỉ ở nơi những người theo đạo Thiên chúa. Qua đoạn Tin Mừng hôm nay, chúng ta thấy Thánh Marcô đã diễn tả và chứng minh cho chúng ta thấy: ý nghĩa của Đức Tin là gì?.
"Lạy Chúa Giêsu, tình yêu và lòng thương xót của Chúa được biết là không có giới hạn. Chúng con có thể luôn luôn tin tưởng vào Chúa và không bao giờ nghi ngờ về sự yêu thương chăm sóc và lòng thương xót của Chúa, Xin ban thêm cho đức tin của chúng con được vũng mạnh trong sự cứu rỗi của Chúa và xin giải thoát chúng con khỏi mọi sự dữ và nguy hiểm trong cuộc sống hôm nay và trong thê giới này."
God is at work in the hearts of all us, not just those who are Christian. Look at today’s Gospel passage. True to his intention, Saint Mark was demonstrating what it means to have faith.
A very persistent woman who wants her daughter to be healed confronts Jesus. She is so persistent that Jesus gives in to her and fulfills her desire. The most amazing thing is that she is a pagan. Jesus is in fact in admiration of her faith. She literally wrests the healing and deliverance of her daughter! Her faith in Jesus, changes his orientation, towards pagan people like her, whose faith far surpasses that of the ‘God chosen’ people.
God enters into our questions, he does not provide the answers! For us as for the woman “reality” is the best teacher. God is in the circumstances we are in! We need only to let go!
"Lord Jesus, your love and mercy knows no bounds. May I trust you always and never doubt your loving care and mercy. Increase my faith in your saving help and deliver me from all evil and harm."
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. Mark 7:24–25
The context of today’s Gospel is significant. Jesus traveled to Tyre, in modern-day Lebanon, a Gentile city on the west coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Tyre was an ancient and prosperous city, known for its maritime trade and wealth. As a center of commerce and culture, it played a prominent role in the ancient world but was also frequently associated with idolatry and pagan practices in the Old Testament—practices that often opened the door to increased diabolical influence among its people. By entering Tyre, Jesus symbolically foreshadows the universality of His mission and His intention to invite all people into His Kingdom.
Even though we are Christians and members of the Body of Christ, it is important to see ourselves in this woman. In a sense, we are all Gentiles, meaning that as long as we live in this world, we are exiles—tempted by demons and sin, yet longing for freedom and our true home in Heaven.
Even though Jesus entered a house in Tyre and “wanted no one to know about it,” this desire set the stage for His encounter with this woman. It was not only a moment of grace for her but also a moment of teaching for His disciples—and for us.
First, we read that even though Jesus entered the house secretly, “he could not escape notice.” While He may have gone unnoticed by many in Tyre, this woman recognized Him. She was on a mission, driven by love for her daughter. She did not seek Jesus for selfish reasons but because her heart longed for her daughter’s deliverance from a demon. This reveals the universal and irresistible desire for God’s mercy, present in every soul open to His grace.
Additionally, when our hearts are aflame with charity for others, especially family, Jesus’ divine presence will not escape our notice. Charity sharpens our spiritual sensitivity to God’s grace and truth, enabling us to find Him by following the promptings of spiritual love.
When the woman pleads with Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter, His response is surprising: “Let the children be fed first. For it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs” (Mark 7:27). This was not an insult but a truthful and deliberate statement. No one—neither Gentile, Jew, nor Christian—has a right to God’s power and mercy. By expressing this fact, Jesus gave the woman an opportunity to reveal two qualities that are irresistible to Him: faith and humility.
Her response, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps” (Mark 7:28), is a beautiful declaration of both. Faith is the recognition of God’s power and goodness, while humility acknowledges that we are unworthy of His mercy. Though it may seem counterintuitive, admitting our unworthiness does not distance us from God—it draws Him closer. A humble heart, devoid of a sense of entitlement, always moves God to pour out His power and grace. Because this Gentile woman manifested both, her daughter was healed.
Reflect today on the profound union of faith and humility. First, ponder how deeply you believe that God is the ultimate answer to life. Do you seek Him and His will above every other desire? Secondly, as your faith is purified, examine whether you struggle with an entitlement mindset. Do you approach God with the expectation of His blessings, or do you, like the Syrophoenician woman, humbly acknowledge your unworthiness while trusting fully in His mercy? Pray her beautiful prayer today, and trust that our Lord will irresistibly pour forth His grace upon you.
My merciful Lord, with the Syrophoenician woman, I profess my faith in You. Help me to believe that You alone are the answer to every need in my life and in the lives of those I love. With that faith, I also profess my unworthiness. Yet if it be Your will, dear Lord, pour Your grace into my heart and into the hearts of all who seek You. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord God, I thank you for the blessing you have bestowed upon the entire world through your Son. You feed me each day with your Word and the Bread of Life. Help me grow in my relationships of love and give of myself as your Son did.
A Bad Reading of Today’s Gospel: One of the worst ways to read today’s Gospel is to think that Jesus was just having a bad day and fell into insulting a Gentile by calling her a dog and holding that she was unworthy of his time and healing power. While such a reading might give us a false consolation when we struggle to be kind, courteous, and gentle toward others who rub us the wrong way, there is a much better reading. Jesus was true God and true man and did not sin. As a human being, he was sometimes frustrated and even angry. And Mark does a good job recording this (see Mark 3:5; 8:12; 9:19; 10:13; 11:15-17). But this doesn’t mean Jesus fell into sins like insulting someone or excluding someone just because they weren’t a Judean or Israelite. If we remember that this section, called the Bread Section, deals with Jesus’ identity and mission to both Israel and the Gentiles, we can see how the story of Jesus and the Syrophoenician woman is a story about faith and how salvation will be extended to the entire world after Jesus’ death and resurrection.
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. Mk 7:25–26
When Jesus first encountered this woman, she begged Him to free her daughter from the demon. Jesus’ response was at first surprising. 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.” In other words, Jesus was saying that His mission was first to the people of Israel, the chosen people of the Jewish faith. They were the “children” of whom Jesus was speaking, and the Gentiles, such as this woman, were the ones referred to as “the dogs.” Jesus spoke this way to this woman not out of rudeness but because He could see her deep faith, and He wanted to give her an opportunity to manifest that faith for all to see. And so she did.
The woman responded to Jesus, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.” Her words were not only exceptionally humble but were also based on deep faith and a deep love for her daughter. As a result, Jesus responds with generosity and immediately frees her daughter from the demon.
In our own lives, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking we deserve the mercy of God. We can think that we have a right to God’s grace. And even though Jesus deeply desires to pour forth His grace and mercy in superabundance on our lives, it is essential that we fully understand our unworthiness before Him. The disposition of this woman’s heart sets for us a perfect example of how we must come to our Lord.
Reflect, today, upon the beautiful example of this woman of deep faith. Prayerfully read her words over and over. Try to understand her humility, her hope, and her love for her daughter. As you do, pray that you will be able to imitate her goodness so as to share in the blessings she and her daughter received.
My merciful Lord, I trust in Your perfect love for me and for all peoples. I pray especially for those who carry heavy burdens and for those whose lives are deeply intertwined with evil. Please set them free, dear Lord, and welcome them into Your family so that they become true children of Your Father. May I have the humility and faith I need to help bring forth this abundance of grace for others. Jesus, I trust in You.
1. Extending the Blessing to the Gentiles: When Jesus went to the district of Tyre, he was going beyond the confines of Galilee and into Gentile territory. He was approached by a Gentile woman, a Syrophoenician, whose daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit. Jesus tested her faith when he said: “Let the children (meaning the people of Israel) be fed first. For it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs (a term used by the Judeans for the Gentiles).” The point of the story is not to say that Jesus insulted her or that Jesus was having a bad day, but to indicate that the blessings of the kingdom must first be given to God’s chosen people, to whom they had been promised. By saying, “first,” Jesus alludes to a time when, after his passion and resurrection, the blessing of the kingdom will be extended to the Gentiles. By performing the exorcism of the woman’s daughter before the resurrection, Jesus works an anticipatory sign of the blessing of liberation from sin and demonic oppression that the Gentiles will soon receive.
Opening Prayer: Good Jesus, you have invited me to this time of prayer, this encounter, with you. You have something you wish to say to me today, some grace you want to give me. And you know how much I need you. Open my heart to receive your word. Come, Holy Spirit, help me to hear you and to respond.
Deliberately: In the passage before this one, St. Mark presented Jesus in Gennesaret. Now, he travels to the district of Tyre, an important trade city of the Roman Empire at that time. Let’s just say it was not a typical route to travel since he had to cross a ridge of mountains alongside the Mediterranean coast to get there from where he was. For some reason, Jesus wanted to be there. Mark tells us he wanted to escape notice. Perhaps he needed some time alone to rest. Or perhaps he went there deliberately to find a soul in need of him–a foreigner–who otherwise would have had no access to him. What does this tell us, in our current reality, about the gratuity of God’s providence and the universality of his message for all?
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