This blog provides a meditation on the episcopal daily readings along with a headline from world news:

Cuba detains women in white protesters before Pope’s visit

MARK 7:24-37

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

The Syrophoenician Woman

²⁴ Jesus got up and went away from there to the region of Tyre^[a]. And when He had entered a house, He wanted no one to know of it; ^[b]yet He could not escape notice. ²⁵ But after hearing of Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet. ²⁶ Now the woman was a ^[c]Gentile, of the Syrophoenician race. And she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. ²⁷ And He was saying to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not ^[d]good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁸ But she answered and *said to Him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.” ²⁹ And He said to her, “Because of this ^[e]answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter.” ³⁰ And going back to her home, she found the child ^[f]lying on the bed, the demon having left.

the woman "begging" for her daughter

³¹ Again He went out from the region of Tyre, and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of Decapolis. ³² They *brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty, and they *implored Him to lay His hand on him. ³³ Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva; ³⁴ and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He *said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!” ³⁵ And his ears were opened, and the ^[g]impediment of his tongue ^[h]was removed, and he began speaking plainly. ³⁶ And He gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He ordered them, the more widely they continued to proclaim it. ³⁷They were utterly astonished, saying, “He has done all things well; He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

These two stories give us a splendid example of Mark’s artistry and insight in depicting Jesus the Son of God. Mark shows him as carrying the very goodness of God in his bodily presence, yet he knows that this divine goodness is not a fixed capacity, a s0n-of-God-implant, so to speak, but something given by God and received by Jesus, something learned. In the first story Jesus learns from a needy woman whom he has rejected because she is a Gentile and his mission is first of all to Israel. His words are harsh. In her great need, and with great wit, the woman becomes a “dog” and appeals to Jesus for a puppy’s reward. Jesus is startled and moved by her appeal, as it reminds him of the prophetic promise that in the day of the kingdom (which is NOW in his ministry) Gentiles will come to Israel’s God and receive his blessing. Her learns from her that it’s time for the old distinctions to be overcome. He is opened by her faith that he will cure her daughter. Jesus’ perfection is not that he is always right and has nothing to learn, but rather that when he is not right he is always ready to learn. (He prays to avoid the cross but learns that God wants him to go there.)

The theme of openness to God is continued in the story of the deaf and dumb man. He is cut off from communication until Jesus commands him to be opened up, the very word “ephphatha” spoken in Aramaic mimes the opening of the mouth. The message of the passage includes all who are closed to the goodness of God: they must open up, to God, to Jesus, and to the community of trusting people. Just as Jesus is open to God’s word when it comes from a Gentile woman, so through him others are enabled to be open and to be changed.

Often in my life, when I’ve felt frustrated, blocked and useless I’ve needed to hear Jesus’ word, “Be Opened!” which revealed that the barrier was in me, rather than in my situation.