Gnaw on This ... The Gospel for This Sunday

The Gospel isn't meant to be gulped down on a Sunday morning, but gnawed on through the week so it really becomes a part of us.

You've got to work at it ... like a dog with a good bone!

Here's the Gospel for this Sunday ... with some notes and more "food for thought"

15th Sunday After Pentecost - Mark 7:24-37

From there Jesus 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, but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 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.’ But she answered him, ‘Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.’ Then he said to her, ‘For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.’ So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

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. They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, ‘Ephphatha’, that is, ‘Be opened.’ And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. They were astounded beyond measure, saying, ‘He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.’

Thanks to the blog "Momma Said What a Waste" for the pic.

The Backstory - What's Going On Here?

This section of Mark sees Jesus breaking barrier after barrier -- from the feeding of the 4,000 and walking on water to healings and casting out demons. Last week we saw Jesus tangle with the Pharisees about the barriers set up by the Law ... and reframe them in terms of what honors God best.

Immediately, we see Jesus take the conversation with the Pharisees and put it into action. And he keeps upping the ante. Not only does he go straight to Gentile territory. He has a conversation with a Gentile. And it's a woman. And he lets her touch him! And it's a woman with a demon-possessed daughter! And he is open to her changing his mind! And he heals the girl! And then with the deaf man, he even puts his fingers in his ears and touches his tongue. Jesus continues to break barrier after barrier. The reader must wonder ... where will it end?

A few things to chew on:

*The Syrophoenician woman argues with Jesus, comes back at him even after he insults her (he calls her a dog!). Sparring with God is nothing new in scripture - think of Jacob wrestling with the angel and Abraham bargaining with God in Genesis. All three examples lead to closer relationship with