The Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith (Mk. 7:24-30)

From that place he went off to the district of Tyre. He entered a house and wanted no one to know about it, but he could not escape notice. 25 Soon a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him. She came and fell at his feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth, and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter. 27 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.” 28 She replied and said to him, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.” 29 Then he said to her, “For saying this, you may go. The demon has gone out of your daughter.” 30 When the woman went home, she found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

Tyre was an important center of trade and commerce located along the Mediterranean coast in ancient Phoenicia, a predominately Gentile region outside the boundaries of Palestine.  “Syrophoenician" was likely a term used to indicate that a person came from a region that was historically part of Phoenicia but had become associated with the Roman province of Syria.

Jesus left the region of Galilee and went to the district of Tyre.  His fame had spread even to that pagan region (Mk. 3:8) and it appeared that Jesus went there to withdraw from the crowds.  A Gentile woman who heard about Jesus fell at his feet in supplication and begged him to drive an unclean spirit out of her daughter.  Jewish religious leaders often regarded Gentiles as spiritually inferior, sometimes referring to Gentiles as dogs (1 Sam. 17:43). Jesus' statement may have seemed harsh but his primary mission was to the Jewish people (Mt. 15:24).  Referring to the Jews as children indicated that they were in great need of spiritual nourishment.  

The woman was well aware of the contempt Jews had for Gentiles and their gods and agreed with Jesus that the children of Israel should be fed first but then the non-Jews could be fed with whatever crumbs were left from the rich feast presented to the Jews.  The woman’s response demonstrated her faith, humility, wisdom, and persistence in seeking Jesus's help.  Jesus’ mission was universal and he did not discriminate when people came to him to be healed (Mk. 5:1-13).  Jesus acknowledged the woman’s faith and persistence and granted her request demonstrating his compassion and power.  It also revealed the universal nature of God's mercy, which transcends ethnic and cultural boundaries.  The woman returned home and found her daughter restored to health.

Almighty God, you revealed the depth of your mercy and compassion in your encounter with the Gentile woman.  Grant us the gift of deep faith and the strength of belief to always turn to you in supplication.  This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen

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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.

                Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.