First reading 1 Kings 11:4-13
For the sake of my servant David, I will leave you one tribe
When Solomon grew old his wives swayed his heart to other gods; and his heart was not wholly with the Lord his God as his father David’s had been. Solomon became a follower of Astarte, the goddess of the Sidonians, and of Milcom, the Ammonite abomination. He did what was displeasing to the Lord, and was not a wholehearted follower of the Lord, as his father David had been. Then it was that Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the god of Moab on the mountain to the east of Jerusalem, and to Milcom the god of the Ammonites. He did the same for all his foreign wives, who offered incense and sacrifice to their gods.
The Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart had turned from the Lord the God of Israel who had twice appeared to him and who had then forbidden him to follow other gods; but he did not carry out the Lord’s order. The Lord therefore said to Solomon, ‘Since you behave like this and do not keep my covenant or the laws I laid down for you, I will most surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. For your father David’s sake, however, I will not do this during your lifetime, but will tear it out of your son’s hands. Even so, I will not tear the whole kingdom from him. For the sake of my servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen, I will leave your son one tribe.’
Responsorial Psalm 105(106):3-4,35-37,40
O Lord, remember me out of the love you have for your people.
They are happy who do what is right,
who at all times do what is just.
O Lord, remember me
out of the love you have for your people.
But instead they mingled with the nations
and learned to act as they did.
They worshipped the idols of the nations
and these became a snare to entrap them.
They even offered their own sons
and their daughters in sacrifice to demons,
till his anger blazed against his people;
he was filled with horror at his chosen ones.
Gospel Mark 7:24-30
The astuteness of the Syro-Phoenician woman
Jesus left Gennesaret and set out for the territory of Tyre. There he went into a house and did not want anyone to know he was there, but he could not pass unrecognised. A woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him straightaway and came and fell at his feet. Now the woman was a pagan, by birth a Syrophoenician, and she begged him to cast the devil out of her daughter. And he said to her, ‘The children should be fed first, because it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house-dogs.’ But she spoke up: ‘Ah yes, sir,’ she replied ‘but the house-dogs under the table can eat the children’s scraps.’ And he said to her, ‘For saying this, you may go home happy: the devil has gone out of your daughter.’ So she went off to her home and found the child lying on the bed and the devil gone.
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A humble faith
In today’s Gospel, a mother, burdened by her troubles, seeks out Jesus out of deep love for her child. She persists in her plea and eventually receives what she longs for, despite Jesus’ initial response seeming harsh: “The children should be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” The term “dogs” refers to “little puppies,” symbolising beloved pets waiting for scraps. The woman understands this and engages positively, pointing out that, like the puppy, she, too, deserves the small portions of mercy and love that Jesus can offer.
We should consider Jesus’ intentions with His words. He, who knows all hearts, recognises that this woman has remarkable faith in God. He wants to teach His disciples an important lesson about faith through her. Ultimately, she returns home joyfully because her daughter is healed. Let us draw inspiration from the Syrophoenician woman and nurture our faith in Jesus, even when our challenges feel overwhelming.
Reflective question:
In what areas of my life do I need to put humble faith in God into practice?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year A” by Sr Maria Jose FMVD
