Mark 7:24–30
On a day when Jesus would rather be alone, a foreign woman seeks him out. The woman reverences Jesus and asks him to heal her daughter. Jesus refuses and says it is not right to take the childrens' (the Jews’) food and give it to dogs (literally, little dogs). She comes right back at him with this: “But, Lord even the little dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Discussion finished. Jesus says, “For saying that you may go. The demon has left your daughter.”
Jesus’s vision of his mission is expanded by one woman who challenges his understanding. She knew a deeper truth and she stuck with it. Perhaps the deeper miracle is that she helped Jesus hear a deeper voice. The oblate way of obedience (meaning to hear and heed) has its roots within each of us—as deep as Christ is within each one of us. When we listen with the ear of our heart, we listen to Christ. It is this listening that no one else can do for us. Each of us bears this responsibility. In the Benedictine way, it is a gift that God has given to each one of us. And we may very well be called on to hear that voice on a day when we would rather be alone.
Charles Preble, OblSB
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