Fr Kevin Kilgore

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Gospel: Mark 7:24-30

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

The Gospel of the Lord.

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This is one of only two stories in the Gospels where a child is healed by Jesus without being physically present. 

One is Jarius’ daughter. The other is the girl tormented by a demon in today’s Gospel, which was driving her mother to the brink of despair. Interestingly, both girls are Gentiles, not Jews. 

In the ancient world, a “demon” could’ve implied a variety of things – something as mild as a temper, or more serious like mental illness, to actual demonic possession. Whatever it was, the situation was dire.

Why does Jesus heal Gentile children from a distance?

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First, to emphasize that he came to save people of all nations, not just the Jews.

And second, to emphasize the power of intercessory prayer. It was the mother – not the daughter – who approached him. Her only assurance that her daughter had been healed was Christ’s words, “You may go. The demon has gone out of your daughter.”

That was enough. She does not push for another sign. Nor does she plead for the Lord to visit her home just in case.

His word is enough, which is why Jesus later proclaims, “Not in all of Israel have I found such faith.”

And that, in the end, is all Jesus wants from us.

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This story is rich in both inspiration and responsibility. If a Gentile mother could illicit healing from Jesus for her daughter, even from a distance, then how much more might the Lord do for our own families who already love and serve him?

Sometimes all we need is faith.

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Image credits: (1) Taking Up My Cross, WordPress (2) Psephizo (3) Reddit

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Gospel: Mark 7:14-23

Jesus summoned the crowd again and said to them,
“Hear me, all of you, and understand.
Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;
but the things that come out from within are what defile.” 

When he got home away from the crowd
his disciples questioned him about the parable.
He said to them,
“Are even you likewise without understanding?
Do you not realize that everything
that goes into a person from outside cannot defile,
since it enters not the heart but the stomach
and passes out into the latrine?”
(Thus he declared all foods clean.)
“But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him.
From within the man, from his heart,
come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
All these evils come from within and they defile.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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We continue with the lengthy confrontation between Jesus and the religious authorities, started in yesterday’s Gospel.

In the middle of this debate, the Lord argues, “Nothing that enters one from outside can defile, but the things that come out from within are what defile.” 

This single phrase turned Judaism on its head. For Jews, to be “defiled” meant a person lost access to the Temple, and thus access to God. Being ritually pure was essential to their identity as God’s people. 

In order to ensure their purity, religious scholars created over 600 commandments for people to follow, including everything from the washing of hands and dishes to the treatment of birds.

But Jesus insists only one thing was necessary in order to have access to God – a pure heart.

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The Native Americans have a similar idea, told through the story of two wolves, which they say are living inside each of us. One wolf feeds on negative things like selfishness and greed, while the other wolf feeds on virtues like faith, hope, and love. 

The question each person must answer is, “Which wolf wins?”

The one feed.

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This upcoming season of Lent provides us with the opportunity to consider, how pure is my heart? In what ways do I feed that good wolf within? Do I ever feed the bad wolf?

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May the Lord give us the grace to feed that good wolf, increasing the purity of our hearts, so we may have what we all seek – access to God.

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Image credits: (1) Medium (2) iStock (3) Etsy

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Gospel: Mk. 7: 1-13

When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem
gathered around Jesus,
they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals
with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands.
(For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews,
do not eat without carefully washing their hands,
keeping the tradition of the elders.
And on coming from the marketplace
they do not eat without purifying themselves.
And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,
the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds.)
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,
“Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders
but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?” 
He responded,
“Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites,
as it is written:

This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
In vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.

You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”
He went on to say,
“How well you have set aside the commandment of God
in order to uphold your tradition!
For Moses said,
Honor your father and your mother,
and Whoever curses father or mother shall die.
Yet you say,
‘If someone says to father or mother,
“Any support you might have had from me is qorban”‘
(meaning, dedicated to God),
you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother.
You nullify the word of God
in favor of your tradition that you have handed on.
And you do many such things.” 

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Today’s Gospel passage sets the stage for a lengthy confrontation between Jesus and the religious leaders of his day. 

The religious leaders are convinced that following the external laws and rituals handed down to them from their ancestors are what make them God’s chosen people. 

But Jesus challenges this deep-seeded belief, claiming that God’s favor does not come through handwashing or Sabbath keeping; rather, through purity of heart. As the Psalmist cries out, “Create a clean heart in me, O GOD, renew in me a steadfast spirit.”

Handwashing and Sabbath keeping are fruitless exercises if they are not done with love.

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While this legal back-and-forth may sound trivial to us today, there is still a real challenge imbedded within it. 

The Lord is calling us to see beneath our own religious practices, such as attending Mass, reading scripture, and praying the rosary, and to examine our moral purity. As Jesus says elsewhere, “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Perfection in this sense does not necessarily imply being without sin. Perfection is about the journey. The striving. The effort it takes to reach spiritual maturity; moral clarity; wisdom; ultimately, allowing Christ to live in us and to love others through us.

When I examine my own heart, do I lack moral clarity? Do I ever fall short of perfection?

Most importantly, do I do my best each day to allow Jesus to make his dwelling within me?

Perhaps such questions provide a pathway for us as we prepare for Lent.

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For this is how we find our way to perfection. Not by ridding ourselves of sin per se, but by opening ourselves to the presence of Christ so that we may be his voice, his hands, his feet, his beating heart in this world.

Create a clean heart in me, O GOD, renew in me a steadfast spirit.

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Image credits: (1) Sermons by Chris Goringe (2) Ritual Well (3) One Walk I With Jesus