If someone with less power than you challenges your point of view, do you believe them? In our Gospel for today, Jesus comes across as dismissive, even shaming, in his refusal to the Syro-Phoenician woman who begs for healing for her daughter. He calls her a dog, to which she replies, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
In other words, the woman advocates for her daughter and herself, insisting that even from their marginalized standing, they deserve to be fed and healed.
Whom do you resonate with in this story — with the Syro-Phoenician woman advocating for her daughter and herself? With the daughter, who overhears her mother fiercely insisting on her dignity? Or with Jesus, who is asked to reconsider his power and bias?
Have you ever been in a position to insist on your own dignity to someone who has more power than you? Have you ever heard marginalized voices insisting on their dignity, and have you been willing to change?
Signs
In Luke 21, Jesus says, “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among...
