Mark 7:24-30
And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house, and would not have any one know it; yet he could not be hid. But immediately a woman, whose little daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell down at his feet. Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoeni’cian by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. And he said to her, “Let the children first be fed, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” And he said to her, “For this saying you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” And she went home, and found the child lying in bed, and the demon gone.

Homily:

I respect this woman. She had a clear understanding of what she truly desired (healing for her child), and she did not let her ego get in the way.

I would have been taken aback if I was the one told that parable by Jesus. The hint that my people and I are being referred to as dogs, would have clouded my judgment. But she had an even more profound reaction – she expanded the parable. No one ever did that with any of Jesus’ parables. She did not let the story end at His full stop, but built on it to serve her.

There is a lot to learn for me here, and learn I will.