Today's Gospel

Why Don’t You Trust in God?

Welcome back to Radical and Relevant, where each day we explore the genius of Jesus, His life, and teachings in the Gospel. Today's reading comes from the Gospel of Mark, chapter 7, verses 24 through 30. And from there, Jesus arose and went away to the region of Tyra and Sidon, and he entered a house and would not have anyone know it, yet he could not be hid. But immediately, a woman whose 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 Syrophoenician by birth, and she begged Jesus 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 on your way. The demon has left your daughter." And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone. I love this reading. Love this reading. I love this woman. There's just so many great figures, great characters, great people in the Gospels. And you've got this woman and she's like begging Jesus because her daughter is sick.

And let's listen, listen to what Jesus says to her. "Your daughter is a dog." All right, he didn't say exactly that. He didn't say exactly that, but that's what he said. He said, "Let the children first be fed, for it is not right to take the children's bread," which is the chosen people, the Jewish people. It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs. Who's the dogs? The dog is her daughter. But she doesn't even blink. She says, "You're right. You're right, Lord. But even the dogs under the master's table eat the children's scraps, the crumbs." It's awesome. It's amazing. I mean, that faith, right?

And the realization that, hey, that's fine, Jesus. I just need a few of your scraps. I just need a few of your crumbs. That's all I need. And that's all my daughter needs. And let the children have their meal and just let my daughter have just a few of the crumbs that fall on the ground. The faith is just towering. It's just monumental. It's just so inspiring. And it's embarrassing because my faith is so little when I think about this woman. And it's just a call to say, okay, what am I putting my trust in? And why am I not trusting more in God? Have a great day. Remember, Be Bold, Be Catholic.

I hope you're enjoying the Daily Gospel Reflections. So one of the things I love doing, spending this time with you each day. Recently, I released a book called 33 Days to Divine Mercy. If you haven't had a chance to check that out yet, I encourage you to do that today.