Bread And Healing

Καὶ ἐκεῖθεν ἀναστὰς, ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὰ μεθόρια Τύρου καὶ Σιδῶνος, καὶ εἰσελθὼν εἰς οἰκίαν, οὐδένα ἤθελε γνῶναι. Καὶ οὐκ ἠδυνήθη λαθεῖν.᾿Ακούσασα γὰρ γυνὴ περὶ αὐτοῦ, ἧς εἶχε τὸ θυγάτριον αὐτῆς πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον, ἐλθοῦσα προσέπεσε πρὸς τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ, ἦν δὲ ἡ γυνὴ Ἑλληνίς Συροφοίνισσα τῷ γένει, καὶ ἠρώτα αὐτὸν ἵνα τὸ δαιμόνιον ἐκβάλῃ ἐκ τῆς θυγατρὸς αὐτῆς. Ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτῇ · ῎Αφες πρῶτον χορτασθῆναι τὰ τέκνα· οὐ γὰρ καλόν ἐστι λαβεῖν τὸν ἄρτον τῶν τέκνων, καὶ βαλεῖν τοῖς κυναρίοις. Ἡ δὲ ἀπεκρίθη , καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Ναὶ, Κύριε· καὶ γὰρ τὰ κυνάρια ὑποκάτω τῆς τραπέζης ἐσθίει ἀπὸ τῶν ψιχίων τῶν παιδίων. Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῇ· Διὰ τοῦτον τὸν λόγον, ὕπαγε, ἐξελήλυθε τὸ δαιμόνιον ἐκ τῆς θυγατρός σου. Καὶ ἀπελθοῦσα εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτῆς, εὗρε-τὸ δαιμόνιον ἐξεληλυθὸς, καὶ τὴν θυγατέρα βεβλημένην ἐπὶ τῆς κλίνης. Μεθὸ περὶ τῶν βρωμάτων εἶπεν ὁ Κύριος, καὶ εἶδεν ἀπειθοῦντας τοὺς Ἰουδαίους, μεταβαίνει ἐπὶ τὰ τῶν ἐθνικῶν ὄρια. Απιστησάντων γὰρ τῶν Ἰουδαίων, ἡ σωτηρία τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἔμελλε γενέσθαι. Αὐτὸς μέντοι προηγουμένως σπουδάζει λαθεῖν, ἵνα μὴ ἔχωσιν ὕστερον αἰτιᾶσθαι αὐτὸν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι, ὡς εἰς τὰ ἀκάθαρτα ἔθνη προσδραμόντα. Οὐ μέντοι ἠδυνήθη λαθεῖν· οὐ γὰρ ἐνεδέχετο αὐτὸν λαθεῖν, καὶ μὴ παρά τινος γνωσθῆναι. Ἡ οὖν γυνὴ ἀκούσασα περὶ αὐτοῦ, ἐπιδείκνυται πίστιν θερμήν. Διὰ τοῦτο οὖν καὶ ὁ Κύριος οὐκ εὐθέως ὑπακούει. ἀλλ' ἀναβάλλεται τὴν δωρεάν, ἵνα δείξη τὴν τῆς γυναικὸς ἐπίμονον πίστιν, καὶ ὅτι καίτοι ἀποπεμπομένη, προσκαρτερεῖ, ἵνα καὶ ἡμεῖς μὰθωμεν μὴ ἀποπηδᾷν εὐθὺς ὅταν εὐξάμενοι μὴ αὐτίκα τυγχάνωμεν, ἀλλὰ προσκαρτερῶμεν ἄχρις ἂν λάβωμεν . Κυνάρια δὲ ὀνομάζει τοὺς ἐθνικοὺς , ὡς μιαροὺς δοκοῦντας τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις · ἄρτον δὲ, τὴν εὐεργεσίαν, ἣν τοῖς παιδίοις, ἤτοι τοῖς Εβραίοις, ἀφώρισεν ὁ Θεός· τὰς γὰρ εὐεργεσίας τοῖς Ἑβραίοις ἀπέστειλε. Φησὶν οὖν ὁ Κύριος, ὅτι , Οὐ δεῖ τοὺς ἐθνικοὺς μετασχεῖν τῆς εὐεργεσίας ἢ τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις ἀφώρισται· ἐπεὶ δὲ συνετῶς ἀπεκρίθη ἡ γυνὴ καὶ πιστῶς, ἔτυχε τῆς ἐπιθυμίας. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ Iουδαῖοι , φησὶ, τὸν ἄρτον ἔχουσι, τουτέστι, σὲ ὁλόκρηρον, τὸν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καταβάντα, καὶ τὰς σὰς εὐεργεσίας· ἐγὼ δὲ ψιχία αἱτῶ, τουτέστι, μερικὴν εὐεργεσίαν. Ὅρα δὲ καὶ τὸν Κύριον , πῶς οὐκ εἶπεν ὅτι , Ἡ δύναμίς μου ἔσωσέ σε. ᾿Αλλὰ τί φησι'; Διὰ τὸν λόγον τοῦτον, τουτέστι , διὰ τὴν πίστιν σου, ὕπαγε, ἐκαθαρίσθη γὰρ ἡ θυγάτηρ σου. Μάνθανε οὖν καὶ σὺ ἐντεῦθεν ἐπωφελὲς μάθημα. Καὶ γὰρ ἕκαστος ἡμῶν ὅταν ἁμαρτάνῃ, γυνή ἐστι, τουτέστιν, ἀσθενὴς ψυχή · Φοινίκισσα δὲ, ὡς τὴν φοινικὴν ἁμαρτίαν καὶ αἱματώδη καὶ φονεύτριαν ἔχουσα. Θυγατέρα δὲ έχει ἡ τοιαύτη ψυχή, τὴν πονηρὰν πρᾶξιν, ἥτις ἔχει δαιμόνιον. Αἱ γὰρ πονηραὶ πράξεις, δαιμόνων εἰσίν· ἁμαρτωλοὶ οὖν ὄντες, καὶ κυνάρια ὀνομαζόμεθα, ἀκαθαρσίας γέμοντα· διὰ τοῦτο οὐδὲ ἀξιοί ἐσμεν λαβεῖν τὸν ἄρτον τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἤτοι μεταλαβεῖν τῶν ἀχράντων μυστηρίων· ἐὰν μέντοι ἐπιγνῶμεν ἑαυτοὺς διὰ τῆς ταπεινοφροσύνης, καὶ ὅτι κυνάριά ἐσμεν ὁμολογήσωμεν, καὶ ἐξαγορεύσωμεν τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν, τότε ἰαθήσεται ἡ θυγάτηρ, τους ἐστιν, ἡ πρᾶξις ἡ δαιμονιώδης. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατά Μάρκον, Κεφαλη Z’ Source: Migne PG 123.564b-565b

And rising from there He went to the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, and coming into a house, He wished that no one should know it. But He could not be hidden. For a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard of Him and came in and fell down at his feet, and she was a Gentile, born a Syrophenician. And she asked Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, 'Allow the children to be filled first. It is not good to take the bread of the children and cast it to the dogs.' She answered and said to him, 'Yes, Lord, for the whelps also eat the crumbs under the table of the children.' He said to her, 'For what you have said, go, the devil is gone out of your daughter.' And when she had come into her house, she found the girl lying upon the bed and the devil gone out of her. 1 After the Lord had spoken of the bread, and He saw the Jews incredulous, He passed over into the lands of the Gentiles. For with the Jews incredulous, future salvation was for the Gentiles. And He first endeavoured to hide Himself, so that later the Jews would not be able to accuse Him of running off to an unclean people. But he was not able to hide, for it was not possible that He should be unrecognised by everyone. Therefore a woman heard about Him, and she showed the eagerness of her faith, and because of this the Lord did not immediately attend to her but He delayed the giving of the gift, that the firmness of the woman's faith might be shown, which although it was tested, persevered, so that even we might learn to be resilient when we pray, and if we do not instantly receive what we pray for, by perseverance obtain it. Then He names the Gentiles dogs, as things seeming to be unclean to the Jews. But the bread is good, which God has set aside for the children, that is, the Hebrews. The benefaction of the Jews is not to be removed. Therefore the Lord says that the Gentiles are not to be participant in the benefaction which has been prepared for the Jews. But because the woman replies wisely and faithfully, what she desires is done. For the Jews, she says, have bread, that is, the whole of you, who came down from heaven, and your blessing, but I seek only a crumb, that is, just a particular benefaction. And see that then the Lord does not say, 'My power has saved you,' but what does He say? Because of your words, that is, your faith, go, your daughter is cured. Learn, then, even you, this useful teaching. Indeed any one of us, when we sin, are this woman, that is, a weak soul, and Phoenician, which is to be stained and bloody and encrusted with sin, and such a soul has a daughter, some evil work, which has a demon, for an evil work is a demonic thing. Thus when we are sinners we are named dogs, being full of uncleanliness, on account of which we are not worthy to receive the bread of God, that is, to communicate in the immaculate mysteries. But if through humility we know ourselves and we confess we are dogs, and we narrate our sins, then our daughter is healed, that is, our demonic deed. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Mark, Chapter 7 1 Mk 7.24-30