The two healing stories for today have one thing in common: They easily rub readers the wrong way. Each of the stories has some aspect about it that we find disturbing to our sense of correctness. Accustomed to reading the gospel and being impressed by the divine power healings reveal, the stories of the Syrophoenician woman and the Decapolis deaf-mute don't quite measure up.

The first healing miracle (vv.24-30) of today finds Jesus outside his usual Galilean haunts as he journeys to the boundary regions between Tyre and Sidon. Jesus' attitude seems as altered as his new location. The first thing he does here is to enter a private house in order to keep his presence in that place from public knowledge. This attempt quickly fails, however, as he is routed out by a woman seeking a healing mi…