The Syrophoenician Woman and Other Gutsy Moms

Mark 7:24-30

YOUTH MOMENT

In 2019, a movie was released called Breakthrough.  Did anyone see it?  It was based on the true story of a 14-year-old basketball-playing kid named John Smith who was playing around on an icy Missouri lake one cold January morning with several of his friends.  The boys had tested the strength of the ice the day before by throwing a big boulder into the center of the lake.  When the ice didn’t show any cracks, they figured it was safe to walk on it.  But it was time to go home.  The next day, they each got up bright and early, and met again at the lake.  What they didn’t know was the temperature had risen overnight, and the ice was not as thick as it was the day before.  The ice cracked and broke under their weight, and three of the boys, including John Smith, fell into the freezing water.  This is an extremely dangerous situation.

Someone called 9-1-1.  When rescuers arrived moments later, one boy was almost out of the water, one was clinging to the ice.  John, however, was nowhere to be seen.  Using the techniques they had just practiced the week before in a training session, the rescuers used long poles to search for John.  When they found him and brought him to the surface, he had been underwater for 15 minutes and had no pulse.  The rescuers began CPR but couldn’t get a heartbeat.

John was rushed to the hospital, where CPR was continued for another 27 minutes.  Still no pulse.  The doctors called John’s mother into the room so she could say her “Good-byes,” but John’s mom wasn’t ready to let her son go yet.  She prayed out loud and loudly, 'Holy God, please send your Holy Spirit to save my son. I want my son, please save him.'

After a full hour of no pulse, John’s heart started beating again just seconds after his mother’s prayer.  Within weeks, John had made a surprising and full recovery.

In our Scripture lesson this morning, a mother is not ready to give up on her sick, little girl.  She comes to Jesus for help.  When it looks like he may not be willing to heal her daughter, the mom speaks up on her daughter’s behalf and in the end, Jesus makes her little girl well again.  It’s a good story!  Now let’s listen to Mr. David read it from the Bible.