Gospel in Art: The Syro-Phoenician woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit

The Child's Bath, Mary Cassatt © The Art Institute of Chicago

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 10th February 2022 - Mark 7:24-30

Jesus left Gennesaret and set out for the territory of Tyre. There he went into a house and did not want anyone to know he was there, but he could not pass unrecognised. A woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him straightaway and came and fell at his feet. Now the woman was a pagan, by birth a Syrophoenician, and she begged him to cast the devil out of her daughter. And he said to her, 'The children should be fed first, because it is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the house-dogs.' But she spoke up: 'Ah yes, sir,' she replied 'but the house-dogs under the table can eat the children's scraps.' And he said to her, 'For saying this, you may go home happy: the devil has gone out of your daughter.' So she went off to her home and found the child lying on the bed and the devil gone.

Reflection on the Painting

In our Gospel reading today we hear about the worries of a woman. Her 'little daughter' was possessed by an evil spirit. The words 'little daughter' that Mark the Evangelist uses are very sweet as it implies that the girl was very young. How awful for a young girl to be possessed by an unclean spirit. It is an age where she should be playing with the other children and enjoy youthful activities. No wonder that her mother was worried and wanted to do all she could to set her child free. A mother's great joy is to watch her children grow into beautiful human beings and make them blossom. Something was preventing her from doing that, and she took the initiative to go and see Jesus. She was strong willed and had great faith that Jesus would help her.

Her display of faith is simple. She has a problem and she turns to Jesus. That's all. She had nothing to offer to Jesus or to claim. She was totally dependent on Jesus' mercy. Her begging prayer is pure. She is a great example of how to empty ourselves of all our hypocrisy, pride, and self-righteousness when we come to Jesus to ask for His mercy. Jesus, seeing her display of humility, responded and healed the child.

Motherhood is most poignantly painted by American Impressionist painter Mary Cassatt. In this painting we can see what the Syro-Phoenician woman wanted: to spend simple, straightforward time with her daughter and together read, play, bathe, etc… Like her close friend Edgar Degas, Cassatt concentrated on the human figure in her Impressionist works rather than landscapes. There is little perspective in this painting, and the flattened composition is reminiscent of the Japanese woodblock prints that so fascinated Cassat. The nakedness of the child and her white legs are as straight as the lines of the woman's striped dress. The elevated vantage point gives the viewer the impression like we are looking in on an intimate family moment. We look, but don't participate in what is happening. The mother may even be telling the daughter a story as she bathes her… This is what the Syro-Phoenician woman wanted, to get back to tender, intimate family moments with her daughter.

LINKS

Today's story - https://christian.art/en/daily-gospel-reading/1080
Christian Art - www.christian.art