The last two days our readings have featured stories about little that becomes much. In Mark 6, we saw Jesus take table scraps and turn them into a meal for 5,000 people. And today in Mark 7, we saw a woman humbly accept "scraps" from Jesus and have her daughter healed. Both stories speak to the greatness of Jesus.
What strikes me is how different the attitudes of those around Jesus are in the two stories. In the incident of the loaves and the fishes, the disciples cannot understand how the little that they have could be used to blessed others. In the incident of the Gentile woman, the woman knows that even a little with Jesus will become a lot. This Gentile outsider has more insight on Jesus than the Jewish men who had followed Jesus everywhere day and night.
I am glad to know that a little is a lot with Jesus. Like the disciples, I don't have much to offer, but it is reassuring to know that Jesus can take the little that I have and do more with it than I ever could. Like the woman, I cannot make grand claims upon by Jesus, but I can know that even scraps of Jesus' grace are more than sufficient for the needs I find in my life and my soul. Praise God that with Jesus a little becomes a lot.
