The way St. Mark tells the story, after the encounter with the Syro-phoencian woman Jesus started to think of his mission as including more than “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Jesus left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis. Quite a trip on foot — from what is now Lebanon over the Golan Heights and into today’s Syria, skirting the Jewish towns. The Decapolis was Greek-speaking, Roman-cultered location and Jesus’ healing of the deaf-mute there demonstrated that his ministry extended even into non-Jewish territories. A vivid reminder to us that we cannot limit our circle of care only to close family and friends but must embrace everyone.
