— — — —

Gospel Reading:
Jesus Heals a Deaf and Mute Man

Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon,
down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis.
There some people brought to him a man who was deaf
and could hardly talk,
and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him.

After he took him aside,
away from the crowd,
Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears.
Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue.
 He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him,
“Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”).
At this, the man’s ears were opened,
his tongue was loosened
and he began to speak plainly.

Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone.
But the more he did so,
the more they kept talking about it.
 People were overwhelmed with amazement.
“He has done everything well,” they said.
“He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
(Mark 7:31-37).

* * *

God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
We saw his son and are now telling others about him.
(1 John 4:14 NIV)

   — — — —

Gospel Reading:
Jesus Honors a Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith

Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre.
He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it;
yet he could not keep his presence secret. 
In fact, as soon as she heard about him,
a woman whose little daughter was possessed
by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet.
 The woman was a Greek,
born in Syrian Phoenicia.
She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.

 “First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, 
“for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

“Lord,” she replied,
“even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

Then he told her, 
“For such a reply, you may go;
the demon has left your daughter.”

She went home and found her child lying on the bed,
and the demon gone.
(Mark 7:24-30).

* * *

God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
We saw his son and are now telling others about him.
(1 John 4:14 NIV)

   — — — —

Gospel Reading:
Jesus Walks on the Water

Immediately Jesus made his disciples
get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida,
while he dismissed the crowd.
 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.

 Later that night,
the boat was in the middle of the lake,
and he was alone on land.
 He saw the disciples straining at the oars,
because the wind was against them.
Shortly before dawn he went out to them,
walking on the lake.
He was about to pass by them, 
but when they saw him walking on the lake,
they thought he was a ghost. 
They cried out,
 because they all saw him and were terrified.

Immediately he spoke to them and said,
 “Take courage! It is I.
Don’t be afraid.” 
Then he climbed into the boat with them,
and the wind died down. 
They were completely amazed,
 for they had not understood about the loaves;
their hearts were hardened.

 When they had crossed over,
they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. 
As soon as they got out of the boat,
people recognized Jesus.
 They ran throughout that whole region
and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was.
 And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—
they placed the sick in the marketplaces.
They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak,
 and all who touched it were healed.
(Mark 6:45-56).

* * *

God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
We saw his son and are now telling others about him.
(1 John 4:14 NIV)

   — — — —

Gospel Reading:
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

The apostles gathered around Jesus
and reported to him all they had done and taught. 
Then, because so many people were coming and going
that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, 
“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 
But many who saw them leaving recognized them
and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 
When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd,
he had compassion on them,
because they were like sheep without a shepherd. 
So he began teaching them many things.

By this time it was late in the day,
so his disciples came to him.
“This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late.
 Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside
and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

 But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”

They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages!
Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”

“How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”

When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”

Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 
So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 
Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven,
he gave thanks and broke the loaves. 
Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people.
He also divided the two fish among them all. 
They all ate and were satisfied,
 and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 
The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.
(Mark 6:30-44).

* * *

God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
We saw his son and are now telling others about him.
(1 John 4:14 NIV)