1st Reading: Gen 2:18-25
Gospel: Mk 7:24-30

Jesus went to the border of the Tyrian country. There he entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there, but he could not remain hidden. A woman, whose small daughter had an evil spirit, heard of him and came and fell at his feet. Now this woman was a pagan, a Syrophoenician at birth, and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter. Jesus told her, "Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." But she replied, "Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the crumbs from the children's bread." Then Jesus said to her, "You may go your way; because of such a reply the demon has gone out of your daugher." And when the woman went home, she found her child lying in bed and the demon gone.

For the last two thousand years or so, Eve has represented the fundamental character and identity of all women. Whoever she might be and whatever her accomplishments, no woman can escape being identified with Eve. This perception of Eve has endured with remarkable tenacity, and persists today as a major stumbling-block in attempts by women to correct gender-based inequalities between the sexes. But, it has also been argued successfully that Genesis is not inherently partriarchal.
The argument is that, far from being a secondary or dependent being, Eve was in fact the culmination of creation. The order of creation, in which Adam was created first and Eve second, indicated hierarchy; and, therefore Adam's superiority ignores the fact that the animals were created before him. If Adam is superior to the animals, then the hierachy of creation should be reversed and Eve should be seen as God's ultimate creation. At the time of creation, inequality between Adam and Even entered only as a consequence of disobedience. In other words, inequality between the sexes was not originally part of the divine plan. It, therefore, follows that attempts by woman today to restore equality are in keeping with God's original plan.

1st Reading: Gen 2:4b-9, 15-17
Gospel: Mk 7:14-23

Jesus called the people to him again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and try to understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can make that person unclean. It is what comes out from within that makes one unclean. Let everyone who has ears listen." When Jesus got home and was away from the crowd, his disciples asked him about this saying and he replied, "So even you are dull? Do you not see that whatever comes from outside cannot make a person unclean? Since it enters, not the heart but the stomach and is finally passed out." Thus Jesus declared that all foods are clean. And he went on, "What comes out of a person is what defiles, for evil designs come out of the heart: theft, murder, adultery, jealousy, greed, maliciousness, deceit, indecency, slander, pride and folly. All these evil things come from within and make a person unclean."

Let's imagine Adam in his state of innocence, uncomprehending of what is being told to him, and certainly uncomprehending of the possible consequences of his actions. Now, flash forward the present time where good and evil are much in the news. The accounts of good and evil, put before us, presume our knowledge of good from evil. But, they often lack the nuance we might find useful in trying to distinguish right from wrong.

We recognize that not everything "good" is good; nor is everything called "evil" not good. There is a fundamental tendency to define "good" as that which is in the interest of the self and to define "evil" as that which stands in the way of self-interest. Good and evil are polar opposites of the best and worst of human behavior. So, how do we know what is good from that which is evil? Our faith as Christians charts the course for us and elucidates the dynamic conflict between good and evil that confronts each and every human being. Only by striving always to do good and avoid evil can we achieve a healthy, happy life, walking hand-in-hand through that life with God.