Reminiscere Sunday, The Second Sunday in Lent, 2018
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #142 A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining - Gerhardt
KJV 1 Thessalonians 4:1 Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. 2 For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God,even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: 4 That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; 5 Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: 6 That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. 7 For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.
KJV Matthew 15:21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. 23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. 24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. 27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. 28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
Second Sunday In Lent
Lord God, heavenly Father, grant us, we beseech Thee, by Thy Holy Spirit, that He may strengthen our hearts and confirm our faith and hope in Thy grace and mercy, so that, although we have reason to fear because of our conscience, our sin, and our unworthiness, we may nevertheless, with the woman of Canaan, hold fast to Thy grace, and in every trial and temptation find Thee a very present help and refuge, through Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
True Faith - Confessing That Faith
KJV Matthew 15:21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
This is a significant teaching miracle that shows us what it means to have faith and to confess that faith in Jesus the Son of God. This is an important combination, and we should keep it in mind throughout all spiritual trials.
I have an unusual perspective in that I know many different families and their experiences, added to our own. Therefore, when someone is going through a trial, I can say, "As miserable as this seems to be, God will provide in the end." I cannot do anything myself to change conditions for them, not even a fraction of 1%, but I can pray for their needs and urge them to trust in the mercies of God the Father and His Son the Savior.
So I have seen many impossible situations, before, during, and after they were resolved. The outcome is better than anyone could imagine, as Paul teaches in Ephesians 3.
So we should not remember this miracle in the way we often do, saying, "Oh that Canaanite woman again." The lesson may not really sink in until the 20th time and our situation matches with hers so perfectly. But then we may be in the middle of it right now and need to pay close attention to it. When we are full, we do not hunger or thirst for anything. But when the demands of life have kept us working, not eating or drinking, the slightest bit of food is delicious and warm water is satisfying.
KJV Matthew 15:21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.
This is the setting, to show us what happened, because the background facts matter. Jesus took the Gospel various places to give the Gospel Word a chance to take root, with stories spreading about His teaching and His miracles.
22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
The New Testament has this paradox. Jesus was sent by His Father to reveal Himself as the Messiah to His own people. The natural audience for Him was Jewish, because they had the background of monotheism and knew the Promises from the Scriptures, which were the Old Testament, as we call it.
The most important part of the Old Testament was the Pentateuch or Five Books of Moses. Matthew's Gospel is constructed to remind us of the Five Books and has many references in the narrative about fulfilling the Scriptures.
Besides all this, Jesus went among the non-Jewish people and even the Samaritans, who were bitter enemies of the Jews and vice versa (kicking cousins, we might say). This woman was not Jewish and yet she already had ultimate faith in Jesus as the divine Messiah (Son of David) able to heal her daughter.
Faith comes by hearing - and so does unfaith. Those who grew up in faith, and had it taught out of them, never tire of removing faith from people in the name of enlightenment. The last century was a story of growing apostasy in the clergy and professors and the spread of that cancer called doubt.
Nevertheless, wherever the Gospel is heard, faith spreads, defeating sin, death, and Satan. Paul teaches that clearly. It should be shocking to us that the enemies of faith today - within the clergy - ignore the Means of Grace chapter, Romans 10. There it clearly shows us that hearing the Word preached causes faith, that faith embraces the salvation promised by God, forgiveness of sin and eternal life.
We do not know exactly what the Canaanite woman heard, because then the Bible would be as big as the Oxford English Dictionary and not as lively. But it is clear that she heard about Jesus' miracles and His teaching. The two always went together. She believed in Him as the Savior-Messiah and in His healing power. He healed people everywhere. We have only a small, teaching sample - each miracle teaching us one or two things in particular besides His power as the Son of God.
In faith, she asked for healing for her daughter. What more could anyone say about her trust in Jesus? She did not ask anything for herself, nothing material.
23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
If we read through the miracle, there are clearly three stages in the story. This is the first stage. She asked for the healing of her daughter, and Jesus did not even answer her.
Behold, this is a very hard rebuff, when God appears so earnest and angry and conceals his grace so high and deep; as those know so well, who feel and experience it in their hearts. Therefore she imagines he will not fulfill what he has spoken, and will let his Word be false; as it happened to the children of Israel at the Red Sea and to many other saints.
4. Now, what does the poor woman do?
Jesus' apparent rebuke seems cold and hard. This is the apparent silence of God. If someone does not trust in the wisdom and mercy of God, then the first episode of silence after praying can easily lead to disbelief and bitterness.
I recall two celebrity figures who made a point of saying, often, that "I prayed for this and it did not happen, so I no longer believe." The unbelieving world is quick to congratulate these people and quote them often. I look over the careers of certain theologians and see how they prospered as they made their departure from traditional Christianity known. Unbelievers do not mind others talking about God as long as those individuals do not express faith in God.
Since the Pastoral Epistles are apparently true (my joke, the Pastoral Epistles are almost universally ignored though they speak to our times so well) - it should not surprise us that people pile up false teachers to tell them what their itching ears want to hear. These frauds define themselves a little divinities who have to power of God to make things happen. So their work ultimately leads to false faith and even greater bitterness.
Send her away; for she crieth after us.
Some explain this as the disciples wanting to get rid of the woman - period. The first part is true, but it is more likely to mean - Send her away by granting her prayer. She is continuing crying for help, so the disciples are weary of this. (And yet, they followed Him, which meant being very occupied with all these matters and much more to come.)
24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
If silence was difficult to take, this was even harder to bear. She does not belong to this class of people. Jesus stated what was widely believed, though He definitely worked among the Gentiles.
I would call this expressing what many people thought at that time. Jesus was the Jewish Messiah exclusively. This thought carried over into the apostolic era when kosher foods were an issue, as were many other attributes of Judaism. All the disciples and Paul were Jews, so a real Christian observed Jewish Law. That is what Paul defeated in Galatians and elsewhere.
That may not be the exact issue today, but the temptation is to think along those lines. We see others seem unusually blessed, beyond comprehension, and think, "Why that person? Why not me? Where is my miracle? I must not qualify."
For our last resort, when we feel that God is ungracious or we are in need, is that we go to pious, spiritual persons and there seek counsel and help, and they are willing to help as love demands; and yet, that may amount to nothing, even they may not be heard and our condition becomes only worse.
6. Here one might upbraid Christ with all the words in which he promised to hear his saints, as Matthew 18:19: “If two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them.”
Likewise, Mark 11:24: “All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them;” and many more like passages. What becomes of such promises in this woman’s case? Christ, however, promptly answers and says: Yes, it is true, I hear all prayers, but I gave these promises only to the house of Israel. What do you think? Is not that a thunderbolt that dashes both heart and faith into a thousand pieces, when one feels that God’s Word, upon which one trusts, was not spoken for him, but applies only to others? Here all saints and prayers must be speechless, yea, here the heart must let go of the Word, to which it would gladly hold, if it would consult its own feelings.
25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.
This should speak to anyone who feels not just stranded, but set aside, and then rebuked. The last Beatitude is not fulfilled until Christian "friends" stop by with their best Job's Comforter clothes on and say, "You had this coming to you. This is all your fault. God must really hate you."
If this has not happened to you in the readership and audience, count it a blessing for now. But it can happen. The clergy who stayed in our home and ate our food were only too happy to say such things and add salt to the wounds. And they were rewarded.
That is where we come to the part about confessing our faith in God. This woman did at first and remained patient, and that was very good. But this last blow was the test. She is one of the dogs, the worst insult in that area because they were never pets, but scavengers who lived from the scraps and garbage they found.
27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. 28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
So here the woman turns the words around, taking advantage of the term dog, and saying, "Even the little dogs...I will take just one crumb." This is her confession of faith, "No matter what happens, no matter how I feel abandoned and insulted, I still trust in Jesus the Messiah and Savior."
Faith means trusting in the Word of God, even when the whole world seems to be chasing after Satan's dogmas and Satan's rewards (as foreshadowed in the temptations of Christ).
The treasures of the Gospel should be so valuable in our minds that even in the worst circumstances we do not fall away (the meaning of apostasy). Yes, we all have doubts at times, but the genuine apostate is someone who turns from the Christian Faith and hates it.
This is the state we must face from now on, unless there is a widespread revolution in the minds of our country, once more starting with the Word of God. That is unlikely, but it could happen. America was explored and settled long before the US Constitution, and we broke from England with the decline of the Roman Empire in the minds of our Founders. (Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire was a best-seller during those years.) Gibbon was thanked by someone saying - "Scribble, scribble, scribble. Another little square book, eh Gibbon?") One woman said, "Another book of dirty stories." That is how he was thanked.
That revolution in thinking seems unlikely but that is no reason to give up. It is all the more reason to broadcast the Word of God and deepen the understanding of those who already treasure the Gospel.
Jesus answered the woman, "Great is your faith," which means "Great is your faith in the face of all kinds of evidence against it, for the moment." He challenged her to confess her faith in the blackest of circumstances, and she did, like Job, when all hope seemed gone and his Comforters came by to jeer at him and blame him. (It is estimated that many descendants of Job's Comforters are distributed in the visible Christian Church, many of them Lutheran.)
"Be it done..." God does answer in His own way, not our way. We could not pray for what He provides, because what He does for us is beyond all imagination and thinking.
And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
The woman did not want a castle or high office, food or money. She wanted her daughter healthy. And that was granted by God.
10. All this, however, is written for our comfort and instruction, that we may know how deeply God conceals his grace before our face, and that we may not estimate him according to our feelings and thinking, but strictly according to his Word. For here you see, though Christ appears to be even hardhearted, yet he gives no final decision by saying “No.” All his answers indeed sound like no, but they are not no, they remain undecided and pending. For he does not say: I will not hear thee; but is silent and passive, and says neither yes nor no. In like manner he does not say she is not of the house of Israel; but he is sent only to the house of Israel; he leaves it undecided and pending between yes and no. So he does not say, Thou art a dog, one should not give thee of the children’s bread; but it is not meet to take the children’s bread and cast it to the dogs; leaving it undecided whether she is a dog or not. Yet all those trials of her faith sounded more like no than yes; but there was more yea in them than nay; ay, there is only yes in them, but it is very deep and very concealed, while there appears to be nothing but no.
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| The Canaanite woman - notice the dog. |
