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| By Norma Boeckler |
Bethany Lutheran Church, 10
AM Central Time
The Hymn #652 I Lay My Sins on Jesus 1:24
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 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 # 454 Prayer Is the Soul's Sincere Desire 1:41
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn # 454 Prayer Is the Soul's Sincere Desire 1:41
Unanswered Prayers
The Hymn # 281 The Savior Calls 1:29
The Hymn # 281 The Savior Calls 1:29
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn # 374 Grace Tis a Charming Sound 1:91
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn # 374 Grace Tis a Charming Sound 1:91
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.
Unanswered Prayers
Matthew 15:21 Then Jesus
went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.
This lesson shows how Jesus
mission to the Gentiles already existed, because the fame of His miracles
reached outside the Jewish community. The Gospel also teaches a clear lesson
about unanswered prayers.
Jesus was in Gentile
territory, so one point of this miracle is to show that believers already
existed outside of Judaism. Some have argued that “Lord” by itself is not so
distinctive as we think, since the title was used for secular leaders. In
modern Greek, they say Lord Jackson instead of Mr. Jackson, so the term has
declined in value over the years.
However, this woman called
Jesus “Son of David” too. That was a clear confession of faith in Jesus as the
promised Messiah. That meant she knew enough of the Old Testament (the only
Scriptures at that time) to rely on the Messianic promises. She also knew the
reputation of Jesus for His healing miracles. She believed in Him as a
miraculous healer and as the Messiah.
That should not be too
surprising, but we do not often think of it. Paul is emphasized as the Gentile
missionary, but Jesus was the first missionary to non-Jews. The Promises of the
Old Testament moved easily through society because the Scriptures were
translated into Greek, the international language of its day.
Trade and travel meant that
Jews were in many locations with their Scriptures and worship.
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.
“And behold” emphasizes that
this is a remarkable event. A pagan was not expected to make a confession of
faith. This woman was looking for Jesus, meeting Him to beg for an act of
mercy.
Those who criticize the
Bible in the name of niceness will always use this healing story as an excuse
to make up fables about the Scriptures and miss the meaning of the healing.
Jesus does seem mean and uncaring -
that is the point.
First it needs to be said
that no one in the New Testament who asked Jesus was denied. Each healing
described in detail has a point or two to teach in addition to revealing the
divine power of Christ.
This is definitely a
wrenching portrait, because this woman is placing all her hope on Jesus in
curing her daughter. Anyone can identify with this.
23 But he answered her not a
word.
This brief response has
Jesus not even responding to the poor woman. Where is the love and compassion?
I have many experiences of sending a personal message, even a certified letter,
and not even getting a response, not even an acknowledgement. That is very annoying
and seems to be the ultimate in shunning – not even worth an answer.
If we see this miracle as an
example of unanswered prayer, or to be more precise, delayed answers, then each
step makes perfect sense. We can see the allegory that fits so well with the
actual event.
We pray out of dire need and
seem to get no answer, not even a response. We see that as no response but it
is really a delay in our sense of time.
And his disciples came and
besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
Lenski sees “Send her away”
as neutral, because Jesus always healed those who came to Him. However, the
woman must have felt embarrassed and slighted as she saw the disciples respond
by going to their Master and speaking to Him. “Send her away” could not have
sounded good, if she heard the words.
When we are placed in
situations like that we always feel uncomfortable wondering what is being said.
This is analogous to the
feelings we have when people wonder why misfortunes come our way. It adds to the
burden and they enjoy being spectators. Much of this is a matter of
perspective. Taunting comes because God blinds people to the meaning of
afflictions and the cross in the lives of believers. Unbelievers can only see
folly, shame, and misery. The taunting is actually a good sign, and not a bad
sign.
We can see from the whole
miracle that good was developing, even in the midst of silence and apparent
coldness.
This should remind of
Chytraeus saying, “It is a sin to question the goodness of God.” Whatever the
circumstances. God means something good for His believers.”
Lenski offered a couple of
reasons why the disciples wanted the woman dismissed, in the positive sense,
“Heal her and send her along the way.” One reason would have that it was
unseemly for a woman to be following them and shouting petitions at them.
Another reason might have
been their unwillingness to attract attention in a pagan area. That is not
far-fetched. When Jesus said they were going to Bethany, to His friend Lazarus,
Doubting Thomas said, “We are going to die.”
KJV John 11:14 Then said
Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad for your sakes that
I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.
16 Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellowdisciples, Let us
also go, that we may die with him.
24 But he answered and said,
I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Luther sees this answer as
exercising the faith of the woman. It was not His time to begin a Gentile
mission, even though the beginnings were there due to the power of His healings
and teaching. The Gentile mission would start after He completed the mission to
His own people.
This corresponds to people
saying to themselves, “Perhaps I am not worthy.” But believers know that Christ
makes us worthy, that all true prayers are in the Name of Christ, and God
responds to us on His behalf.
I see people saying to
friends, “I will send positive thoughts your way,” as if positive thoughts are
anything but a mockery of faith. Shirley McClaine once asked her followers to
think hard about the power going on when the theater went black. They did, and
the theater’s power stayed off.
25 Then came she and
worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
This believer worshiped
Christ as she continued her requests. Before she was asking from behind the
group. Now she bowed before Him in submission. She did not stop believing, in
spite of the outward appearance of rejection. Jesus did not turn her down, but
said this:
26 But he answered and said,
It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.
Lenski does not want Jesus
to sound harsh, but that is hard to soften, since dog is a lowly term in the
Holy Land and often across the world.
When we are waiting for an
answer we feel unworthy and unwanted, so this woman’s actions and words are an
example as Jesus said Himself. Her answer was not anger toward God, but a turn
on the phrase Jesus used.
27 And she said, Truth,
Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.
This is why Jesus responded
in such a way. He already knew what was in her heart and in His plan, but this
developed (as it did with many miracles) so the manner of healing would remain
a teaching example forever.
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.
This is an example of
temptation versus faith. God allows us to have temptation so that faith can
conquer the temptation and show what God can do. When our second daughter
became ill and we saw the same symptoms beginning again, while our first
daughter was in dire straits already, it was tempting to think, “This is so
unfair and wrong, with two in a row, many more years of incompetent doctors and
nurses to face.”
Quotations
SERMON NOTES
The Second Sunday in Lent
March 3, 1996
Matthew 15:21-28
A HARD SAYING
"But see in this example how Christ
like a hunter exercises and chases faith in His followers in order that it may
become strong and firm."
Sermons of Martin Luther, ed.,
John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker
Book House, 1983 II, p.
149. Matthew 15:21‑28.
"In like manner Moses must precede and
teach people to feel their sins in order that grace may be sweet and welcome to
them. Therefore all is in
vain, however friendly and lovely Christ may be pictured, if man is not first
humbled by a knowledge of himself and he possesses no longing for Christ, as
Mary's Song says, 'The hungry he hath filled with good things; and the rich he
hath sent
empty away,' Luke 1:53."
Sermons of Martin Luther, II,
p. 149.
"All this is spoken and written for the
comfort of the distressed, the poor, the needy, the sinful, the despised, so
that they may know in all times of need to whom to flee and where to seek
comfort and help."
Sermons of Martin Luther,
II, p. 149.
"Now what does the poor woman do? She turns her eyes from all this
unfriendly treatment of Christ; all this does not lead her astray, neither does
she take it to heart, but she continues immediately and firmly to cling in her
confidence to the good news she had heard and embraced concerning Him, and
never gives up. We must
also do the same and learn firmly to cling to the Word, even though God with
all His creatures appears different than His Word teaches. But, oh, how painful it is to nature
and reason, that this woman should strip herself of self and forsake all that
she experienced, and cling along to God's bare Word, until she experienced the
contrary. May God help us
in time of need and of death to possess courage and faith!"
Sermons of Martin Luther, II, p. 150.
WHAT WE LEARN
"As for example when we feel in our
conscience that God rebukes us as sinners and judges us unworthy of the kingdom
of heaven, then we experience hell, and we think we are lost forever. Now whoever understands here the
actions of this poor woman and catches God in His own judgment, and says, Lord,
it is true, I am a sinner and not worthy of Thy grace; but still Thou hast
promised sinners forgiveness, and Thou art come not to call the righteous, but,
as St. Paul says in 1 Timothy 1:15, 'to save sinners.' Behold, then must God according to His
own judgment have mercy upon us."
Sermons of Martin Luther, ed.,
John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker
Book House, 1983 II, p.
153. Matthew 15:21‑28; 1 Timothy
1:15
"Since God has connected His most
gracious promise of forgiveness with Baptism and the Lord's Supper, these also
are true and efficacious means of grace, namely, by virtue of the divine
promises that are attached to them."
John Theodore Mueller, Christian Dogmatics, A Handbook of
Doctrinal Theology, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p.
444.
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