Lent 2 2023

 

Ludovico Gimignani > The Canaanite Woman Kneeling Before Christ Asking For Help To Heal Her Daughter

The Second Sunday in Lent, 2023

Bethany Lutheran Church

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

Hymn # 145       Jesus Refuge of the Weary - Savanarola          

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Introit

Remember, O Lord, Thy tender mercies and Thy loving-kindnesses: for they have been ever of old.

Let not mine enemies triumph over me: God of Israel, deliver us out of all our troubles.

Psalm. Unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul: O my God, I trust in Thee; let me not be ashamed.

The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19

Collect

O God, who seest that of ourselves we have no strength, keep us both outwardly and inwardly that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual  

Gradual

The troubles of my heart are enlarged: 

oh, bring Thou me out of my distresses.

V. Look upon mine affliction and my pain: 

and forgive all my sins.

Tract. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord; f

or He is good: for His mercy endureth forever.

V. Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord?

Who can show forth His praise?

V. Blessed are they that keep judgment: 

and he that doeth righteousness at all times.

V. Remember me, O Lord, with the favor that 

Thou bearest unto Thy people:

Oh, visit me with Thy salvation.

     

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
Sermon Hymn #142    A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining - Gerhardt  

Mean Messiah or Messenger of Mercy

 

Hymn #457          What a Friend We Have in Jesus              

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
Hymn # 50      Lord Dismiss Us with Thy Blessing

Prayers and Announcements

• Medical care - Kermit Way, Pastor Jim Shrader, Chris Shrader, Doc Lito, Pastor K, Callie and her mother Peggy.
• Wednesday, 7 PM - MidWeek Lenten service,

  

Lutheran Library - Gerhardt's Biography

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.

KJV Matthew 15:21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.

The designation Canaanite woman is important here. That means she was descended from the pagan Canaanites who were supposed to have been eliminated for their evil (sons of Ham, Genesis 10).

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.

Jesus was away from His people, in foreign territory, and yet this woman came up to Him, calling for His help. Mark emphasizes the extent and power of Jesus' healing miracles, so this is an example of the events being so widespread that an outsider knew of them, believed in Jesus as the Savior, and trusted in Him to heal her daughter. Since he was traveling, when would she ever have another chance for her daughter? She knew of His divine power, calling Him "Lord" as divine and Son of David as the Messiah. Those who have seen continuous seizures realize how this tears a mother's heart out. The child's body is tormented by unwanted muscle movement, continuous and exhausting.

Asking for her daughter's healing is a perfect example of the fruits of His work. This is the exact opposite of how the moderns treat the Gospel of Mark. Their concept is to eliminate the divine in Mark and emphasize Jesus as only a man, a teacher, whose charisma caused others to believe He was divine. Thus - as a told a pastor recently - "Son of God" in Mark 1:1 was eliminated from the Wescott-Hort Greek text and so was the Resurrection, Mark 16:9-20. Once those are removed as not belonging, St. Mark becomes an example of primitive believing and therefore imagining the cures. Erasing in the Greek text is often - but not always - indicated by a vague footnote - "some witnesses do not include this." The KJV is an exception in retaining the original, apostolic text. (GJ - Nota bene - my New Testament professors, college and seminary, denied the Mark 16:9-20 section, and people were impressed with their Harvard and Princeton bunk.)

23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.

Although the woman made her plea, calling out Jesus' true title and power - which was denied by His Jewish opponents - Jesus did not even answer. This is expressed as continuous pleading from the woman and the disciples being so tired of it that they told Jesus to send her away with a miracle because she would not stop.

This miracle has to be understood as Jesus letting the individual express His majesty and power. Luther calls it chasing the person's faith to make it clear to everyone. And we can imagine that this woman would not have become famous without His apparent lack of concern. So many were healed by Jesus that He needed rest from the demands. The disciples even participated to the point and urging Him to get to work instead of just praying. That is a point Luther explained when he said he prayed longer whenever he knew he had a lot of work to do.

I mention that  teaching about Biblical counseling and pastoral care, the disciples found Jesus praying alone and said - in so many words - "Let's get going, we have a lot of work to do. People are waiting!"

Mark 1:35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. 36 And Simon and they that were with him followed after him. 37 And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee.

One of my students said, "I have read the Bible all my life and never read such a thing. Prove it." When I quoted it verbatim, he realized how easily overlooked it is. I have to look for it whenever the topic comes up. I know it is in the early part of Mark but I am good at missing what I am looking for.

So the disciples were not aware that Jesus was letting the woman express hire tireless faith in Him. What they saw and heard was a situation needing a cure. What Jesus was doing was doing - since He knew her - was to let the Canaanite woman express her complete faith in Him, no matter how futile her situation seemed to be in helping her daughter.

24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

This is often labeled a "hard saying of Jesus." However Paul himself emphasized "the Jews first, then the Gentiles." (Romans 1:16). The apparent silence of Jesus should remind us that God's apparent silence is not the final Word on the matter, when we pray. This miracle is true and offers a lesson to everyone who thinks God is not responding but silent. The Canaanite woman is the example we should follow and not cave into the rationalistic twaddle of the liberal explainers.

When people start to rework this miracle into something else, they are displaying their lack of faith in various stages - rejecting the divinity of Jesus Christ, rejecting the apostolic text of Mark. Note the gigantic two-volume CPH Commentary on Mark, based on Codex Vaticanus! - like my father giving a man at the airport 50 cents to watch his suitcases so the man could get another 50 cents later. Yes the man and the suitcases disappeared. - The miracle is to build our faith, not to show off how little one believes, how much is distorted or made fun of.

25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 

The woman's response to the apparent rebuke from Jesus - she came up to Him and worshiped him as God, not doubting but believing, and said, "Lord, help me." This should resolve the matter.

26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.

There were two kinds of dogs in those times. The feral dogs were disgusting and possibly dangerous. House dogs were pets, so it is possible Jesus was making a reference to the place where he just ate. A home owner would not take food away from his children and give it to the dogs! This is an escalation. At this point, most would shrink away at the rejection. The professional mockers (ordained, often with PhDs in their field) are shocked and like to say - look at how Jesus could be harsh!

But every verse in the Bible is meant for our building up, our faith, and our comfort. For this verse to be true, we drop our computer-age genius about everything and trust that God really is all powerful and compassionate, giving us His Son so we could rely on Him and believe in Him, no matter what.

27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.

Here is the ultimate response to God's apparent lack of interest, silence, and rejection - "even the dogs eat what falls on the floor of their master's table." Thus the woman took the rejection - if not the insult - and turned it around as an expression of faith in Jesus. Yes, she will gladly lower herself for her daughter's sake, trusting in the Master.

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.

Jesus did not expect increasing the members, or balancing the budget, or obtaining good media coverage. He did not leave behind any structures, plaques, or religious buildings. He said, "Great is thy faith! Your prayer is answered as you prayed it would." The daughter was healed without Jesus visiting her. The way the miracles came about depended on the lesson being taught, such as the mourners mocking that the young woman was not dead, or the young man being raised from the dead without a request.

The miracles and teaching of Christ can only be understood by seeing the entire Bible as a whole, the seeming difficult places being especially noteworthy and memorable. The stranger from outside of Israel knew Jesus when others were mocking and opposing Him, finding ways to undermine Him, as the modernists and professors do today.

We have all be discouraged, looked down upon, rejected, fired, mocked, and undermined by situations, by false-friends, by those who abused their station in life. This miracle of healing is even more a proclamation to be like the supposedly pagan woman with a bad pedigree (Canaanite!). She was not the chosen (viewed by some as being born in Wisconsin - I am not kidding - even better, born in a Wisconsin parsonage!) Out East, there are the Old Money people who know their bloodlines and everyone else's. Friends expressed shocked that there were any good universities outside the Ivy League and the East Coast.

This miracle is a lesson for us to pray for others and for all our needs, thanking God for His mercies. Some may start the day in prayer. Others take up other times when everything is quiet and the spam calls/emails are done, quiet and resting in their mainframe computers. It is good to make studies of a book of the Bible, or a theme in the Bible, which will always build  knowledge and faith.