Proverbs 22 and Psalm 22 were my first stop Biblically this morning so my mind went to James 1:4, “Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” Psalm 22 is famous because Jesus quoted the first verses from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me…” The psalm continues with graphic pictures of that sense of abandonment and really what trials look like. For thirty one verses the psalmist works through describing his trial. Hence the role of perseverance from James 1:4.
Perseverance is also translated as enduring a trial or having patience in hard times, not just looking for the quick fix. The Message that expands the though in modern language talks about the feeling of being attacked on all sides so we wonder what going on but that forces faith “into the open and shows its true colors.”
So what helps me keep going when I want to quit? Part of it may be a stubbornness and fear of being called a quitter. There are others experiencing the same trial and I don’t want to be weak. Part may be the assurance that there is an answer so I don’t want to jump to the answer book until I have truly struggled with the problem. I think of the children’s song, “Going on a Lion Hunt, can’t go round it, can’t go over it, can’t go under it, guess I have to go through it.” In the song, the child meets a lion and must reverse the song to get home. James assures us that as we go through trials and don’t give up, we become more mature, more complete, less lacking, stronger. James does not offer financial or physical rewards but character building. Hard times while seeming random at the time, do serve a purpose.
I don’t know what challenges you are facing today but I find it comforting that I am not alone as God walks with me. He has walked through terrible times too. And while painful, trials are making us stronger. Lord, help me to perseverance and see your hand in my circumstances.
Perseverance
August 22, 2020
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Wild Flowers
August 21, 2020“The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. (James 1:9, 10)” Poverty hurts. Having lived and worked in a former famine relief camp on the frontier of Kenya, having a line of people at the door searching for food was no fun. We watched children playing toss with the bodies of baby goats that died during the night. How to preach “love” when the congregation sat with eyes sinking into their head? That was a hard time in our lives but it was also a growing time. In the face of famine, people shared resources such as they were, and communication channels among neighbors and friends worked. My first Christmas, my dear friend, Ndirison, gave me a small Christmas tree made from discarded soda bottle tops covered with bit of pieces of green cloth and sewed together with bits of yarn ends to form a tree, complete with a tassel top and fringe on the bottom. Those friends chose an elder to “donate” a cow that was cooked in a barrel at Christmas and pieces were brought to my family, the rich Americans.
Humble circumstances do not mean loss of love or concern for the other nor lack of faith in a God who will carry them til tomorrow. Here in America, no one has knocked on my door begging for a bit of sugar to chase away the headache of withdrawal. No neighbor checks on me in the morning because they heard the baby crying in the night, “Are you OK?” This verse reminds me of the temporariness of life and life’s problems. We are like wild flowers that bloom in the desert and bring beauty and testify of life when everything around us is brown and dry. Poverty and riches are fleeting but relationships with friends and God sustain us forever.
These verses follow the promise of wisdom. Let us not just praise God when all goes well as we think it should but let us be faithful during the dry times too and be like that wild flower that brings joy for a season. Blessings for your day.
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Twin Sisters
August 20, 2020“But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. (James 1:6)” But! There always seems to be a “but,” a conditional clause that qualifies the promise or perhaps clarifies the promise, in this case the gift of wisdom. Wisdom and Belief are twin sisters. We cannot have one without the other. Wait, I had twins, twin boys. They were not alike. I thought one was more adventuresome like Esau in the Bible and the other was more like Jacob, the twin, who was quieter and gentler. If I disciplined Esau, he hit Jacob. Our ability to absorb wisdom is dependent on our ability to believe the source of wisdom. I find myself listening to all the pie-in-the-sky political promises these days and realize I am not a believer. So perhaps a question for us today is, What helps us believe? There are multiple answers: I have seen it work in others lives, I have read about it from a reliable source, I am afraid of the consequences of not obeying, or….fill in your response. The testimony of friends, the stories in the Bible, and the consequences drive me to open my heart and mind.
It is also true that when we waffle among experts, for example all the medical experts giving perspectives on how to deal with Corona today, we are like waves tossed in the ocean. Some people wear masks, some don’t. We can gather at stores but not at churches. How long does the virus live in the air, on a surface, under what temperatures? My mind is boggled and I feel like a wave tossed by the wind. Because of doubt I take ownership and wisdom rests in me.
Solid dos and don’ts are more definitive but arouse a stubborn streak in me. The ten-commandments have generated how many qualifying explanatory sub-commandments that feel restrictive and again obedience seems to rest in my will. It is true, wisdom is only accessed through her twin sister, belief. It is only as I believe that I step into a situation, trust the source ie God, and grow in wisdom. I do not know where you are being challenged to find wisdom today – political choices? Medical choices? Moral choices? Financial choices? Self proclaimed experts will seek to guide us but this verse reminds me that the ultimate trustworthy and truthful guide is God but I must believe and not doubt as he speaks into my life today. Blessings as you seek to listen!
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Daniel 11, vision of conflict
August 19, 2020Daniel 11 The Message
We now turn to Daniel’s last vision that unlike the others does not seem to involve images like the statue, the hand, nor the tree. The vision is delivered orally and is specific, beyond my pay grade. I will not even pretend to understand or have some sort of explanation of end-times locked in mystery and in the historical unfolding of the Middle-East. I have copied the chapter from The Message so we have a more user-friendly text. That does not mean we cannot ponder how what we do understand impacts our lives and reveals truth.
Starting with v. 2 we hear about the unfolding of political intrigue, the king of the North and the King of the South, marriages, betrayal, and the passing of power not by birth rights nor positional status but by perhaps by elections and coups. Those are words we understand today.
1. What are some of the powers battling for leadership in our world today?
2. A. Politically
3. B. Geopolitically (I think that means on the global scale)
4. C. I think we need to mention medically ie over Corona
11 “‘And I, in my turn, have been helping him out as best I can ever since the first year in the reign of Darius the Mede.’
The Kings of the South and the North
2 “‘But now let me tell you the truth of how things stand: Three more kings of Persia will show up, and then a fourth will become richer than all of them. When he senses that he is powerful enough as a result of his wealth, he will go to war against the entire kingdom of Greece.
3-4 “‘Then a powerful king will show up and take over a huge territory and run things just as he pleases. But at the height of his power, with everything seemingly under control, his kingdom will split into four parts, like the four points of the compass. But his heirs won’t get in on it. There will be no continuity with his kingship. Others will tear it to pieces and grab whatever they can get for themselves.
5-6 “‘Next the king of the south will grow strong, but one of his princes will grow stronger than he and rule an even larger territory. After a few years, the two of them will make a pact, and the daughter of the king of the south will marry the king of the north to cement the peace agreement. But her influence will weaken and her child will not survive. She and her servants, her child, and her husband will be betrayed.
5. We now have a military coup in the unfolding drama. Theoretically this cannot happen in the United States. But perhaps “the rules” surrounding our lives right now might feel like a medical coup. Perhaps the outcome of elections this fall will feel like a sudden changing of power. What do you think? __________________________
6-9 “‘Sometime later a member of the royal family will show up and take over. He will take command of his army and invade the defenses of the king of the north and win a resounding victory. He will load up their tin gods and all the gold and silver trinkets that go with them and cart them off to Egypt. Eventually, the king of the north will recover and invade the country of the king of the south, but unsuccessfully. He will have to retreat.
10 “‘But then his sons will raise a huge army and rush down like a flood, a torrential attack, on the defenses of the south.
11-13 “‘Furious, the king of the south will come out and engage the king of the north and his huge army in battle and rout them. As the corpses are cleared from the field, the king, inflamed with bloodlust, will go on a bloodletting rampage, massacring tens of thousands. But his victory won’t last long, for the king of the north will put together another army bigger than the last one, and after a few years he’ll come back to do battle again with his immense army and endless supplies.
14 “‘In those times, many others will get into the act and go off to fight against the king of the south. Hotheads from your own people, drunk on dreams, will join them. But they’ll sputter out.
15-17 “‘When the king of the north arrives, he’ll build siege works and capture the outpost fortress city. The armies of the south will fall to pieces before him. Not even their famous commando shock troops will slow down the attacker. He’ll march in big as you please, as if he owned the place. He’ll take over that beautiful country, Palestine, and make himself at home in it. Then he’ll proceed to get everything, lock, stock, and barrel, in his control. He’ll cook up a peace treaty and even give his daughter in marriage to the king of the south in a plot to destroy him totally. But the plot will fizzle. It won’t succeed.
5. Violence escalates. Armies, more armies and blood-thirst. Does vengeance and war ever work?____________________
6. Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek but in such explosive battles the “little person” feels inconsequential. How do you fight despair in the face of insurmountable odds? ____________________________
18-19 “‘Later, he’ll turn his attention to the coastal regions and capture a bunch of prisoners, but a general will step in and put a stop to his bullying ways. The bully will be bullied! He’ll go back home and tend to his own military affairs. But by then he’ll be washed up and soon will be heard of no more.
20 “‘He will be replaced shortly by a real loser, his rule, reputation, and authority already in shreds. And he won’t last long. He’ll slip out of history quietly, without even a fight.
21-24 “‘His place will be taken by a reject, a man spurned and passed over for advancement. He’ll surprise everyone, seemingly coming out of nowhere, and will seize the kingdom. He’ll come in like a steamroller, flattening the opposition. Even the Prince of the Covenant will be crushed. After negotiating a cease-fire, he’ll betray its terms. With a few henchmen, he’ll take total control. Arbitrarily and impulsively, he’ll invade the richest provinces. He’ll surpass all his ancestors, near and distant, in his rape of the country, grabbing and looting, living with his cronies in corrupt and lavish luxury.
24-26 “‘He will make plans against the fortress cities, but they’ll turn out to be shortsighted. He’ll get a great army together, all charged up to fight the king of the south. The king of the south in response will get his army—an even greater army—in place, ready to fight. But he won’t be able to sustain that intensity for long because of the treacherous intrigue in his own ranks, his court having been honeycombed with vicious plots. His army will be smashed, the battlefield filled with corpses.
7. History seems to be spiraling downward from bad to worse leaders. The song that comes to mind is, “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.” That song brings to mind the image of a parent hold a wailing child in the cradle of his or her arms and seeking to comfort the child – whether it be the pain of an earache or the temper tantrum of a refused request. How did you comfort your child? _________
8. Might that help us envisioning God at these times? _____________
27 “‘The two kings, each with evil designs on the other, will sit at the conference table and trade lies. Nothing will come of the treaty, which is nothing but a tissue of lies anyway. But that’s not the end of it. There’s more to this story.
28 “‘The king of the north will go home loaded down with plunder, but his mind will be set on destroying the holy covenant as he passes through the country on his way home.
29-32 “‘One year later he will mount a fresh invasion of the south. But the second invasion won’t compare to the first. When the Roman ships arrive, he will turn tail and go back home. But as he passes through the country, he will be filled with anger at the holy covenant. He will take up with all those who betray the holy covenant, favoring them. The bodyguards surrounding him will march in and desecrate the Sanctuary and citadel. They’ll throw out the daily worship and set up in its place the obscene sacrilege. The king of the north will play up to those who betray the holy covenant, corrupting them even further with his seductive talk, but those who stay courageously loyal to their God will take a strong stand.
9. There is a pause now with a small comment of encouragement. The example of the fruitlessness of the powers fighting will teach those watching. Kenyans say, “When the elephants fight, the grass gets trampled.” What is our hope? ___________________
33-35 “‘Those who keep their heads on straight will teach the crowds right from wrong by their example. They’ll be put to severe testing for a season: some killed, some burned, some exiled, some robbed. When the testing is intense, they’ll get some help, but not much. Many of the helpers will be halfhearted at best. The testing will refine, cleanse, and purify those who keep their heads on straight and stay true, for there is still more to come.
36-39 “‘Meanwhile, the king of the north will do whatever he pleases. He’ll puff himself up and posture himself as greater than any god. He will even dare to brag and boast in defiance of the God of gods. And he’ll get by with it for a while—until this time of wrathful judgment is completed, for what is decreed must be done. He will have no respect for the gods of his ancestors, not even that popular favorite among women, Adonis. Contemptuous of every god and goddess, the king of the north will puff himself up greater than all of them. He’ll even stoop to despising the God of the holy ones, and in the place where God is worshiped he will put on exhibit, with a lavish show of silver and gold and jewels, a new god that no one has ever heard of. Marching under the banner of a strange god, he will attack the key fortresses. He will promote everyone who falls into line behind this god, putting them in positions of power and paying them off with grants of land.
40-45 “‘In the final wrap-up of this story, the king of the south will confront him. But the king of the north will come at him like a tornado. Unleashing chariots and horses and an armada of ships, he’ll blow away anything in his path. As he enters the beautiful land, people will fall before him like dominoes. Only Edom, Moab, and a few Ammonites will escape. As he reaches out, grabbing country after country, not even Egypt will be exempt. He will confiscate the treasuries of Egyptian gold and silver and other valuables. The Libyans and Ethiopians will fall in with him. Then disturbing reports will come in from the north and east that will throw him into a panic. Towering in rage, he’ll rush to stamp out the threat. But he’ll no sooner have pitched camp between the Mediterranean Sea and the Holy Mountain—all those royal tents!—than he’ll meet his end. And not a soul around who can help!’”
10. The vision ends with the defeat of proud, arrogant, and defiant powers. Many innocent people will be hurt in the process. Daniel has heard about end times but the bigger picture for the powerful and the helpless is that the battle is part of defeating evil. We will hear in the last chapter next week that the “good” will go to eternal glory and shine like stars and justice will be executed on “evil.” It is hard facing surgery but the promise of health can sustain us during the dark days.
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Gifts
August 19, 2020“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given to him. (James 1:5)” What a beautiful promise. I am never without a place to turn when I despair.
King David of old seems to have known this verse as Psalm 19 (today is the 19th) overflows with praise. Interestingly he opens by comparing God’s presence, his glory, to the heavens. My husband and I often close our day by sitting on the porch, enjoying the heavens, and praying. But I think of the heavens as somehow silent, witnessing indeed to the vastness of the universe but not “speaking wisdom.” David looks at the heavens and they symbolize to him God’s universal ability in all languages as the heavens cover all, God’s universal presence with all people as the heavens are present with all, and God’s stability, dependability, as daily the sun and moon make their journeys through the sky. David goes on to explode with praise for God’s law: reviving, trustworthy, bringing joy, giving light, enduring, righteous, precious, sweet, and rewarding.
I know what it feels like to “lack” not only wisdom but so much of what the world values, especially as age takes its toll. What comfort to know that God gives generously without me having to fill out forms, remember my identifying numbers, or pass tests. I suspect God gives because it is his nature to give even as we love to bless children and grandchildren. Then the verse says, God gives, but like David’s picture of the heavens, I envision God giving even to those who are not asking but are under his heavens and shining his sunlight even on the unmasking. It is hard to imagine a being that generous and it is far easier to think of a disciplinarian like parents. It is good to be reminded that we are free to ask a God who is present always and willing to give always. What do you need to bring to the Lord today? Blessings.
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When the going gets tough, the tough get going!
August 18, 2020“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2-4)” Trials and testings! James is writing to followers, scattered around the known world who are for sure the minority, not only ethnically but also their worldview has been revolutionized by an encounter with Jesus and they no longer “fit in.” These days of political polarization, medical isolation, and social struggle certainly make it difficult to “belong” with any one group. Perhaps we can identify. James advises his scattered flock to “consider” trials as “joy.” As I ponder the word “consider” this morning, it seems to me we have a choice about our attitude as we face our day. Trials are not joy. Trials hurt but the attitude with which we face them makes a difference. Our text last Sunday about the woman crying for mercy and facing the common opinion that she was no more than a dog not worthy of bread, could have retreated in bitterness and anger but she chose to work the trial, ignoring the insult and asked for a crumb.
Next I note that trials and hard times are testing our faith. James does not ask the scattered followers to consider pain as joy, to deny reality that hard times are hard. That is just truth. But hard times often challenge us to quit and forget there is a God who cares and watches. I worked on a hotline counseling service in Hollywood as a young adult. People contemplating suicide called in all night. Under stress we get tunnel vision, focusing on the trial and forgetting our resources. If the counselor can help the person to open their thinking, to consider their options, often the trial becomes endurable. Because I feel so bad about myself and my inability to cope, I think others feel the same about me, and despair. It is at those times that often I pick up my Bible and open to just the right verse. Or maybe the phone rings and just the right person has called, or I call them. Or I turn on music and my mood changes.
Trials take time to resolve. Perseverance. We all want miracles and in our day of instant relief and answers for everything if we use the right cream, eat the right food, do the right exercise, it is easy to blame ourselves for our problems. If only I …. Miracles might happen because of prayer but perhaps the greater miracle is that I find the strength to persevere. I create space for God to work through his body thus growing the whole family of God.
“Not lacking anything” sounds a bit pie-in-the-sky but as I check my attitude, focus on faith, remember my resources and keep going when it’s tough, I develop spiritual muscles – I pray that will be a blessing to others. Blessings as you continue continuing in the trenches of life. Blessings!
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I feel scattered!
August 17, 2020“Monday, Monday…” Can you hear the Mamas and the Papas singing that song from the 60s. After the high of church and friends on relaxation on Sunday, comes Monday and the return to normal routines. Where do you turn for encouragement, for that word of comfort that lifts your soul? My wantabee boyfriend in ’75 told me he was memorizing Colossians! A whole book of the Bible! On the phone, my sister admitted she was working on Philippians and that our organist at our church was memorizing Hebrews. My young mind was blown. I joined those I admired and started memorizing James that has a theme of wisdom. At one point I could say the whole book with help and often I will return to trying to upgrade, refresh that memory.
Today I turned to James 1:1,2, “James, a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. To the twelve tribes scatter among the nations. Greetings.” James was a brother of Jesus but identifies as a servant. As I remember he was one of the head guys in the church at Jerusalem and was martyred for his relationship with his brother, for being a “servant.” What word would I use today to describe my relationship? My name can be shortened to “barb.” Would I be a thorn in the side or will I be as a Christian baby-naming book shared, the barbarian is a stranger bringing good news from afar? Lord, have mercy and help me be the latter.
Next I note that James is writing to the twelve tribes “scattered” among the nations. I feel scattered today. After church with friends here, I zoomed with Kenyan friends, talked with a dear friend in Florida, chatted with a son sheltering in Chicago and a sister in NY, not to mention touching base with friends in CA. I woke this morning with those conversations rolling around in my head and felt scattered among all the places in my life where God has so deeply blessed me. “Scattered” spoke to me of the love of God that is not geographically located and territorial but touches lives all over our world. Yesterday in our sermon text, a nameless woman, from the wrong tribe, irritatingly inappropriate in her request for mercy for her daughter, touches the heart of Jesus when she is willing to take a “crumb” from his table. She goes down in history because Jesus sees and values people who feel “scattered.”
This James, a servant, speaking to scattered people, greets me from the pages of history – and holds my hand as I walk through today. Pretty spiff. I am not alone. God will pull the pieces of my life together some day and I will see the “big picture.” But in the meantime, God says as I awake, “Greetings!” I am here and I am with you. Blessings.
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August 16, 2020, Pentecost 11
August 15, 2020Prelude: Break Thou the Bread of Life, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQpj4TSe-Ec
Blessed be the holy Trinity, +one God, whose steadfast love is everlasting, whose faithfulness endures from generation to generation. Amen
Confession and Forgiveness:
Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God, whose steadfast love is everlasting, whose faithfulness endures from generation to generation. Amen.
Trusting in the mercy of God, let us confess our sin. Reconciling God, we confess that we do not trust your abundance, and we deny your presence in our lives. We place our hope in ourselves and rely on our own efforts. We fail to believe that you provide enough for all. We abuse your good creation for our own benefit. We fear difference and do not welcome others as you have welcomed us. We sin in thought, word, and deed. By your grace, forgive us; through your love, renew us; and in your Spirit, lead us; so that we may live and serve you in newness of life. Amen.
Absolution: Beloved of God, by the radical abundance of divine mercy we have peace with God through ☩ Christ Jesus, through whom we have obtained grace upon grace. Our sins are forgiven. Let us live now in hope. For hope does not disappoint, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Amen
Gathering Hymn: ELW 641 All Are Welcome https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlnVLP0qFEo
Greetings: The grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. And also with you.
Kyrie:
Have mercy on us, Lord, and hear our solemn prayer. We come to hear your living word; it saves us from despair.
Have mercy on us, Christ, and wash away our sin. Pour out your grace and make us whole that new life may begin.
Have mercy on us, Lord, make sun and shame depart. Renew us with your saving pow’r, create in us new hearts!
Prayer of the Day: Glorious God, your generosity waters the world with goodness, and you cover creation with abundance. Awaken in us a hunger for the food that satisfies both body and spirit, and with this food fill all the starving world; through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
Selection of the Faithful: ELW 715 Christ, Be Our Light https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJq3bhdgQoc
HEARING GOD’S WORD
First Reading: Isaiah 56:1, 6-8
1Thus says the Lord:
Maintain justice, and do what is right,
for soon my salvation will come,
and my deliverance be revealed.
6And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,
and to be his servants,
all who keep the sabbath, and do not profane it,
and hold fast my covenant—
7these I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.
8Thus says the Lord God,
who gathers the outcasts of Israel,
I will gather others to them
besides those already gathered.
Psalm: Psalm 67
1May God be merciful to us and bless us;
may the light of God’s face shine upon us.
2Let your way be known upon earth,
your saving health among all nations.
3Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
4Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity and guide all the nations on earth.
5Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
6The earth has brought forth its increase;
God, our own God, has blessed us.
7May God give us blessing,
and may all the ends of the earth stand in awe.
Second Reading: Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32
[Paul writes:] 1I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2aGod has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.
29For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, 31so they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. 32For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia. Jesus preached the good news of the kingdom* and cured every sickness among the people. Alleluia. (Matt. 4:23)
Gospel: Matthew 15:[10-20] 21-28
10[Jesus] called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand:11it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” 12Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” 13He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.” 15But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” 16Then he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? 18But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. 19For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. 20These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”]
21Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” 23But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” 24He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 27She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
Children’s Sermon: Here is a picture of an apple. What’s wrong with it? (It is rotten and a worm is eating through it.) How did it happen?
SERMON
Last week we pondered Jesus walking across the stormy sea, to meet the exhausted disciples madly rowing and despairing of life. They think he’s a ghost and Peter says, IF you are who you say you are, ask me to come to you. Jesus says “Come.” Today we will look more closely at who is invited to “come.” Our text for today is found in the next chapter, chapter 15 of Matthew. Jesus starts: “Listen and understand.” Those are pretty strong words for starting a sermon. It throws me to two Sundays ago and the image of Jesus saying to the crowd of 5000+ – sit. Can you just see that little puppy dog, butt wiggling on the ground as the tail flaps, ears at attention, eyes focused on the master just waiting for the next word or command. For sure a treat is in the owner’s pocket. We are seated today but are we listening?
The introduction to the story that Matthew shares today is a lecture by Jesus on defilement, about rotten apples. What makes us defiled, spoiled, rotten? Jesus is standing in the presence of the Pharisees, (who want to be fair-you-see), and he is being grilled yet again about following the laws of Judaism, washing of hands before eating. Jesus looks at his disciples and us and says: Listen and understand. The purpose of the mouth is to eat, to breathe, to take in – and so food enters, gets digested and is pooped out. Eating food that is turning rotten while disgusting is not defiling. Eating with dirty hands while disgusting is not defiling. In Kenya as women talked, one of our favorite conversations was about what is good to eat. Every culture has dietary likes and dislikes, sanitation dos and don’ts. When we went to Kenya, the famine relief camp, and tried building a little cardboard house like the people so we could learn language, I was cooking over an open fire and Malcolm would exit the house and sit with our son, soooo offended by the smoke. When we had to eat matumbo – stomache, we almost lost one translator – not me. I would sift the wevils out of my flour and my houseworker would take them home to feed his family. For the Rendilli stomache and brain are super special food for super special occasions. Food is not what defiles us. As you can see Malcolm and I are here today and we did not have Montazuma’s revenge!
Jesus continues, it’s what comes out of our heart that shows how we have been defiled. How so? Let’s go back to our rotten apple. Why is that apple rotten? It has been left too long unattended, forgotten in the back of the refrigerator or at the bottom of the fruit bowl. Perhaps a worm has infested it. Perhaps it is sitting next to a rotten apple that has spread its rottenness. What’s our adage, “It only takes one rotten apple to spoil the barrel.” I would maintain that what defiles us does not come in by our mouth but comes in by our eyes or our ears, by other senses.
Do you hear our little friend on the shoulder whispering doubt into our minds and hearts? We focus on those seeds of jealousy, anger, envy, hurt and allow those things to fester in our souls. When we do not forgive, when we harbor hurt, there is a tendency, for me anyway, to say that cutting remark in an unguarded moment. I know you wouldn’t do it, but again, when I am tired and discouraged, something pops out of my mouth that I would prefer not be repeated and that I wish I could retract.
Our text goes on to share a scenario. Jesus and disciples go to a new area, non-Jewish where a foreigner, a Canaanite woman, pesters them with shouts for help for her daughter whom she believes is demon possessed. Jesus is confronted with someone the Jews would consider “defiles” through interaction. In this year of political elections, politicians make a big show of being friendly to everyone ie to people like you and me. They relate to all classes of society and brag about their ability to please everyone. In Jesus’ day it was not like that. No handshaking with lepers, with women, with…. It defiles. The disciples urge Jesus to move on and send her away. Do not defile yourself Jesus!
When Jesus speaks to the Pharisees, it is easy for us to identify as the good guys. We all know the Pharisees are the bad guys. But now Jesus has brought this discussion to the level of the disciples, his followers. Ummmm guys, I think that is us. Today we are challenged to ponder what or who it is that we feel defies us. Let’s look at this woman.
First, I note she is the wrong ethnicity, a foreigner but Jesus is in her territory. She is a woman that in those days made her second class. And she is being irritating, not following social protocol but shouting out for attention. But I also note she is not shouting out for temporary financial help, for things that do not satisfy but she is shouting out for mercy. “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David.” She is not pleading for food for her mouth but help for her soul. She is not pleading for a miracle. She is asking for mercy. Perhaps she feels she is guilty of something and blaming herself for her daughter’s plight? In any case, what is the cry of our heart today? Money, health, relationships or mercy?
She kneels at the foot of Jesus in total humility and respect. “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David.” Jesus is not just one of the many places she seeks help but she acknowledges his identity as Lord and as a son of David. Prayer is not just the routine she goes through at the start of her day, if it works – good – if not then no harm in trying. Jesus is her last and only resort because she acknowledges that he IS the voice that counts. Is Jesus our first box to tick or our only box?
Thirdly, Jesus points out the culturally accepted idea that this nameless woman is no more than a dog, unworthy to sit and eat with the disciples. Ouch! We would not like to hear that said today and I can see the protest groups forming. Today’s atmosphere would defend her humanity and her rights. She does not. She works the insult. Even dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the masters’ table. We now add humility to her request. She seeks mercy respectfully and humbly, acknowledging and honoring Jesus. Jesus sums it up by honoring her faith and her prayer.
The woman while being everything that we might think would defile us in a social interaction, like spoiled food, in fact goes to the heart of God and from his mouth does not come condemnation and rejection but admiration and healing. She who has no name, who is considered a dog, goes down in history as someone who moved God’s heart and experienced his blessing personally.
I think this text challenges us to ask what we are putting in our souls today. What are we eating? Are we allowing old hurts and grudges to fester in our hearts? Are we listening to political commentaries centered on hate? Are we associating with things that bring rot to our attitudes? Perhaps we disguise it as just trying to help Jesus not be bothered, but the truth is that pride hurts as much as hate. The disciples were only trying to help Jesus. This woman challenges us to look at what we are seeking – mercy by persistent prayer, the improvement of our beloved neighbors or protecting our image, honoring God as God of all people who we are subject of his mercy. Are we willing to accept a crumb from his table believing that is truly enough or do we want the whole meal? Those are hard questions. Jesus saw this little lady being shuffled to the side. Jesus used her to teach us, the disciples. And Jesus honored her faith.
May our faith not be like that rotten apple, forgotten in the back of the refrigerator of our life, allowed to be eaten up by the worms of hurts and prejudice, nor infected with the bitterness of others. May we humbly cry out in our need, “Lord, son of David, have mercy on us.”
Hymn of Day: ELW 612 Healer of Our Every Ill https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzWBXsVaejY
The Apostle’s Creed:
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sIns, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Or you can listen to the Creed in vocal form: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuDI-sk2nJU
Prayers of Intercession
Confident of your care and helped by the Holy Spirit, we pray for the church, the world, and all who are in need.
Lord, you gather the church to be part of your mission as ambassadors of Jesus Christ. As Jesus acknowledged the great faith of a woman from outside his people, help your church discover and find blessing in the faith of people we might reject. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
You have blessed us with the bounty of the earth. Grant your grace to all your creatures, that the earth will flourish. Relieve waters choked by garbage, renew soils stripped of nutrients, and refresh the air all creatures need to live. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
You call the nations to be glad and sing for joy. Let your way be known among all the nations of the world, now divided by competing interests, contending alliances, and consumed by enormous worry. Bless us and make your face shine upon all. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
You show unexpected mercy, kindness, and generosity. We pray for those who do not have enough, for outcasts in our villages, cities, and town, and for those who need your healing. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
In you we live and move and have our being. Grant our congregation grace to find our life refreshed in you. Accompany us in the rhythms of late summer. Give us rest and renewal, and strengthen us for mission in your name. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Your eternal promises are more than we could ever imagine. As you gather all the saints, join us also with them on the great day of your salvation. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
In the certain hope that nothing can separate us from your love, we offer these prayers to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Peace: If you are worship with someone else, turn and share, “The peace of Christ be with you always.” Response, “And also with you.” You might use your finger to mark you children or loved one with a cross on their forehead. If you are practicing social distancing, put your palms together blessing of them. Peace!
SHARING GOD’S MEAL
Offering Prayer: God of goodness and growth, all creation is yours, and your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens. Water and word, wine and bread: these are signs of your abundant grace. Nourish us through these gifts, that we might proclaim your steadfast love in our communities and in the world, through Jesus Christ, our strength and our song. Amen.
The Great Thanksgiving:
The Lord be with you. And also with you.
Lift up your hearts. We left them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give our thanks and praise.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come. thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Communion: I invite you to talk a little piece of bread and eat it. Christ is as close to you as the bread in your mouth and stomach. Always remember. Now take a sip of your drink. Christ is as close to you as the blood in your body, strengthening you. Always remember.
Prayer after Communion: God of the welcome table, in this meal we have feasted on your goodness and have been united by your presence among us. Empower us to go forth sustained by these gifts so that we may share your neighborly love with all, through Jesus Christ, the giver of abundant life. Amen.
THE SENDING
Blessing: Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. God, the creator, ☩ Jesus, the Christ, and the Holy Spirit, the comforter, bless you and keep you in eternal love. Amen.
Sending Hymn: ELW 886 Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7w3DXMkyj7Q
Dismissal: Go in peace. Christ is with you. Thanks be to God.
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A dog, who me?
August 15, 2020“He who listens to a life-giving rebuke will be at home among the wise. (Proverbs 15:31)” is the verse that caught my attention this morning. How teachable am I and when was I last rebuked, I pondered. Then I thought of the woman in our text for tomorrow who is not Jewish, not a disciple, and not at peace but knows where to turn. She fears her daughter, again a woman, has a demon and she turns to Jesus. “Have mercy!” The disciples want to send her away. Jesus pulls out a Jewish saying, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” I think we are more familiar with the saying, “Don’t cast your pearls before pigs.” The implication is clear. This woman is not one of the wise, worthy of being dealt with. Amazingly, the woman is not defeated and works the insult. “Even dogs eat the crumbs from the master’s table.” She acknowledges not only that Jesus is her last resort but also that God is her first priority even if she is not one of the “chosen,” even as someone seen as a dog. She listened to the rebuke, did not argue but accepted and found the pearl of truth in it. She, unnamed, goes down in history as one of the wise who experienced the power of God. Wow.
So how do I handle rebukes? Do I start that inner dialogue defending myself and pointing out the stupidity of the other? Unfortunately I do too many times. Not all rebukes are deserved but am I willing to evaluate feedback to find the bit of truth I need to listen to. Perhaps the person for whom God is their first priority remembers in the face of criticism that God is their defender and their judge. It is he we want to please. Lord, help us to remember today that you see all and some day will bring justice to those wronging accused.
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Just a Crumb
August 14, 2020A nameless Canaanite woman calls out to Jesus from our text on Sunday, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” She is the wrong ethnicity, the wrong gender, probably the wrong socio-economic class in her day and she is even in the wrong geographical location. BUT, Jesus has taken veered from the Jewish countryside that he openly confesses as his “target audience,” has to deal with a person the Jews consider “dogs,” and by a woman who is at the end of her rope. The disciples are not impressed and want to send her away even probably as we become annoyed when bothered by things coming from outside our agenda, outside our box. The woman begs for a “crumb” that falls from the table and that dogs eat, not much, just a crumb. Today we may question if we are in the right location, saying the right words, just an irritant to God, perhaps no better than a dog but the truth is that as we turn to him as our first priority, he listens. “Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.’”
We do not see an amazing miracle, an exorcism, that dazzles the audience but we see faith in action outside the boxes we draw for God. Wherever we are today, whoever we are today, and whenever we need him today, Jesus listens and responds as we make God our first priority and not our last resort. Blessings.
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On the Way to Wonder 