"Jesus, Son of David, Have Mercy on Me!" Sermon for Pentecost 13 A.
http://www.faithcarthage.org/S,091111.mp3
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Faith Carthage Sermon for Pentecost 13 A ILCW, "Lord, Son of David, Have Mercy on Me!"
Matthew 15:21-28
Sermon for Pentecost 13 A
September 11, 2011
By Rev. Timothy H. Buelow
Theme: “Lord, Son of David, Have Mercy on Me!”
21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the
region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity
came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is
suffering terribly from demon-possession.”
23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his
disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out
after us.”
24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost
sheep of Israel.”
25 The woman came and knelt before him.
“Lord, help me!” she said.
26 He replied, “It is not right to take the
children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs
eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
28 Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have
great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that
very hour.
21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the
region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity
came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is
suffering terribly from demon-possession.”
23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his
disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out
after us.”
24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost
sheep of Israel.”
25 The woman came and knelt before him.
“Lord, help me!” she said.
26 He replied, “It is not right to take the
children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs
eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
28 Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have
great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that
very hour.
Dear Friends in Christ,
Why did God let me get sick? Why did that tornado have to
come? Why did God let 9-11 happen? Why indeed? Or as the Canaanite woman must
have wondered so many times: “Why, oh why, does God let my little girl suffer
so?!” Could it be, in part, that God wanted her to cry out to Jesus: “Lord, Son of David, Have Mercy on Me!”
Could it be, in our case, that God
wants us to cry out to Jesus: “Lord, Son of David, Have Mercy on Me!”
When in the Hour of Utmost Need
We know not where to look for aid
When days and nights of anxious thought
[Neither] help nor counsel yet have brought
Then this our comfort is alone:
That we may meet before Thy throne
And cry, O faithful God, to Thee
For rescue from our misery.
1.
Faith-Testing
Who knows how long this had been going on?—a daughter
possessed by a demon that throws her into convulsions. How terrifying and
troubling to this mother! What mother, what father, can stand for even a moment
to see their child suffer?! What a helpless feeling! God gives you the gift of
a child. You pour your heart and life into lovingly caring for and raising that
child. One of the most, visceral, gut feelings any parent has wrapped up inside
them is to try to protect their child, help them, say “Don’t worry, mommy and
daddy are going to make it all right.” And then to realize more painfully each
day that you really can’t, that there’s really nothing you can do to help. What
a gut-wrenching realization! What a feeling of worthlessness and helplessness
and failure!
But miracle of miracles, her mother still has faith. She
hasn’t despaired in hopelessness. She knows there’s a God who’s merciful, who
hears her cries for help. She’s been praying. She hasn’t ceased praying day and night! How many weeks and months
and years she’s been pleading with God. And now, this opportunity! Jesus
crossed the border of Israel into Lebanon and came into her region!—the Jesus
she’d heard so much about, the Jesus they say came down from heaven to do God’s
work on earth. ‘I can get close to him. He doesn’t have bodyguards. He’s out
and among us people. He’s been healing daughters, and sons. His reputation got
here before he did! Oh, please, Jesus!’
She makes her way toward the crowds. She gently pushes her
way through the throng, inches her way close to Jesus. Her silent prayers to
God become audible, as she sees God’s own son in person. “Lord, Son of David, Have Mercy on Me!” What great faith! What
Scripture knowledge! She knows this man in the white robe is the Lord, the God
of Israel to whom, miraculously enough, this Gentile, Syro-Phoenician woman has
been praying for years. She knows Jesus is the Son of David, David’s
everlasting heir, the Messiah God had promised through Samuel would rule
forever from the royal throne of David. What great faith indeed! She sees in
Jesus her Savior, from whom she can expect
mercy, because God is love and so must
his Son also be. “Lord, Son of
David, Have Mercy on Me!”
But the Lord, the Son of David, seems to ignore her. He
acts as if she isn’t even there! He looks like he didn’t even hear her! Was
this Man who gave hearing to the deaf, deaf himself? Couldn’t He at least see
her? Was He blind as well? The disciples
could see her and hear her. They found the whole situation quite annoying.
Jesus lets them become an obnoxious part of the testing of her faith. Just a
little longer Jesus will pretend He
doesn’t hear, but He’ll let her hear
the twelve’s obnoxious comment: Jesus did not answer a word. So his
disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out
after us.”
Church people can be just as obnoxious today as Jesus’
disciples were that day. How many people don’t cite some bad situation in
church when they were younger as an excuse why they don’t go to church today.
And shame on us when we become such
obstacles. When we do, may we look in the mirror at ourselves, slap ourselves
across the chops and beg God to forgive us, because we’re all obnoxious to
someone, God forgive us.
But, truth be told, real faith, tested faith, mature
faith, faith in Jesus, trust in His Word and His promises won’t ever let some
dumb act or ill-spoken word prevent a genuine Christian from getting and
staying close to Jesus. Real Christians don’t run away from the church, even if
their fellow Christians there are immature or rude. After all, “love keeps
no record of wrongs” (1 Corinthians 13) and love is what we have if we’re
Christians—not the petty “I’m mad, so I give up on church” of those who are not
part of God’s elect. This Syro-Phoenician woman doesn’t even seem to notice the
rudeness of the Twelve. Nothing can
stop her from praying to the Lord of Life and Death, seeking him out, falling
at his feet and asking him humbly for help.
God gives each of us plenty to deal with—some far more
than others. He does it to test our faith, just as He did for this woman and
her dear daughter. Many times, it seems Jesus either doesn’t hear our prayer,
or doesn’t care enough to really listen. He wants us to learn to keep on
praying. He wants us to learn the endurance of real faith. As St. Paul said, “we
rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in
our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us,
because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he
has given us” (Romans 5:2b-5).
God also graciously sends tests to countries like ours, as He did on 9-11 ten years ago, and as He’s
been doing in allowing this recession to try our faith. God does that sort of
thing, because He cares enough not to let us plunge headlong into
materialism and godlessness and idolatry. God wants us as individual
Christians, and as a nation, to cry out to Him: “Lord, Son of David, Have Mercy on Me!”
2.
Strengthened Faith
It’s truly amazing that this woman had not lost her faith
through her daughter’s demon possession. In fact, it seems to have gotten stronger. And why wouldn’t it? Demon
possession was certainly a sign that there is most assuredly another
“dimension”—the world of the invisible. Her faith was far better informed and
thoughtful than the foolish ideas of those who promulgate godless atheism and
agnosticism today. People ignorantly look at evil in the world and come to a
really stupid, illogical conclusion: ‘There is no God.’ Those who look more closely at evil and face it in their
own lives conclude instead on the basis
of the evidence: “There is a devil!” And if we conclude there’s a
devil, how can we not also conclude that there is a God to whom we must cry out
for mercy and help?!
Jesus has one final test for this dear lady before he
answers “Yes!” to her plea. He ‘insults’ her! He answered, “I was
sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” In a sense, of course, that was
very true. Jesus’ personal ministry was directed first to the Jews. His Great
Commission was yet to follow, on the day of his Ascension. It was His disciples
who would be sent out to preach to people like us. For now, Jesus was to preach
to the Judeans and Galileans. Behind that immediate
arrangement, however, was God’s eternal
will, both in the Old Testament and the New, to love and save all people
through Jesus’ loving sacrifice of Himself on the cross for the sins of all
nations.
She was not about to give up. 25 The woman
came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
What do you think? Should Jesus say yes now, or insult her
one more time—stretch and test her faith? 26 He replied, “It is
not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”
She respectfully banters back with Jesus, leaving us an
awesome example for true, Christian prayer: 27 “Yes, Lord,” she
said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
What can you say to that?!
28 Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your
request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
Great faith, indeed! Awesome faith! The kind of faith you
and I should pray God would give us.
That’s the kind of faith that moves mountains! No matter what the Lord
answered, she wasn’t going to give up asking. More importantly, no matter what
the Lord answered, she wasn’t going to give up on Him.
What an example she became that day for Jesus’ disciples!
And for us today. She had total confidence in prayer, knowing God is powerful
and able—not confidence that God will do any dumb thing we ask, but confidence
that he does hear our prayers, that
He is merciful, that He will give us what is best for us without
a doubt, because He loves us as a dear father loves his dear children. And what
an example of persistence in prayer,
knowing God can’t ignore those who cry out to him! She’s like the widow in
Jesus’ story of the unjust judge who finally couldn’t ignore his petitioner
anymore. Jesus wants us to keep
asking, just as she did.
She challenged Jesus to live up to who He is—the God of
mercy and grace. God loves it when we hold Him to His own promise to be
gracious and merciful!
Of course God tests us and challenges us! What loving
father wouldn’t? And He loves and tests us as a country too. Thank God He still
cares enough about us to not just say “Nuts to them!” and let us go happily off
to hell. Whether God does it like the way He allowed it to happen on 9-11 ten
years ago, or as He allows today with our frightening, extended recession and
the threat of worse to come, He lets difficulties come only because He loves us
enough to test us. He wants to get us back on our knees in prayer. And how does
He want us to pray? Just like that dear woman, pleading for her afflicted
daughter: “Lord, Son of David, Have Mercy
on Me!” Amen.
© 2011
Rev. Timothy H. Buelow
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Sermon for Epiphany 4
Faith Carthage has posted the sermon for Epiphany 4, January 30, 2011 on the theme:
“God Chose the Weak Things of the World to Shame the Strong”
based on 1 Corinthians 1:26-13
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Faith Carthage Sermon for Reformation Day
The Audio Sermon for Reformation Day was posted on FaithCarthage.org
The Link is:
Faith Carthage Sermon for Pentecost 22
The Audio Sermon for Pentecost 21 was posted on FaithCarthage.org
The Link is:
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