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Lent 2 - 2005
Todd A. Peperkorn, STM
TITLE: “God's Mercy in Silence and Speaking”
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for this morning is the Gospel lesson just read from Matthew 15.
Sometimes God is hard to figure out. I know that this isn’t so very profound, but it is true nonetheless. God’s ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts. But come on, some things should be obvious. Surely God shouldn’t want death. Or sickness. Or heartache and suffering. God shouldn’t want people to go hungry or to suffer want or be in need. That would seem obvious, doesn’t it?
Yet it is precisely at these sort of times that God doesn’t seem to make any sense. How is it that God would allow such things to happen? If God is God, then He should make things right.
Our text for this morning is a perfect example. This woman comes to Jesus with a problem. Her daughter is “severely demon-possessed”. Now I know that this is sort of hard for us to understand, but suffice it to say that it’s hard to imagine a more needy person. What do you do in order to help a child that is possessed by a demon? We would be as helpless today with such a problem as they were in Jesus’ day. She was stuck. But her situation is even worse. We don’t see any sign of a husband here, so it is likely that she was alone with her problem. Furthermore, she is a Canaanite, a foreigner. No one is sympathetic to her or her problem. She, at least in their minds, didn’t deserve their help, because she was from the wrong family. Who else would help her but God? Certainly no one else was going to be any help to her.
She goes to Jesus. She cries out to Him with words that sound almost like our liturgy every week: “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.” Lord, have mercy upon us! Mercy, of course, means you are asking the person not to give you what you deserve. It is a sign of repentance and faith. You trust that the person you are pleading with will indeed have mercy upon you, and grant your request.
She has said all the right words. She has gone to the right place. She has even asked the right question. The answer should be obvious. Jesus should heal her daughter and drive out the demon. But Jesus answers her not a word. Nothing. Ouch.
Why does God do this to her? Because we know it even gets worse. The disciples try to drive her away, and Jesus implies she doesn’t deserve to hear His message. Then when she pleads again Jesus calls her a dog. But this woman will not be deterred. She finds what looks like a loophole in Jesus’ insult. Ah, she says, but even the dogs belong in the house. Even the dogs eat the crumbs from the master’s table!
How are we to understand this? How are we to make sense of this, especially in light our own Lenten journey of faith to the cross and the empty tomb? Is God a big meanie that enjoys insulting and playing with His creation? Does our Lord revel in our suffering and sorrows?
Sometimes it may feel that way. I know. It is very difficult, especially in the midst of trouble and pain, to see past the moment and recognize God’s gracious hand of mercy holding you up. But what this text shows us by His Word is three basic and important realities about ourselves and about God and His mighty work to save us.
Number one, we don’t deserve God’s mercy. It doesn’t matter what your situation is, how many excuses you have, or what kind of good intentions you might have. You don’t deserve God’s mercy. None of us do. And even if we may think or feel that way, it is only self-righteous pride at work, trying to draw us away from God. You don’t deserve God’s mercy. That’s the Law, and the Law is good and true.
Number two, sometimes God allows things to happen so that His mercy can shine through. If Jesus had simply answered this woman’s plea the first time, she might have believed that He answered her prayer because she deserved it. So while that would have healed her daughter, she might have lost her faith in the process. God wants to do what is best for you not for the moment, but for all eternity. What this means is we cannot always see God’s divine hand at work. But if God will send His Son to die on the cross and rise again from the dead for you, then you may trust that He always, always has your best interests in mind. He knows you. He knows you better than you know yourself. He knows who you are. He knows your troubles and sorrows. He knows what you need. He will take care of you. Even if we don’t always understand exactly how God will take care of us, that doesn’t mean it isn’t true. That simply means that God is God, and that we are not. Trust Him.
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5:1-5 NKJV)
Even the Canaanite woman had a place at the masters’ table. And so do you. Only you do not receive crumbs, the leftovers. No, you receive Christ’s very body and blood for the forgiveness of your sins, as a pledge and guarantee of God’s love for you. So come to the Master’s table this day. Cry out for mercy with the Canaanite woman. God heard her cry for mercy. He will hear your cry as well. Believe it for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
This page was created on 02/18/2007 and last edited on: 02/23/2007