Pastor Dan Mangler's Sunday Sermon

Not a Reluctant God

Matthew 15: 20-21

August 14, 2005

Not a Reluctant God

For those of you who know something about computers, the INTERNET, and other on-line services, you will be interested to know that our congregation subscribes to a religious on-line service called Ecunet, an ecumenical Christian on-line service of some fifteen denominations, of which the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is one. In one of the meetings I visit via a computer and modem I share along with pastors nationwide reflections on the gospel reading scheduled for the coming week and suggestions on a variety of sermon options on the text.

It has been interesting to note how many pastors were struggling with this story of Jesus' encounter with a Canaanite woman who sought healing for her demon-possessed daughter. The struggle centered on Jesus' apparent reluctance to answer this woman's pleading, and I would be dishonest if I were to say that this didn't also give me pause. Really, does this sound like the loving, compassionate Jesus whom you know?

"Just 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.' But he did not answer her at all. (Have you ever known Jesus to ignore a petitioner's prayer?) And his disciples came and urged him, saying, 'Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.' He answered, 'I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of .' (Here Jesus seems to justify^ ignoring the woman.) But she (the Canaanite woman) came and knelt before him, saying, 'Lord, help me.' He answered, 'It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs.'" (Now Jesus, in his rejection of the woman, gets into some serious name-calling.)

Everyone in our on-line discussion agreed that these were harsh words from Jesus, not easily defended or explained, although attempt to do so were made. One suggested that Jesus was playing Devil's advocate, not really meaning what he said, but offering up what the Pharisees might say just so that he could, by his later actions, shoot it down. Another, in a similar vein, suggested that Jesus said these words with kind of a sarcastic smile and wink that would belie his words. Another even suggested that Jesus really meant what he said, and that it really did take some fast talking on the part of the Canaanite woman to get him to change his mind.

Now I'm not sure that we will ever agree on why Jesus responded as he did, seemingly reluctant to yield to this woman's pleas for the healing her daughter. On the other hand, I find much in the manner of the Canaanite woman's response to Jesus' reluctance that commends itself for our prayer lives when we approach Jesus with our deepest needs.

Did you notice how the woman responded to the seemingly cruel way that Jesus addressed her? 'It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs.' First of all, know this. The Greek word Jesus used for dog carries a derogatory meaning. This is not your lovable, cute, American Kennel Club registered lap dog. This is a mongrel. This is a mutt. Jesus says, "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to mutts."

How did the woman respond? Did she respond with hurt feelings? "Why do you call me a mutt?" Or did she respond with angry indignation? "I'll have you know, sir, I am a woman and a mother and a proud human being. I'm no mutt, and I take offense at your tone."

No, she did not defend her character, because, you see, it wasn't her character that mattered. She knew that the answer to her urgent pleas did not lie in her, on who she was, but rather the answer to her pleading for healing for her daughter was with Jesus, and who he was. To me this Bible reading is not about what Jesus did or did not say or why he may or may not have said it. It has little to do with Jesus, and a lot to do about the woman and her faith, as Jesus' final words show. It is about the fact that this woman, labeled as a "mutt" by the Jews, does not try to dispute her label but is bold enough to incorporate the label as part of her prayer.

She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Call me a dog; call be a mongrel; call me a mutt. I don't care. Whoever I am, no matter how lowly, is not the point, What matters is who the master is and what the master gives.

Have you ever wanted something bad, real bad? And you knew the person who could give it to you, but you didn't feel worthy enough to ask? But maybe you asked anyway, maybe pleaded, not daring to believe the request would be granted.

I was never good in sports. In Little League I was the 3rd string right fielder with a pitcher's heart. I was usually chosen almost last for kick ball during recess. My best friend and hero, Stanley Wilburn, was the opposite... first string in any sport you can name. It was eighth grade recess and sides were being chosen for basketball, a sport in which I had trouble walking and bouncing the ball at the same time, something I'm told pretty important in that sport. Stan was one of the two captains and I wanted desperately to be on Stan's team. And so along with twelve other kids I shouted, "Choose me, Stan. Choose me." That plea could not be based on my sports ability; it was based, rather, on my knowing Stan. And Stan did choose me for his team, not the first pick and not the second, but the third pick. He didn't pick me because of my ability in playing basketball. He picked me because he was my friend. Stan didn't pick me because I was a good ball player; he picked me because he was a good person.

This Canaanite woman was bold enough to approach the savior of the Jews with a prayer request not on the basis of how good and deserving she was, but rather because of how good and generous Jesus was. And so, in answer to her pleading Jesus answered, "Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed instantly.

Three ministers were talking about prayer in general and the appropriate and effective positions for prayer. As they were talking, a telephone repairman was working on the phone system in the background. One minister shared that he felt the key was in the hands. He always held his hands together and pointed them upwards as a form of symbolic worship. The second suggested that real prayer was conducted on your knees. The third suggested that they both had it wrong—the only position worth its salt was to pray while stretched out flat on your face.

By this time the phone man couldn't stay out of the conversation any longer. He interjected, "I found that the most powerful prayer I ever prayed was while I was dangling upside down by my heels from a power pole, suspended forty feet above the ground.

We smile at the same time as we nod in assent that our most fervent prayers too are for ourselves or for our loved ones in desperate need. And it is embarrassing. We know that prayer should not be limited to a list of "give me's, help me's". But if there is ever a time that the desire to pray is the most urgent, it is a prayer of give me's and help me's.

There may come a day when you need a prayer heard and answered, and it might be a huge prayer, and you may be tempted not to pray it because you believe yourself not worthy. You haven't gone to church enough. You haven't served God enough. You haven't loved your fellow man enough. How dare you, a miserable sinner, ask of God anything! It is then you must remember that the basis for prayer is not your character but God's character. The basis for prayer is not in how good you are, but how good God is. The basis for prayer is not how faithful you have been to your promises to God, but in how faithful God is to the promises he has made to his children.

Are you the wretched sinner that, on your worst days, you think you are? You bet you are! But it is exactly for such sinners that God came to earth in Jesus, to die on a cross, that those sinners might know God as friend. Archbishop Trent once said, "Prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance; it is laying hold of his highest willingness." Such was the witness of the Canaanite woman, a mutt to the Jews, who yet was blessed and commended by the master. Such is the promise to you and to me, sinners, yes, but also friends of Jesus who is eager to hear and answer every prayer. Amen.

May the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.