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Eleventh Sunday After Pentecost
Light of Christ Anglican Church
The Rev. Michael Moffitt, August 20, 2017


Pursue the One Who Can Change Your Life


Text: Matthew 15:21–28

This past week has been very stressful for our nation as a whole and I have read articles and demands that pastors everywhere denounce “white supremacy” and racism from the pulpit thereby making clear to their congregations that the types of attitudes and actions seen in Charlottesville, Saturday before last are unacceptable and godless and against everything that the word of God teaches us and Jesus modeled for us.

I have no problem making that assertion because I believe that there is no place in our world, and especially our faith, where anyone is seen as anything less than made in the image of God. The Bible is clear that we were all created in God’s image and are designed for dignity but because of sin we have all equally fallen from God’s grace. Only through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ can people can be restored and find eternal salvation. That is the gospel message and we must not be distracted from the proclamation of that message.

However, concerning the recent events I think that the evidence would suggest that there was a whole lot more going on than the press would like us to believe. It would seem there are instigators in our nation whose intentional purpose is to undermine and collapse not just this present administration but what they deem “the American Way of Life.” They have become very accomplished at causing dissension and unrest among all types of ideological and social backgrounds as well as political persuasions. They are preying on a people who seem to have lost the ability to read and investigate both history and current events, but who primarily receive their information and analysis through a press corps that take their cues from this movement and that has our downfall as its goal.

This should be of grave concern to us as Christians but of even greater concern is the question of how many professing Christians are responding to all the present issues of our culture. Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian in New York City, wrote in an article for The Gospel Coalition on Tuesday,

Twentieth-century fascist movements that made absolute values out of putting one race and one nation's good above the good of all — also claimed to champion traditional family values and moral virtues over against the decadence of relativistic modern culture.

He claimed that such views,

could and can still appeal to people within our own circles. So, it is absolutely crucial to speak up about the biblical teaching on racism — not just now, but routinely. We need to make those in our circles impervious to this toxic teaching.

In other words all the events that happen around us affect how we view the world and those around us and we must be very careful to not allow Satan to take our eyes off of Jesus and the centrality of the Gospel.

In addition each of us must be very careful to not allow the seeds of prejudice and hatred to be planted in our hearts and be quick to confess and uproot them if they begin to grow. If we truly want reconciliation with God then we must seek reconciliation with the men and women that are all around us and we must be quick to recognize and repent of prejudice and spiritual arrogance towards others. Each of us is as desperate for God’s love and mercy as anyone else.

This past week I heard speakers from varied opinions on the motivations behind each group present in Charlottesville last Saturday. Each side claimed the moral high ground and many appealed to their belief in God and country as the motivation behind their actions no matter how reprehensible they were.

Many blamed the Alternate Right and White Supremacist movements and some felt that the Progressive movement was actually behind the whole thing.

I noticed that the longer I listened the more I realized that how folks were forming an opinion as to what they believed would depend on who they chose to listen to.

It is vitally important that Christians not allow themselves to be swayed by those who are filled with hatred and prejudice so I turned to the Lord and asked for clarity both for how I should see this whole mess and for what to say to you this morning about it.

One thing I know for certain is that ultimately the one behind this whole thing is the “Father of lies”, Satan himself, and we don’t fight him through civil action, protests, and violence but we fight him with the weapons of the Spirit-prayer and the Word of God.

As Christians our anger is to be placed where it is due, not with the Progressive movement, White Supremacist, Alternative Right, Nazi, Fascist, Black Lives Matter, liberal press or anywhere else but solely focused on the prince of darkness. What is the best way to fight him and his league of demonic imps? Through the power and blood of Jesus Christ, through prayer and returning to the mission given us by Jesus himself—the proclamation of the Gospel.

You may have noticed a common theme within our Scripture readings this morning. Our passage from Isaiah 56 reveals the heart of God for all people and nations and God encourages Israel to show justice and mercy to all those in their land especially those who join them in worshipping God faithfully. Listen to Isaiah 56:6–8,

“And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant— 7 these 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.” 8 The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares, “I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered.”

How were they to be gathered? Israel was tasked with proclaiming their God to all nations and the Levitical law made provision for all those who lived in their midst and God gave Israel instructions that they show justice and mercy to all in their land. As the people of God our hearts desire must match that of our Lord, as the Apostle Paul exhorts Timothy in 1 Timothy 2:1–4,

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

As I considered our passages I realized that it was our gospel reading that I was to focus on this morning. As I prayed and sought the Lord I clearly remembered an event that happened to me 45 years ago. As I thought through the events I had to laugh at what God had done but couldn’t see any reason why it had anything to do with our gospel story …then I did.

It was November 1972 right after the Thanksgiving break and I was driving back to Covenant College with a fellow student, a young lady who had traveled with me but stayed with some friends in Roanoke during the break. We were on the way back to Chattanooga, TN, and this was before Interstate 81 went through to Interstate 40 to Knoxville.

We were traveling on Route 11 through a small little town in Tennessee when my 65 VW Beetle suddenly quit and I drifted into the parking lot of a bank. It was around midnight and the bank sign proclaimed that it was 20 degrees outside.

There were only a handful of houses around us but I noticed that two of them had lights on and that someone was peering at us from behind the curtain of one of the houses. As I walked up to their door they quickly shut the curtains and turned off the light. I knocked on the door but no one answered.

So I went to the next house with a light on and knocked on the door which suddenly flew open and there stood a long haired young man in his 20’s holding a shotgun. I quickly explained that my car had broken down and asked if he had a phone I could use to try and find help. He did not have a phone but pointed me to a payphone on the corner. He noticed Debbie sitting in my car shivering and told me to have her come inside where it was warm. As it ended up there wasn’t anyone to come out at night and so this man and his wife invited us to stay with them and he could call a friend, who was a mechanic to help us in the morning.

His wife went to get their guest room ready for Debbie and I to sleep in but I told him that we weren’t married and I would just sleep on the living room floor. They informed us that they didn’t care if we were married or not but I said that it mattered to us.

Now you have to understand that I had longer hair than he did and a beard and had on bell bottoms and a flannel shirt just like he did. Remember the hippies, well, that was us back then. I told him that I was a Christian and that being faithful to Jesus Christ mattered more than anything else.

They seemed to find that interesting and we set and talked into the wee hours of the morning. After presenting my testimony and the simple gospel message they decided that they wanted to know Jesus to. I led them in the sinners’ prayer and we went to bed, they to their room, Debbie to the guest room, and I lay down on the floor—soon to be joined by their German shepherd who wanted to snuggle.

The next morning I awoke to the smell of a wonderful breakfast and to the voice of the friend who had already fixed my car and would not allow me to pay him anything. It was quite a night and we left rejoicing that God had made provision for us but mostly that our new friends had met Jesus as Savior and Lord.

Now by this time you may be wondering what this could possibly have to do with our gospel passage this morning. Well, let’s take a look at it and I think all will become clear. Let’s begin reading Matthew 15:21–28,

And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

The first part of chapter 15, before this story, the Pharisees are rebuking Jesus because his disciples didn’t wash their hands before they ate in the way that was according to their tradition. Jesus rebukes them for caring more about their traditions than the actual commands of God like, “Honor your father and mother”. His told them that Isaiah the prophet had prophesied about them in Isaiah 29:13,

“These people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.”

Jesus leaves them to chew on that and withdraws to the district of Tyre and Sidon which is some 50 miles away. Matthew was drawing an amazing contrast between the Pharisees who have no understanding as to the real identity of Jesus and a Canaanite woman who approaches him by faith acknowledging that he is the Lord, the promised Son of David.

The Canaanites were longtime enemies of Israel and were the ones who had influenced Israel to bring in Baal and Asherah idols into the temple, thus defiling it. They were polytheistic and worshipped many gods and Matthew wants the reader to understand that this woman would not be welcome to approach any Jew much less a man.

This woman, knowing full well how she would be perceived takes the chance to boldly approach Jesus asking for mercy for her daughter. Of course it should be noted that Jesus and the disciples are in this woman’s backyard and not in Jerusalem but still she seems to understand to whom she is speaking.

Some people are bothered that Jesus initially seems to ignore her by not speaking, but by saying nothing he wasn’t dismissing her or sending her away. The disciples are impatient and want Jesus to send her away, most likely by simply granting her request so she will just leave but that is not what Jesus had in mind. It is so easy to merely give someone what they ask for so they will leave you alone but it is quite another matter to take the time to get to know them and become involved in the reality of their lives.

Jesus finally answers her that he was sent to the “lost sheep of Israel” and that was essentially true, but it was so that those lost sheep would return to the mission that the Father had originally given them. They in turn would come to the other nations and to those like this woman. In saying this to her Jesus is still not sending her away but giving her the opportunity to continue to pursue him.

I love her response to Jesus as she falls at his feet, “Lord, help me.” Now she is not only asking for help for her daughter but for herself. I can’t think of a more wonderful and simple prayer than this. Charles Spurgeon wrote about this prayer,

She could not solve the problems of the destiny of her race, and of the Lord’s commission; but she could pray…If, as a Shepherd, he may not gather her, yet, as Lord, he may help her.

Jesus’ answer to her may seem harsh to us and would normally have reflected the fact that the Jews considered the Canaanites no better than dogs.

However, Jesus chooses his words very carefully here and in the Greek the word that Jesus uses for dog is actually translated “little dog” and would not be referring to the dogs on the street but to the family pet. We are at the real disadvantage of not hearing the tone of Jesus’ voice as He spoke to this woman. I suspect that His tone was not harsh but that it was engaging with the effect of inviting greater faith from her.

Apparently she picked up on this as well because her reply was not one of being offended but of acknowledging her position as a Canaanite woman before the Jewish Messiah. The woman responded with great faith and admitted her low position, and did not debate the issue when Jesus called her one of the little dogs. She did not demand to be seen as a child; but only to be blessed as a dog. It was as if she said, “Lord, I understand that the focus of your ministry is to the Jews – and they have a special place in God’s redemptive plan. Yet I also understand that your ministry extends beyond the Jewish people, and I want to be part of that extended blessing.”

Her response is especially meaningful in light of the increasing rejection of Jesus by the Jewish religious leaders. It was as if the woman said, “I’m not asking for the portion that belongs to the children, just the crumbs that they don’t want.” In the flow of Matthew’s gospel, there was more and more that the Jewish religious establishment did not want to receive. They didn’t want what Jesus was offering but this woman saw that he offered what she needed most, hope and mercy. She accepted Jesus’ description of her condition and asked for mercy in spite of it—or perhaps because of it.

Now she is exactly where she needed to be and this is why he had come all that way to meet her need. The result is that her daughter was healed that very hour and both their lives were changed forever.

There are three things that I want us to glean from this passage today.

  1. Jesus leaves the unbelief and hostility of the Pharisees and travels a great distance (for that time period where they walked most everywhere) to meet the need of this woman and her daughter. Everything that Jesus did was intentional as have seen in other examples ie; the Samaritan women at the well. He may have appeared to have been indifferent to the Canaanite woman but he came knowing full well what he would encounter. He not only met her need but taught his disciples a very important lesson, everyone has access to Jesus and it’s never asking too much to go and be his representative to someone in need. In the story I told you where my car broke down in the middle of the night, it initially looked to me like I was in a terrible mess but God diverted us for the evening to come to the rescue of two people who needed to know and were ready. God used someone like me to bring Christ to someone much like me and he took care of my needs as well.
  2. You may be praying for someone or for yourself asking or begging God to intervene on their or your behalf. It may seem like he is saying no, but that doesn’t mean that he is. You may have to intercede time and again but in this process he is teaching you about your need for him and is building the relationship between the two of you. Sometimes the greatest prayer is simply, “Lord Jesus help me”. Believe me I did not want to go knocking on doors in the middle of the night in rural Tennessee but I had to go to where I saw the light on and take a chance. I learned that as a principle, to not give up but to keep knocking if there was any hope. Trust me when I tell you that I was asking for God’s help.
  3. If we are committed to God’s will and to building his kingdom here on earth we must never allow the enemy to infiltrate our hearts or our congregation with prejudice, hatred or judgment. This story models for us that Jesus went out of his way to meet the need and to show the compassion of God to someone who was socially, theologically and racially different than those of the nation of Israel. This story most likely provided an example to the early church as they sent men like Paul and Barnabus to the Gentile nations. No one is beyond the reach and love of God and therefore we must seek to be Jesus to everyone that we come in contact with no matter how they present themselves to us. The Apostle Paul reminded the Roman Christians in our epistle reading from Romans 11:19–22 how Israel had turned away from faithfulness and God broke them off from the vine,

They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.

I am persuaded that it is never too late to turn things around if we will bow our knees to God and invite him to do the miraculous through us. One thing I didn’t mention in my story. I had only been a Christian for a few months and I could not answer every question that was posed to me that night. I could however tell the story of how Jesus had rescued me. The gospel message is very simple and you each have your own story to tell. We must be those who do that faithfully as often as possible.

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

©2017 Rev. Mike Moffitt

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