Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Text (Matthew 15:21-28):
Then Jesus answered her, “ O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
Kä cu Yecu jɛ loc i̱, "Ɛ ji̱n ciek mi di̱t ŋa̱thdɛ! A jɛ la̱tkɛ kä ji̱ ce̱tkɛ mi go̱o̱ri." Kä cu nyaadɛ gɔaa ni kä kɛɛl.
Prayer: May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
Jesus says: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
Are you hungry? Are you thirsty? What do you desire the most? What do you want?
Ask Jesus for it. And if he doesn’t give it to you, ask him again. And if he still doesn’t give it to you, ask him again. Keep on asking him until he blesses you. Wrestle with him, like Jacob. Fight with him – argue with him – pester him. Keep on asking until he blesses you.
Our faith is always a wrestling match. It’s always a kind of fight. And Jesus doesn’t want to wrestle us because he wants to defeat us. He wants to show you that you can win. Jesus wants to be pinned to the ground, and he wants his own words to be put in front of his nose, so that he has no choice but to listen to our prayers.
Ask, and you will receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you.
Whatever you ask the Father in my name, I will give to you.
These words are no joke.
It’s not for us to sit around and say, “Yes, but we should only ask Jesus those things which are his will.”
Your right! But you don’t know what the will of Jesus is, except for the fact that he has said, “Ask, and it will be given to you.”
That’s Jesus will. It’s Jesus will that you ask him for everything. It’s not something for you to sit around and decide about, it’s your Christian duty to pray for everything and nothing less. Jesus commands you to pray. When you have asked Jesus for what you want, you have done his will. When you haven’t asked Jesus for what you want, you have sinned and become a worshipper of idols who wants to solve your own problems.
Pray without ceasing. Pray always. Ask Jesus for everything.
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So in our reading today, Jesus and a Gentile woman have a fight. They are both in the boxing ring. And each one gives the other one a punch.
This is what we read in our reading:
And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 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.”
The woman throws the first punch. She’s a Gentile, and she wants everything that this Jewish man, Jesus, has got to offer. She wants all the prize money for herself. She wants to win against Jesus, and she’s not going to let him off easy.
Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.
Give it to me, Jesus. Have mercy on me, Son of David. Fix up my daughter.
And here’s comes Jesus’ comeback.
We read: But he did not answer her a word.
It’s as if he says: Not interested. Don’t call us, we’ll call you. Get out of my face.
No comfort for you. Go comfort yourself.
Well, most of us would have lost the fight right then and there. Most of us by this stage would have thrown down the towel, and marched off in a huff. Most people at this stage would have gone and asked the devil for help instead.
“What sort of a Saviour are you? What sort of a comforter are you?
I asked for a Saviour and I got Satan instead.”
In 2 Corinthians, we read that even the devil manifests himself as “an angel of light”. Here we have Jesus manifesting himself as an angel of darkness, an angel of silence, an angel of anger, an angel of wrath.
We might think, Is this the Jesus we know and love? Well, who else so we think it is then?
Truly you are God who hides yourself, says Isaiah.
So far, the score of our match is one all.
The woman threw her punch: She wants mercy, she wants her daughter to be healed.
Jesus threw his punch: A cold shoulder. He brushed her off, aloof, unconcerned, uninterested.
What do you think? Is Jesus uninterested in your prayers? Is he unconcerned with your prayers? Is he aloof?
Well, who do you think he is then? The devil?
Remember:
Jesus says: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”
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Time now for round two.
We read:
And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.”
She goes around the back – she wants to catch him off guard. She wants Jesus friends to help her out. “Maybe we can all gang up on him together”, she might think.
So she catches him out, almost a bit below the belt.
Jesus answers: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Two all, the score is now.
She gives him an underhanded punch. He throws it back.
I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
It’s as if he says: I am not your God. I am these people’s God, but not your God. I am not for you. You go and call on your own God.
If you want a god, go to the bank – they’ll give you everything you need. IF you want a god, go worship a cat. Go worship your TV screen, go worship your bargain catalogues, go worship your family, go worship your nice cozy bed, go worship your credit card – they’ll give you everything you need, won’t they? You don’t need me – I am not your God.
Whack! The score now is two all.
The Gentile woman threw her punch: she went around Jesus’ back and tried to ask for help his disciples.
Jesus throws his punch: He rejects her. He is not responsible for her.
What do you think? Has Jesus rejected you? Is he everyone else’s God except yours?
Well, what’s your problem? Do you think that Jesus didn’t die for Christians as well?
Remember:
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that whoever believes in him will not die but have eternal life.
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Time for round three.
We read: But she came knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.”
Straight in the face. Is there a more direct prayer in the whole of Scripture? Lord, help me. Straight in the face!
And Jesus answers: It is not right to take the children’s bread and throws it to the dogs.
Three all – the score stands!
It’s as if he says: Who do you think you are? You’re not worthy to call on me!
Jesus pulls out the heavy stuff now – he pulls out the insults: It’s not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.
Remember, that in the Hebrew language and in most of the Middle-East, dogs are dirty, filthy things. When we say “dog” here, don’t think of Lassie, Napolean, Beethoven, the 101 Dalmatians, and all the other “man’s best friends” from Hollywood. Think of the mangiest, scavenging, vicious excuse for a dog you can think of. In the last chapter of the bible it says, “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerors and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.”
Outside are the dogs.
So three all it is.
Help me, Lord, she says.
It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs, says Jesus.
Well, most people would have definitely given up the fight by now. “If Jesus is going to resort to insults, it’s time to call it a draw.”
What do you think? Are you offended by Jesus? Is he too forthright for you? Is he too cutting for you? Is he too offensive, too sharp, too much?
Well, who do you think he is? Father Christmas? Grandpa Joe? Mickey Mouse?
Jesus didn’t brush our sins under the carpet, but he dealt with them, by dying on the cross and rising from the dead.
And where did he die? Outside the city of Jerusalem, where the dogs are.
Hebrews says: Jesus also suffered outside the gate [with the dogs, if you like] in order to make the people holy [in order to sanctify them] through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the one that is to come.
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Round four, folks! The final round.
There’s one more thing that needs to be settled.
This Gentile woman won’t be swayed. She won’t be swayed by the fact that
Jesus doesn’t listen, she’s not swayed by the fact that Jesus came for the Jews, she’s not swayed by the fact that Jesus insulted her.
But there’s one more thing she needs to sort out. When Jesus says to her, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs”, he says to her, “You are unworthy to pray”. Will she be swayed, ladies and gentlemen? Will she let down? Will she say, “No, I’m not unworthy” and go home?
She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
No, friends! She has one last punch still in her. She won’t be beaten.
And Jesus says: “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire!” And her daughter was healed instantly.
You win! says Jesus. You win! You’re too good! I can’t fight with you anymore.
Gentile woman wins the match with 4 points!
She wins the prize! She takes home a healed daughter! She takes home everything she always wanted! She takes home the trophy, the prize money, the gold medal! Everything that Jesus has belongs to her!
Jesus is stripped of everything! Everything is given to her! He is left for dead, naked, bleeding and dying on the cross! He empties himself – and gives her everything she ever wanted! She won’t let Jesus go until he blesses her! She wins! She wins!
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Now -- never before, probably, have you thought that Christianity is about beating Jesus in a fight.
But Satan pretends to be Jesus when he gives us false comfort, false worship, false gods, false worth, false self-esteem.
And so Jesus sometimes makes himself appear like Satan so that we will pin him into a corner with his own words, with his own promises, so that he will give us real comfort, he will show himself to us as the true God, he will give us the true worth and true esteem that comes from the forgiveness of sins. The name Jesus means “Saviour”: Satan means “accuser”. Pin him into a corner and say to him: Be a Jesus to me, Jesus! Be a Saviour to me, Jesus, not a Satan, not an accuser!
The Holy Spirit even makes himself like a demon, he makes himself like a curse, he convicts of sin, righteousness and judgment, so that he will be our true Comforter.
This is what it means to live under the cross, my friends. This is what it means to be a Christian. If you want to fight the devil, you need to fight Jesus with his own words. You need to hold Jesus to his own words, and not let him go until he blesses you. You need to stare Jesus in the face, and to hear the words: “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.”
Baptism is solid! The word of God is true! The forgiveness of sins is powerful! The Lord’s Supper is here, and it is for you!
It’s not a whole bunch of talk. It’s real things, it’s facts. Empty talk will die, truth will remain. The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the Word of the Lord remains forever.
Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be open to you. And don’t let him go until he blesses you.
Amen.
Jesus Christ, Son of God, you suffered for us, you died for us, and you rose again from the dead for us. You are seated at the right hand of God for us, praying for us even in the midst of us. You promise to hear our prayers, you promise to listen to us, you promise to come and be with us. We place ourselves and all our needs into your hands, trusting what you have said to be true and certain. Amen.
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