Genesis 32:22-32; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-7; St Matthew 15:21-28
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
She had many strikes against her. She was a Canaanite woman and Canaanites were enemies of the Israelites. She lived in Jericho and God was about to flatten the walls of the city and burn it down for its wickedness. And to top it all off, she had a bad history with men. She slept with men who weren’t her husband. We know her from the book of Joshua as the prostitute Rahab.
But Rahab, this unlikely woman, ends up an example of great faith (cf Heb 11:29-31). She had heard about how God rescued the Israelites out of Egypt, how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before them and what they did to the two kings of the Amorites (Josh 2:10). She confessed the Lord God of Israel to be the true God. She feared, loved, and trusted in Him. And her faith was no mere lip service. She showed forth her faith with bold deeds. When Israelites spies, Joshua and Caleb, came into her city to check out the enemy, Rahab put her life on the line and hid the spies on her roof so they wouldn’t be caught.
Perhaps even more impressive, though, was the boldness of her prayers. She knew that she and her family were about to die at the hand of the invading Israelites. So she took the initiative and badly interceded for herself and them. She knew she was a “Gentile dog,” yet she cried out for mercy and asked to be spared from death and saved alive (Josh 2:13). And she was spared. She and her family made their safe exodus before the walls came tumbling down.
Today’s Gospel takes place more than a thousand years later, but its as though faithful Rahab showed up again. There is no indication that woman is a prostitute like Rahab was. But she was a Canaanite like Rahab. She was bold like Rahab. And she loved her family like Rahab. Where she lived there were no walls about to come tumbling down, but her life was crashing in all around her. Her daughter was severely oppressed by a demon.
And like that Old Testament Yeshua, Jesus went out of His was to enter the Gentile region where she lived. And like Rahab, she heard about Jesus and confessed Him to be the Messiah by calling Him Son of David and cried out to Him for mercy. But Jesus did not answer her a word. We might have quit asking. But she didn’t.
The disciples tried to shoo her away the way you’d shoo away a dog. We probably would have quit asking at that point. But she didn’t.
She even overheard Jesus tell His disciples that He was sent only for the lost sheep of the House of Israel, not Canaanites like her. We would have quit praying. But she didn’t.
Then in sheer desperation, grappling with our Lord, she throws her body in front of Jesus pleading for help. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber (Ps 121:2b-3a). It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs. We would have been offended. We would have given up. We would have walked away in bitter, angry tears. But she wasn’t. She doesn’t. She grabs hold of that word and confesses it, Yes Lord, I am a dog. I know I’m not of the house of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You say I’m a dog. I am. A poor, miserable, Gentile dog. Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.
At this our Lord marvels and says, O woman, great is your faith! And her faith was great, because the object of her faith was great. Her faith was great because her prayers showed that she thought God’s mercy in Christ Jesus was great. Her faith was great because she didn't rely on what she felt, what she heard in her heart, what she experienced in herself or what she saw in others. Her faith was great because she relied on God’s Word and His promises which are great. And on His great reputation for great mercy. The LORD is your keeper. He will keep your life.
Two bold women show us this morning what faith looks like. Faith prays with boldness and persistence, with confidence that the Father cares. Faith recalls to the Lord His mercy and steadfast love which have been from of old, as you sang in the Introit. But what these two women show us most of all is just how small our faith is. How little we trust the Father. How tiny is our expectation that God means only good for us, despite what we experience and feel.
The truth is the devil has an easy time distracting us from praying. We get discouraged. Our weak flesh torments and tortures us, drawing hearts and minds away from Christ and His Word and promises. We take offense too easily. We give up too quickly. We forget that our loved ones desperately need our prayers. Our faith is too timid. So this morning it takes a bold prostitute and a bold nameless woman to put our faith to shame and show us how to truly pray.
And it is good, right and salutary to see and emulate such examples of the Christian faith and life. But what we need more is mercy for our lack of faith, our lack of prayer, and our doubt and despair of God’s goodness and mercy.
And that is exactly what you receive this morning! The God who sent Joshua into the region of Canaan, who sent Jesus into the region of Tyre and Sidon, has sent Jesus into your region. This region of Indianpolis, filled with demons that seek to devour you and your loved ones, to mislead you and deceive you into false belief, shame and vice. This same Jesus who came from a region called heaven into this region called earth to rescue you from that region called hell has died for you, defeating the devil for you.
Those women may have been bold, but Jesus was even bolder. We filled His cup of suffering with our sins. And He boldly asked the Father to let the cup pass from Him. But the Father didn’t answer Him a word. Perhaps Jesus should have quit praying. But He didn’t. And if its not right to throw the children’s bread to the dogs, it certainly isn’t right to throw the Bread of Life to the dogs - Gentile dogs who would surround Him and mock Him and crucify Him for sins He didn’t commit.
Yet that is what His Father desired for Him for your sake. Perhaps He should have quit praying to the Father. But He didn’t. Perhaps He should have prayed to the Father for Him to send twelve legions of angels to spare Him. But He didn’t. So that He could spare you.
Perhaps He should have stopped praying when His lungs were crushed and He could barely breathe and it looked as though the devil had won. But He didn’t. But so that you might win and receive the victory He prayed for you, Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit (Lk 23:46)! He then rose on the Third Day, ascended into heaven, and still hasn’t quite praying. He still today intercedes for His Church at the Father’s Right Hand. As it is written, He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him since He always lives to make intercession for them (Heb 7:25).
And for you poor Gentiles, the same Spirit which Christ committed to the Father raised Him from the dead and is poured out on you in your Baptism. The Spirit who drowned your demons and raised up a new man to live before God by faith, in righteousness and purity forever. He is the same Spirit who teaches you to be bold and confident in your prayers, to wrestle with God and His great promises, to endure evil with patience and to always expect good things from God, even when your experience and feelings tell you otherwise.
This is how you walk and please God, just as you are doing, in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ. And to never, ever be tempted to think that your prayers are worthless. Your family, your friends, your enemies, your church family need them. And through them, by striving and wrestling, our Lord Jesus strengthens your faith and forms and fashions you into a theologian.
Beloved, that same Spirit allows you to draw near to the Lord’s Table with confidence. Knowing that you are receiving more than crumbs here this morning that did not fall from heaven by mistake, but purposely directed into your mouth to forgive your sins, enliven your love, and strengthens a faith that places you into the ranks of Rahab and the Canaanite Woman, unlikely examples of great faith. For like them, your faith is great for your Savior is great.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
She had many strikes against her. She was a Canaanite woman and Canaanites were enemies of the Israelites. She lived in Jericho and God was about to flatten the walls of the city and burn it down for its wickedness. And to top it all off, she had a bad history with men. She slept with men who weren’t her husband. We know her from the book of Joshua as the prostitute Rahab.
But Rahab, this unlikely woman, ends up an example of great faith (cf Heb 11:29-31). She had heard about how God rescued the Israelites out of Egypt, how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before them and what they did to the two kings of the Amorites (Josh 2:10). She confessed the Lord God of Israel to be the true God. She feared, loved, and trusted in Him. And her faith was no mere lip service. She showed forth her faith with bold deeds. When Israelites spies, Joshua and Caleb, came into her city to check out the enemy, Rahab put her life on the line and hid the spies on her roof so they wouldn’t be caught.
Perhaps even more impressive, though, was the boldness of her prayers. She knew that she and her family were about to die at the hand of the invading Israelites. So she took the initiative and badly interceded for herself and them. She knew she was a “Gentile dog,” yet she cried out for mercy and asked to be spared from death and saved alive (Josh 2:13). And she was spared. She and her family made their safe exodus before the walls came tumbling down.
Today’s Gospel takes place more than a thousand years later, but its as though faithful Rahab showed up again. There is no indication that woman is a prostitute like Rahab was. But she was a Canaanite like Rahab. She was bold like Rahab. And she loved her family like Rahab. Where she lived there were no walls about to come tumbling down, but her life was crashing in all around her. Her daughter was severely oppressed by a demon.
And like that Old Testament Yeshua, Jesus went out of His was to enter the Gentile region where she lived. And like Rahab, she heard about Jesus and confessed Him to be the Messiah by calling Him Son of David and cried out to Him for mercy. But Jesus did not answer her a word. We might have quit asking. But she didn’t.
The disciples tried to shoo her away the way you’d shoo away a dog. We probably would have quit asking at that point. But she didn’t.
She even overheard Jesus tell His disciples that He was sent only for the lost sheep of the House of Israel, not Canaanites like her. We would have quit praying. But she didn’t.
Then in sheer desperation, grappling with our Lord, she throws her body in front of Jesus pleading for help. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber (Ps 121:2b-3a). It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs. We would have been offended. We would have given up. We would have walked away in bitter, angry tears. But she wasn’t. She doesn’t. She grabs hold of that word and confesses it, Yes Lord, I am a dog. I know I’m not of the house of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You say I’m a dog. I am. A poor, miserable, Gentile dog. Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.
At this our Lord marvels and says, O woman, great is your faith! And her faith was great, because the object of her faith was great. Her faith was great because her prayers showed that she thought God’s mercy in Christ Jesus was great. Her faith was great because she didn't rely on what she felt, what she heard in her heart, what she experienced in herself or what she saw in others. Her faith was great because she relied on God’s Word and His promises which are great. And on His great reputation for great mercy. The LORD is your keeper. He will keep your life.
Two bold women show us this morning what faith looks like. Faith prays with boldness and persistence, with confidence that the Father cares. Faith recalls to the Lord His mercy and steadfast love which have been from of old, as you sang in the Introit. But what these two women show us most of all is just how small our faith is. How little we trust the Father. How tiny is our expectation that God means only good for us, despite what we experience and feel.
The truth is the devil has an easy time distracting us from praying. We get discouraged. Our weak flesh torments and tortures us, drawing hearts and minds away from Christ and His Word and promises. We take offense too easily. We give up too quickly. We forget that our loved ones desperately need our prayers. Our faith is too timid. So this morning it takes a bold prostitute and a bold nameless woman to put our faith to shame and show us how to truly pray.
And it is good, right and salutary to see and emulate such examples of the Christian faith and life. But what we need more is mercy for our lack of faith, our lack of prayer, and our doubt and despair of God’s goodness and mercy.
And that is exactly what you receive this morning! The God who sent Joshua into the region of Canaan, who sent Jesus into the region of Tyre and Sidon, has sent Jesus into your region. This region of Indianpolis, filled with demons that seek to devour you and your loved ones, to mislead you and deceive you into false belief, shame and vice. This same Jesus who came from a region called heaven into this region called earth to rescue you from that region called hell has died for you, defeating the devil for you.
Those women may have been bold, but Jesus was even bolder. We filled His cup of suffering with our sins. And He boldly asked the Father to let the cup pass from Him. But the Father didn’t answer Him a word. Perhaps Jesus should have quit praying. But He didn’t. And if its not right to throw the children’s bread to the dogs, it certainly isn’t right to throw the Bread of Life to the dogs - Gentile dogs who would surround Him and mock Him and crucify Him for sins He didn’t commit.
Yet that is what His Father desired for Him for your sake. Perhaps He should have quit praying to the Father. But He didn’t. Perhaps He should have prayed to the Father for Him to send twelve legions of angels to spare Him. But He didn’t. So that He could spare you.
Perhaps He should have stopped praying when His lungs were crushed and He could barely breathe and it looked as though the devil had won. But He didn’t. But so that you might win and receive the victory He prayed for you, Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit (Lk 23:46)! He then rose on the Third Day, ascended into heaven, and still hasn’t quite praying. He still today intercedes for His Church at the Father’s Right Hand. As it is written, He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him since He always lives to make intercession for them (Heb 7:25).
And for you poor Gentiles, the same Spirit which Christ committed to the Father raised Him from the dead and is poured out on you in your Baptism. The Spirit who drowned your demons and raised up a new man to live before God by faith, in righteousness and purity forever. He is the same Spirit who teaches you to be bold and confident in your prayers, to wrestle with God and His great promises, to endure evil with patience and to always expect good things from God, even when your experience and feelings tell you otherwise.
This is how you walk and please God, just as you are doing, in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ. And to never, ever be tempted to think that your prayers are worthless. Your family, your friends, your enemies, your church family need them. And through them, by striving and wrestling, our Lord Jesus strengthens your faith and forms and fashions you into a theologian.
Beloved, that same Spirit allows you to draw near to the Lord’s Table with confidence. Knowing that you are receiving more than crumbs here this morning that did not fall from heaven by mistake, but purposely directed into your mouth to forgive your sins, enliven your love, and strengthens a faith that places you into the ranks of Rahab and the Canaanite Woman, unlikely examples of great faith. For like them, your faith is great for your Savior is great.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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