Lent 2 + Reminiscere
Text: Matthew 15:21-28
Every so often, The Pew Research Organization performs a Religious Landscape Study. The data collected reveals whether Christianity is decreasing, plateauing, or increasing. How many individuals within the United States identify as Christians or another faith, how many actually attend services regularly, or how many individuals exercise their faith regularly through the daily reading of God’s Word and of prayer?
The study results are fascinating; you should read them if you have time.
Something that caught my eye is how the study says there is no longer a decline in Christianity; instead, those who identify as Christian have stabilized or plateaued. This was a change dating back to 2007, when the numbers had been in a downward spiral.
However, Americans reported being less likely to attend church regularly, if at all today, than in the past, and less than fifty percent of Christians read the Bible or pray daily.
To summarize, identifying as a Christian is steady, but exercising the actual faith of a Christian is down.
In some ways, I wonder if this is an appropriate image of the Church, visible and invisible. The visible church is the physical gathering of God’s people each Sunday as we are now. But the invisible church is only known to God, for only He knows man's faith and true heart. (1 Corinthians 2:10-11)
I believe the Gospel today also presents an aspect of the visible and invisible church. However, to gain context, you need to go back to the beginning of Matthew 15. There, we learn that the Pharisees and Scribes went out from Jerusalem to speak with Jesus.
They wanted to know this: "Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”
You have to listen carefully here. They are questioning why Jesus’ disciples do not keep their traditions, the traditions of the world.
Jesus responded to them by asking, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?”
You see, the Pharisees and Scribes had been placing their traditions before and above the commandments of God. They were putting the needs of this world above the will of God.
As Jesus says to them,
These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. (Matthew 15:8-9)
The Pharisees and Scribes were visible members of Israel, but their hearts did not lead them to be God’s children through faith.
So, fast-forward to today’s Gospel reading. Jesus left those “great” teachers of Israel and withdrew from the confrontation to the gentile region of Tyre and Sidon, a land of unbelievers.
But something happens as Jesus enters the region: a Canaanite woman, a descendent of pagan idol worshippers, sought Jesus and began to cry out, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”
The Greek tells us that this woman would continue to cry out, too; she would not relent in calling out to Jesus in her time of great need.
And this is where things appear to get a little weird, right?
Jesus’ demeanor and continence don’t even acknowledge this Canaanite. Instead, as Luther remarks, Jesus is “as silent as a stump.” (Martin Luther, AE 76, Page 379)
Think about this for a moment. The Pharisees and Scribes, who are supposed to be God’s children, will not acknowledge Jesus as the Christ and their Savior, but here is a woman who left behind everything in life on behalf of her possessed daughter to seek out this Jesus.
As an aside, how far are you willing to go for those you love? How persistent are you willing to be for the mercy of God, not only for you but for a son, daughter, or even a friend?
Your heart will reveal the truth, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, [and] blasphemies.”
The heart reveals what truly possesses you throughout this life and where you turn for help in difficult times.
The Pharisees and Scribes were unwilling to humble themselves before Jesus and, for that matter, the Word and will of His Father.
I wonder if part of our problem today is that our unwillingness to humble ourselves before one another now prohibits us from humbling ourselves and confessing our sin before God. This, too, is taught from a parent to a child. Yet, how does one teach a child to pray, humble themselves before God, and sing the Kyrie or Agnus Dei unless they are also willing to get on their knees and open the door of their lips themselves both in and out of the Divine Service?
You see, humility places us in submission to God, and this is precisely what the Pharisees and Scribes were unwilling to do.
However, this is exactly what faith calls us to do: recognize our inability to fulfill God's will, consistently submit to Him, and cry out to Him as the only One who can grant us relief from the many things that possess our family and us throughout this life.
Now, you may sympathize with the Canaanite's repeated requests of Jesus as you have also experienced times when it appeared your prayers were met with deaf ears.
But we must also remember to seek God where He has promised to be, where He continues to speak to us and reveal His will for us—in His Word.
As we heard in last week’s Gospel, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4)
Or as Peter responded to Jesus in the Gospel of John, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68a)
Where else is one to go for eternal life, then Jesus? Where is one to turn for the forgiveness of sin or to be freed from the torments and possessions of life?
Jesus is the object of the Canaanite Woman’s prayers, as she calls out to Him, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David!” She recognizes Him to be the promised Messiah, born of Mary, born of man.
Do you recognize Jesus as your Messiah and Savior with the same persistence?
Meaning, do you keep His Word ever before you, within your heart and upon your lips?
Or, again, the Apostle Paul wrote,
“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart; because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” (Romans 10:8-10)
As we journey through Lent, it would be appropriate to examine how persistent we are in reading God’s Word and praying. When we do not exercise our faith daily, we become weakened and susceptible to the cares of this life, in fact, they can even possess us.
As we look at today’s Gospel, we see that the Pharisees and Scribes were visible members of God’s chosen Israel, but they lacked the faith to be His children. In contrast, the Canaanite, the outsider, the new kid on the block, not only possessed true faith but exercised it with great vigor. This faith not only saved her, but it also freed her daughter from the very demons of life.
My friends, do not put off God’s Word or your prayers to the Son of David; it’s not only a matter of being part of the true Church on earth; it’s a matter of forgiveness, being made free from the things that possess your life, and everlasting life for you and your family. +INJ+
Rev. Noah J. Rogness
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Tomah, WI
