Lent 2
Text: Matthew 15:21-28
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
The Canaanite woman in today’s Gospel is in a wilderness.
Last week we heard how Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, but this week, the Canaanite woman is in a wilderness of her own.
There are powers of darkness pressing in upon her. She feels helpless as her daughter has become possessed by a deep evil, the disciples of Jesus just want her and her petitions for help to be silenced and sent away, and the One she believes to be the Son of David calls her a lapdog.
What a lonely, uninspiring, and hopeless situation for the woman.
Parents can sympathize with this Canaanite. When a child becomes sick, there is often very little you can do to “make them better.” But all you want to do as you hold the child is take their illness into yourself, that they might be freed from their infirmity.
This is what the Canaanite wants; she desires her daughter to be freed from her infirmity of evil and possession. But she cannot free her daughter herself but requires help from outside her.
For this reason, this gentile outcast looks to Jesus as He travels through the region of Tyre and Sidon. Her efforts were futile, and in her time of great need, she looked to the One whose name was spreading beyond the courts of Israel. She looks to Jesus and pleas for His mercy – His compassion and healing.
Yet, Scripture says, “[Jesus] answered her not a word.”
Jesus' demeanor and continence today lead us to question what kind of Lord is this? He does not appear to us as the Savior we have traditionally been taught to love. Instead, He’s indifferent to the needs of the Canaanite woman and, as Luther remarks, “as silent as a stump.” (Martin Luther, AE 76, Page 379)
Nonetheless, the Canaanite still sought Jesus and wasn’t going to relent. She says, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”
Her plea is packed with theological significance.
First, she recognizes Jesus as both true God and true man, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David!
Her plea sees Jesus as the object of her faith.
The usage of “Lord” throughout the Gospel of Matthew is common for the disciples because their faith is, in fact, placed in Jesus, whereas it is striking that this gentile woman who is outside of Israel would address the Son of David in such as way.
But that's just it; to call Jesus the "Son of David" not only confesses Him as the promised Messiah of Israel but also reveals that He is born of Mary, born of man – true God and true man.
For this Canaanite, Jesus is her only hope to rescue and redeem her beloved child from the present darkness.
So often in life, it takes situations where all our strength is either stripped away before we realize only Jesus, who endured the temptations of the devil and died upon the cross, can save us from the things that truly possess our hearts - the insecurities of employment, resentment for your neighbor, or anger towards family. Or for others, the heart is possessed by the concern for what might become or possess a child as they grow, mature, and depart the home for the wildernesses of this world. Yet, others continue to wrestle with God and the desire to have children.
All of this reveals to us that we all experience possessions of the heart as a result of our first parents' sin. The question is, with this knowledge, are we willing to humble ourselves before God our Father? Are we willing to admit no good comes from within us that was not first planted by the seed of God's Word and the work of the Holy Spirit?
The liturgy serves as a fertile ground for training the heart of the Christian to humble themselves and learn to pray and petition God the Father for His mercy and help. And if you think about it, this is a whole-body exercise – we go to our knees, often bowing our heads, while lifting our voices and praying in the Kyrie or Agnus Dei – “Lord, have mercy upon me.”
This posture confesses our inability to free ourselves of the result of sin while consistently and persistently teaching us to cry out to Jesus as the only One who can grant us relief from the many things that possess our families and us throughout this pilgrimage.
Still, you may sympathize with the Canaanite's repeated requests of Jesus as you had also experienced times when it appeared your prayers were met with the deaf ears of Jesus. But Luther provides us these words regarding the perception Jesus does not care for the woman or answer her pleas, he says:
[Jesus] does not say, “I will not listen to you,” but is silent and says neither yes nor no… Also He does not say that [the woman] is not of the house of Israel, but that He was sent only to the house of Israel [Matt. 15:24]… [Further] He does not say, "You are a dog, and we should not give you the children's bread"; rather, "It is not right [to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs]" [Matt. 15:26]… Nevertheless, all three points sound more like no than yes, even though there is more yes than no…In fact, there is only yes [cf. 1 Cor. 1:19–20], it [just] looks like no.[1]
Often our prayers appear to be met with silence or indifference. But we must also remember to seek God where He has promised to be and 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)
The Word of God is the peace that frees us and our hearts from bondage and temptation.
And as the Baptized, you not only have His Word, but you also possess His name. Wyatt and Emerson received this joy today. They were made children of their heavenly Father, and the unclean spirits of Satan that once possessed them were exercised from their hearts. However, this does not assure them of a life of walking on sunshine, but quite the opposite.
Luther writes,
Remember, then, that it is no joke to take sides against the devil and not only to drive him away from the little child, but to burden the child with such a mighty and lifelong enemy. Remember too that it is very necessary to aid the poor child with all your heart and strong faith, earnestly to intercede for him/her that God, in accordance with this prayer, would not only free him from the power of the devil, but also strengthen him, so that he may nobly resist the devil in life and death.
So, from this day forward, the life of Wyatt and Emerson and all of us is to be a life of persistent prayer and petitions for help and redemption.
And you can make these prayers because you have received the Holy Name of God in Baptism, and as we sang in the opening hymn, "I bind unto myself today, the strong name of the Trinity…."
The strong name is now to be your guard:
Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile foes that mar [your] course…
What a joy it is to receive this Holy Name of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, for in it, you are a child of God, and He now fights for you and frees you from all possession of sin.
This is the thing about baptism; it gathers all believers, gentiles, and outcasts who reside in the wildernesses of life into Christ Jesus and provides them the source, foundation, and assurance for their prayers.
As we journey through this Lent, examine what possesses your heart, what have you been unable to heal or change? Then learn from the Canaanite woman and with persistent faith, cry out to your Savior, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! Trusting that the God Israel has come into the wildernesses of your life, He hears your pleas, and through His death and resurrection, you have mercy, forgiveness, and eternal life. +INJ+
Rev. Noah J. Rogness
Associate Pastor, Immanuel Evangelical-Lutheran Church
Alexandria, VA
[1] Luther, M. (2013). Gospel for the Second Sunday in Lent. In B. T. G. Mayes, J. L. Langebartels, & C. B. Brown (Eds.), Luther’s Works: Church Postil II (Vol. 76, p. 381). Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House.
