Song of the Day

ELCA Benefits Reflect ELCA Policy

Dress Episcopalian, act Episcopalian - ELCA Presiding Bishop Hanson lit the fuse to destroy his synod, pretending to be neutral.

Meanwhile, the Episcopalians have a real man for their PB.

ELCA's new health plan policies will reflect the doctrine of the apostates. They have been paying for abortions under the plan, showing the real nature of their compassion. Now they will add same-sex clergy spouses. They have invented a lot of new church worker categories, so those spouses will be covered too. Nobody told ELCA that same-sex health coverage is an exception in the big corporations - not for lack of coverage. The rules make it difficult for people to qualify. They have to show they are together for more than a brief fling and they have to apply for it.

Nevertheless, ELCA is hastening to remind its fleeing congregations why they are hitting the exit doors as fast as they can. The new rules and health plan are a matter of pure justice, in synodical minds, so there is no reason to listen to any other position.

Ralph Bohlmann's daughter must be rejoicing, because she is now a UCC minister and living with her female partner and adopted children. Bohlmann was the Otten choice for LCMS Synod President.

We should judge synods by their policies and actions, not by their claims. The late Father Richard J. Neuhaus labeled himself "confessional Lutheran" until the moment he became a Roman Catholic priest.

In spite of what WELS claims about its doctrinal stance, this is what its practice and policies show:

1. Women pastors are legitimate and there is nothing in the New Testament against this trend, which is routinely accepted by members, pastors, and Doctrinal Pussycats.
2. Open communion is good, but should be "Don't ask, don't tell" open communion.
3. The liturgy is bad. So is the name Lutheran. And "church."
   
4. Rock music and entertainment are much better than the liturgy and hymns.
5. The Book of Concord is obsolete and irrelevant.
6. Synod leaders should attend as many non-Lutheran worship gatherings as possible, because those people know how to do real evangelism.
7. The worst false teachers make the best leaders at the synodical schools.
8. Doctrinal discipline is for those who appeal to the Scriptures and the Confessions.


9. Pastors should be divorced and remarried, because they make better ministers, just as they claim. But the facts should be hidden, lest the weak in faith be offended.
   
10. When a rich man divorces and marries his mistress, it is a "Scriptural divorce."

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Former LCA Bishop James Crumley on his disagreement with ELCA and PB Hanson. Interestingly, I had lunch with Crumley after I left the LCA, at the Ad Fontes conference where I met Neuhaus. Crumley glanced at my nametag and knew I was in WELS already.

Remember how rad I was for saying things like this about the LCA? Now Crumley is saying as much. Remember that, WELSians and ELsians, when you trash-talk this blog. I was 22 years ahead of the boss then, too. I still am, and people are catching up.

ELCA Changes Benefit Plans For Their Newly Approved Same-Sex Clergy Couples

ELCA Pension Changes

"Trustees of the Board of Pensions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America have taken steps to extend various plan benefits to eligible partners in same-gender relationships.

At their Feb. 26-28 meeting in Minneapolis, the trustees adopted recommended amendments to the Board's medical and dental, retirement, survivor and disability benefits plans, plus its flexible spending plan that allows members to set aside pre-tax dollars to pay for eligible health care and dependent care expenses throughout the year."

Will gerbils be covered in the new plan?

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LCMS ex-SP Ralph Bohlmann, was voted out of office.

I gave up on Missouri when Bohlmann was re-elected in Indianapolis. I was there with Mrs. Ichabod.

Otten backed Bohlmann in those days, just as he backed Jack Preus before Bohlmann and Al Barry after Bohlmann. That is the danger of backing a man instead of sound doctrine. They were all opportunists. At least Jack Preus did a few good things and advanced Chemnitz publications in his spare time.

Ralph's daughter Lynn is now a UCC pastor and has adopted two children with her female partner, according to Christian News.

The UCC is where the LCA pastor went into exile when he left his wife for a walk on the wild side. Now he is back in ELCA. Pause. Dab eyes.

The United Church of Christ hosted Seminex, which became the official seminary of the Metropolitan Community Church. I pointed out those facts when Paul Kuske, Roger Zehms (now with Mark Jeske) and Floyd Luther Stolzenburg started Pilgrim Community Church.

The Crying of the Children and the Lamentation of Their Vimin

Anti-anti-CG bloggers are crying, sulking, pouting, and holding their breath until their lips turn blue.

I used to hear the Bethany Seminary students recite their favorite quotation from Conan the Barbarian, "To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear crying of the children and the lamentation of their vimin." Only Arnold could recite a line like that without laughing.

In the interest of honoring the Eighth Commandment, I have to admit that no anonymous poster on this blog is a Church Growther (Shrinker) or a Church and Changer (Chicanery). They are not Church Growth, just anti-anti-Church Growth.

Joe Krohn moved from one generic Babtist WELS emerging church (CrossWalk in Phoenix) to another one in Round Rock (Rock N Roll with Doebler), and he often posted on the Church and Change list with his complete name, fairly drooling over their confabs. But Joe Krohn is not one of them. I know because he claimed he was not.

Nor is Kudu Don Patterson a Church and Changer. He did present there and he actually traveled a long distance to be at their 2009 gathering. But he is not a Chicanery, because he said he was not. He probably went to Exponential for the same reason, just to look around and scowl at all the WELS workers who were there practicing unionism.

Mrs. Ichabod just reminded me - Patterson took a bunch of WELS workers to Exponential. Never mind. He is a District VP, so everything he does is orthodox.

Joe Krohn shut down and erased his second major effort at blogging. I checked in once a week to see if I was the only reader. I was.

Someone told me Krohn and Patterson were buddies.

Krohn's blogging pal, Tim Felt-Needs, just wrote that it was not worth his precious time to write on Ichabod. Of course, I do not remember him using his real name very often. Perhaps he meant writing some more superficial posts on his blog, where he defends yet another WELS emerging church - Victory of the Movie Screen and Treats.

That made me wonder about the fake blog. Once again, all those files are erased. Joe Krohn erased his blog twice. The fake Ichabod erased his blog two times. Just sayin'.

The fake blog was hotter than Georgia asphalt for UOJ and Church Growth. I have not seen so much passion since Wally Oelhafen, Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, and Paul Kuske joined forces.

I let the nasty anonymous comments through all the time because I wanted the WELS members and pastors to see what the Church Growth people are like. They have been doing the same thing to the duly elected elected SP of WELS. The members and pastors are not aware of what goes on. I do not have a direct line, of course. I have just observed their published behavior, with the Kelm calls (twice) and the Stetzer and Sweet invitations.

Too bad no one will ever see what the Shrinkers did with all the loot from Marvin Schwan. But at least everyone can see what they have done to Lutheran doctrine, Lutheran worship, and Lutheran practice. Their showcase exhibits are The CORE, Victory of the Movie Theater, Latte Lutheran Church, GunnWalk, Rock N Rock, and a few other money pits.

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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "The Crying of the Children and the Lamentation of ...":

Here's one of Joe Krohn's statements on the Church and Change WELS listserve discussing satanist Leonard Sweet's invitation to teach them:

"I have been following this Dr. Sweet thread and it's morphs with great interest.

This is a great example of the verse "iron sharpens iron" a pastor friend of mine uses quite often. Just to interject, and this may have been stated already; yes, we live in the end times, but we are not growing and there are churches that have experienced phenomenal growth in the last 10 to 15 years. We have to do something. I don't know if I'll be at the conference, but I am somewhat put off by the fact that it is assumed by some on this list that some of us cannot discern what is good and what is bad. The casual/baby Christian/low end of the spectrum faith worshipper is not going to be at the Conference. These are people with strong faiths who show genuine concern about the future of our Synod and theology. Reaction on this list is proof of that. We are pretty much WELS Christians who are very involved in our churches. Thank the Lord that Luther was able to discern. Luther is a great example to look at in times like these. Take what is good and throw out the bad. But you have to remain relevant in today’s society and if we need to bring in someone who can help us, I say go for it! When I see churches like Lakewood in Houston buy the old Omni because of their growth, or Saddleback in California, or Chandler Christian Church right in my back yard buying up chunks of real estate to expand, I think they must be doing something right!! I would never approve of their theologies, but hey, why can’t we take what they are doing right and graft it on our theology? We’re pretty proud of our theology aren’t we? At least that’s the impression I get from this list. We have to get proactive. I fear our Synod has waited too long. At times I grieve for WELS. We just need to get as evangelical as the Evangelicals are and be like it says in our name: Wisconsin EVANGELICAL Lutheran Synod.
God Bless you all!
Joe Krohn"

WELS: S.S. Titanic

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rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "The Crying of the Children and the Lamentation of ...":

Joe Krohn is wrong in more ways than one. Iron does not sharpen iron. You need a harder metal to sharpen the softer metal. Tool steel can sharpen iron. Since we are on this subject, "the Word of God is quicker and more powerful than any two-edged sword".

***

GJ - I wonder if the iron reference began with the Iron Sharpens Iron Babtecostal Conferences. The speakers are the usual bunch, not quite the A List icons of Exponential. Chuck Colson is the first name I really recognized, but I don't go to Schwaermer conferences for a seven-day high. I have grandchildren for that, and it lasts 24/7.

I am not making any charges, but these ecumenical conferences attract WELS and Missouri Shrinkers the way Velcro attracts lint.

Eighth Commandment, They Squawk

Where Are the Dysfunctional Clowns Who Used to Romp on This Blog

EastCoast wrote:

Say, I've noticed Ichabod being very tame lately and very many fewer comments and "flaming darts." Good for you. Bad for us who look to it for entertainment! Oh well, fun while it lasted. Can't say I blame you. They were getting more than just over the top but downright nasty.

He also likes the WELS Church Lady comments, which are entertaining and right on target.

Once I started OpenID, which effectively blocked spam comments, I lost all the nasties. That is the most apparent characteristic of false teachers and their zombie diciples (Stetzer spelling) - fear of discovery. The WELS grapevine is used by the Enthusiasts to plant stories about anyone who dares impede their takeover of synodical functions. No one is spared, if he is in the way. Corky K. was "brain-damaged" because he criticized Church Growth and amalgamation. The former seminary president was "senile" because he did not want Northwestern College neutered. Who spoke these horrible slanders? I do not know, because their grapevine droppings are all anonymous.

The nasties win because they never let up, never stopped working together, never stopped networking.

At the moment the Shrinkers seem to be ahead because they are all gainfully employed. Paul Calvin Kelm did not even use up his severance pay, so he had a little bonus to buy wifey some rose bushes for their new home.

Do not be surprised if another The CORE pops up somewhere, funded by useful idiots recruited by Jeske and Company. Watch certain Doctrinal Pussycats replaced by younger Doctrinal Pussycats, like Seifert replacing Robert Mueller years ago.

WELS consists of two overlapping, DNA-linked circles. One is built on a bluff - the WELSian heritage of Enthusiasm, Unionism, and Pietism. The other is built on a rock - the Word and the Confessions.

The first group is well fed, well paid, and pampered, interlarded in the entire synodical network--including FIC, the colleges, and positions you would never guess. The second group is scattered and ignored.

Dog...gone.

Bloom's Taxonomy and the Repeat-After-Me MDivs

Paul McCain, MDiv, leads the Gadarene swine off the cliff, in the name of Universal Objective Justification.

I am not keen on educational theory and often exchange emails with a conservative from California on that topic. However, Bloom's taxonomy is still big in higher education and illustrates the reasons behind McCain's Enthusiasm.

MDivs are trained to stay at the bottom level, and they do.

Missouri bought their Purple Palace land from Vianney Prep, so saints could be venerated on both sides of Kirkwood and Holy Mother (fill in the blank) Church could be worshiped antiphonally.

The lowest level of education is repeat-after-me memorization. That is what seminaries teach MDivs, concentrating on why their synod is the only one and how their founders walked six feet off the ground, like the Remarkable Cure d'Ars, St. John Vianney. (That is my little joke, since the Purple Palace was built on land bought from Vianney High School in St. Louis.)

At Yale, Brevard Childs told me he could identify the date ministers graduated from seminary by their libraries. They never grew intellectually after ordination. The UOJ fanatics following Robert Preus.1 are proof of that maxim. They are stuck in 1987 and cannot face the obvious from Justification and Rome: Preus repudiated UOJ.

We all know that Walther and F. Pieper were infallible, so anyone questioning their infallible wisdom deserves the Left Foot of Fellowship, even if the Founders plagiarized the Pietists and George Christian Knapp. See also his translator, Leonard Wood.

L P Cruz has tried to help McCain see the errors of UOJ, but McCain wants his blog filled with comments from the UOJ claque.

The UOJ Stormtroopers endlessly repeat their slogans, avoiding the issue of the Brief Statement, to wit:

"Scripture teaches that God has already declared the whole world to be righteous in Christ, Rom. 5:19; 2 Cor. 5:18-21; Rom. 4:25; that therefore not for the sake of their good works, but without the works of the Law, by grace, for Christ's sake, He justifies, that is, accounts as righteous, all those who believe in Christ, that is, believe, accept, and rely on, the fact that for Christ's sake their sins are forgiven."

Therefore, the official LCMS position, based upon their own canonical Brief Statement, teaches Universalism and Enthusiasm. The entire world is absolved of sin, they claim. They make fun of the WELS Kokomo Statements but they teach the same thing. It is Calvin improving on the language of Zwingli, but it is still Enthusiasm. Their New Testament citations do not support their cause.

How did Missouri, WELS, and the ELS provide such a welcome for the Church Growth Movement? Answer - they already taught Enthusiasm.

Every year we await the miracle of the pancakes, when a ghostly image of Steve Kurtzahn, WELS, CLC, WELS, appears on a stack of Shrove Tuesday pancakes.

WELS church lady has left a new comment on your post "Mid-Week Lenten Service, Because We Are Not an Eme...":

Hello Pastor GJ! What is the difference between a Tuesday Lenten Service and a Wednesday one? My church, and other WELS churches that I have visited, all have Wednesday Lenten Services. I understand that when you were in the CLC(sic), you preached a Shrove Tuesday Service.(this information was posted on the blog by GJ) Just curious!

In Christ,
from WELS church lady

***

GJ - Kurtzahn is death on Shrove Tuesday pancakes. He was willing to wreck two congregations over that manufactured issue, guided by the sinister Paul Tiefel and the bumptious David Koenig. Suddenly, he was in WELS again.

However, we have Tuesday mid-week services because I am teaching Wednesday evenings and also on some Thursday evenings.

Ash Wednesday was invented by the papacy to make the number of days come out right for Lent. Nevertheless, Ash Wednesday is a good way to start the Lenten season.

One reason we have Lenten services is to show we are not an Emerging Church sect. For all their yakking about outreach (mostly yakking about, not doing), the Emerging WELS congregations (aka Babtist generic) avoid Lent.

The CORE, burning through $20,000 a month, does not have mid-week Lenten services on their nearly empty calendar. They dasn't compete on Sunday mornings and do not try on Wednesday evenings. What would WELS evangelism do without The CORE bleeding members off local WELS congregations? That is Outreach with a big ZERO.

Howzabout Rock N Roll, the WELS congregation that has snuffed out two blogs already (Rock N Roll, Luther Rocks)? They have no Lenten services listed, only Fireproof Your Marriage, another program cloned from Fundiesintheirundies.org.

Wear your asbestos knickers if you attend on Wednesday.

Are 3-D glasses covered by the freewill offering?

Mid-Week Lenten Service, Because We Are Not an Emerging Church, 7 PM Central

Mid-Week Lenten Vespers


Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Worship, 7 PM Central Standard Time

The Hymn # 558 All Praise 4:44
The Order of Vespers p. 41
The Psalmody Psalm 2 p. 123
The Lection The Passion History

The Sermon Hymn # 657 Beautiful Savior 4:2

The Sermon – Abba, Father

The Prayers
The Lord’s Prayer
The Collect for Grace p. 45

The Hymn #538 Now the Shades 4:53


Abba, Father

KJV Mark 14:36 And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.

KJV Romans 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

KJV Galatians 4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

This is a remarkable passage because it unites the universally known Lord’s Prayer with the suffering of Christ. Our two references in Romans and Galatians are equally significant. Paul is also uniting the Lord’s Prayer with the suffering of Christ.

The harmony we find in these passages comes from the work of Christ. He became our brother so that we would be adopted into the family, into the Kingdom of God.

That is spelled out in John’s Gospel, which is so much like a running commentary on the first three Gospels.

KJV John 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.


The Synodical Conference MDivs want to lecture everyone on the shortcomings of faith, but John’s Gospel teaches the opposite of their opinion. There is an interesting verse here, because two verbs are used in parallel, which is common in Hebrew. One verb explains the other.

“as many as received Him”
and
“even to them that believe on His Name.”

The Word of God is consistently monergistic, that is, it always glorifies God in divine activity. The Gospel Promises convert people to faith and sustain people in their faith, both through the Word and the Sacraments.

The Holy Spirit opens the heart to receive Christ. Receiving Christ is the concept parallel to believing. God acts through the Word and the individual receives what God offers so freely. And God continues to patiently offer His grace to all people. Nevertheless, some obstinately oppose the Word while others believe for a time and turn away for various bad reasons (Matthew 13 and Mark 4, Parable of the Sower).

Those who believe in Christ, according to John, have the right to become children of God. John 1:7 makes it abundantly clear that receiving equals believing.

KJV John 1:7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

This means that we are included in God’s family, as brothers of Christ, when we pray that prayer which He taught His disciples as the example all should follow.

As many have heard, the term “Abba” is a term of endearment never found in Hebrew for addressing God.

Because Jesus is the only-begotten Son of God, He addresses God the Father as “Abba” – dear Father. Every language and dialect has a similar term, and many families use their own favorite term, whether papa, father dear, or daddy, or pops. Ethnic groups have their own favorite terms of endearment, too. All of them are different from solemn usage, so this never translates very well.

In Galatians and Romans are two examples of Paul calling upon that very term Abba. In other words, when we pray to God at any time, we are praying just like Jesus, addressing Him as Abba – Dear Father.

One reminds us of being adopted (monergism). The other teaches us about the Spirit helping us to pray. As I have mentioned before, Paul’s admonitions to pray are always accompanied by Gospel Promises, something we also find in the Gospels themselves.

John 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. 9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.

In this prayer from Mark 14, Jesus prayed to have the cup pass from Him, to escape the terrible torture, abandonment, and death that awaited Him. Here we see His human nature, because the fear alone of such death scattered the disciples. Jesus is an example of prayer, because He did not equate prayer with a demand, but said – Not my will, but yours.

All these passages uniting the word Abba with prayer teach the same thing – that we are children of God and brothers of Christ through faith in Him. God listens to us as He does to His only-begotten Son. He knows us by name and listens to each one of us, giving us the standing of His Son. And we listen to His wisdom through the teaching of the Scriptures, saying, “Not my will, but yours.”

Luther on the Anything Goes District

ELCA Wins By Losing

Not so dumb.

Many assume that ELCA is suffering terrible losses due to its polarizing vote on homosexual clergy, even though the vote was only one more step in a long list of leftward shifts, which began with Franklin C. Fry's efforts against inerrancy in the ULCA.

Large congregations are leaving ELCA and many are holding back their congregations. The final result will be:

1. ELCA will have little opposition when future votes are taken.
2. ELCA will control vast pension assets.
3. ELCA will continue to receive benefits as members die with irrevocable trusts in place or wills left unchanged.
4. ELCA will own and control its own property.

These results are equivalent to the Book of Concord wing, admittedly small, winning control of everything from the Presiding Bishop's office down to the ELCA church camps, a clean sweep.

ELCA is not so dumb. Incompetent, apostate, and disgusting - but not dumb. The more they lose, they more they dominate what remains. They are standing at the door, shouting, "Bye bye!" as they see some depart and trip up others who want to leave. If an ELCA pastor tries to take his congregation through the exit votes and fails, he or she is doomed from that moment on.

So far, no ELCA bishop in office has shown the spine of Episcopalian bishops who have taken entire districts out of their denomination.

Reminiscere Sunday, The Second Sunday in Lent

The Holy Trinity, by Norma Boeckler

Reminiscere Sunday, The Second Sunday in Lent


Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time


The Hymn #652 I Lay My Sins on Jesus 1:24
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn # 454 Prayer Is the Soul's Sincere Desire 1:41

Was Jesus a Faith-ian?

The Hymn # 281 The Savior Calls 1:29
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn # 374 Grace Tis a Charming Sound 1:91

KJV 1 Thessalonians 4:1 Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. 2 For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: 4 That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; 5 Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: 6 That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. 7 For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

KJV Matthew 15:21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. 23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. 24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. 27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. 28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

Second Sunday In Lent
Lord God, heavenly Father, grant us, we beseech Thee, by Thy Holy Spirit, that He may strengthen our hearts and confirm our faith and hope in Thy grace and mercy, so that, although we have reason to fear because of our conscience, our sin, and our unworthiness, we may nevertheless, with the woman of Canaan, hold fast to Thy grace, and in every trial and temptation find Thee a very present help and refuge, through Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.


Was Jesus a Faith-ian?
Recently, a seminary graduate with three years of parish experience used “faith-ian” as a term of mockery. He wanted to mock justification by faith, but he ended up mocking his own lack of discernment and his own limited education.

This miracle story is often described as “the Canaanite woman” because the main point involves her and her responses to Jesus. This is often included among the hard sayings of Jesus because He appears to be aloof, even rude to her. Each miracle has one or two main points. One issue in this miracle is Jesus’ mission to His own people, and how that expanded. The other issue is God’s apparent lack of concern.

This is the kind of Gospel story that becomes a snare for rationalists. When they feast on the Word, they do not know what they have, so they use the truths of Scripture to mock the Word of God. This always attracts a following, so they think themselves very wise.

Jesus appears to be callous in this miracle, which goes against our perception. But the Word reveals the true portrait and not a sentimental one, so we have to find out why this particular miracle is so important that it was included, when many others might have described in its place.

First of all, a Gentile woman implored Jesus to cure her daughter, who was grievously vexed by a devil. We can imagine the torment of a neurological disorder or demonic possession, one as bad as the other. For example, in one rare disorder, the body sends horrendous pain signals to the individual because the chemical path is dysfunctional. There is no actual pain, but the child feels intense pain nevertheless.

The woman called out to Jesus and used His Messianic title, Son of David, but Jesus did not even respond.

The disciples interceded with Jesus, to silence her by giving her what she wanted.

And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.

Jesus answer was worse than silence.

24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

He offered a reason for rejecting her, and many people crumple when rejected twice in a row. Fear of rejection is one of our greatest fears, and this happened twice to this mother who only wanted her child cured.

The Canaanite woman asked Him a second time, worshiping Him:

25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.

The next response was the worst of all. Jesus made a comparison. Healing His own people was caring for His children, but healing her daughter was taking bread away from children to throw it to the dogs. We do not understand “dog” to be a great insult, but it is hardly a flattering term. Then and now, “dog” is the worst kind of insult among Jews and Muslims.

26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.

That should have been her final defeat. But she took the words we see as insulting and used them to ask again:

27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the [little] dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.

Jesus commended her for her faith and her daughter was immediately healed.

28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

We can see from the entire miracle that Jesus was not lacking in compassion. In fact, He never rejected a single plea for help. We have to look at the context of this healing to see what is being taught by this exchange.

On one level, Jesus seems to be limiting His mission to the Jewish people alone. But that does not hold true. There is one path to salvation shown by this exchange. The non-Jewish woman acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah – Son of David. She worshiped Him as God. Finally, Jesus commended her faith. Therefore Jesus is the Savior – not by reason of birthright (by being a Jew) – but through faith in Him. Therefore, no one is excluded by reason of birthright. This woman prevailed because her sincere faith in Him would not let her give up. In other words, this was not the virtue of the woman, but her trust in the true nature of Christ, which is all compassion.

Meaning of the Miracle
This miracle also has an important message for all who think they are being ignored by God in their prayers. Silence seems to be the answer at first. Then, when others seem to have their prayers answered in abundance, God’s answer seems to be – “You are not one of the Chosen.” In fact, many nominal Christians are only too glad to see misfortune as a sign that someone else is cursed. They may offer many insights about this, such as saying, “You don’t believe hard enough,” or “You go to the wrong church,” or “God must be punishing you.”

Those insights would be difficult to match up with the lives of the early Christians or Christ Himself. The saints were not spared at all. Those who led the church through the Reformation suffered every type of persecution, torture, and death.

The woman is an example of one who saw, through the eyes of faith, the true nature of Christ. Why would she stop asking if she saw every response as additional signs of His Messianic role?

I saw the funniest example of this when a little girl asked her father 10 times in a row for treats. Every time he said “No!” she grinned and asked again. He finally said “Yes,” proving that she knew his true nature.

Translating the answers Jesus gave, we can see the following lessons.

God’s silence does not mean a lack of attention or compassion. That by itself is an answer for a period of time. We cannot fathom God’s wisdom so we trust in His wisdom rather than in ours. God allows many episodes like this in our lives so we can see how God instantly solves problems we cannot possible solve ourselves. Each episode deepens our trust in Him and His abiding love, especially when we see that His solutions work when ours do not.

“Throw it to the dogs” is a good remedy against thinking that God prefers some over others, especially some as opposed to us. That may be our perception for a long period of time, but our view from the outside is often wrong on all essentials. Why do they have five healthy children and I have none? Or - why are they so healthy and ours are full of complicated problems? Human reason and experience will see only problems. Faith will see blessings not given to others who take their benefits for granted.

Faith-ians
I know that generations of Lutheran pastors from the LCMS, WELS, and ELS have been trained to make fun of justification by faith. They do not understand the order of salvation, which explains why they fall for anti-Christian fads like Church Growth.

Briefly, this is it:
The Holy Spirit works through the Law to crush our sinful pride and show us our sin. However, the Law can only prepare us for the Gospel. The Law is useful and spiritual, but limited.
The Holy Spirit works through the Gospel Promises to plant faith in our hearts. This faith is trust in the mercy, love, and goodness of God, as shown in the crucifixion of Christ. The Holy Spirit distributes these Promises through the Word and Sacraments, sustaining our faith.

Much more could be said, but it is worthwhile to remember that Jesus said:

O woman, great is thy faith.

That must make faith something good in the eyes of Christ. In fact, Jesus marveled more than once at the faith of individuals, showing us that trust in Him is very good indeed. Since this faith is the work of the Holy Spirit, it is a gift of God and not a work of man.

Since Jesus commended faith and others deride faith, that must make them anti-Christians while they pose as Christians, wolves in sheep’s clothing. We are warned against them.