Pastor/Editor Herman Otten - Please Read the Back of Your Book and Apologize to the Maier Family. Rolf and the Preussian Reunion - You Are Next

 This is the front of the book, which Scaer says was based on Otten's research essay. Scaer said STM, but I thought Wash U. MA. Otten was close to the Dr. Maier's widow and the family.

 This is the back of the Otten book. The OJists would have us believe that everyone in the LCMS always believed in OJ. CFW Walter caught it from Bishop Stephan, but it was not as contagious as the bishop's syphilis, which he gave to many young girls in his sex cult. Missouri's 1905 German catechism and later KJV catechism only taught Justification by Faith.

 Walter Maier II is a jolly guy. I met him at the Rutz funeral.  This group picture seems to be 4 earned doctorates out of 4, maybe 3 out of 4, a good return. Have you noticed how grim and angry the OJists are? Brrr. The anti-Gospel cowardly Universalism of OJ bears no fruit. Hence, LCMS-ELCA-WELS-ELS-CLC sic have "fallen into ruin."

 Scaer's jealousy of the Maier family knows no bounds. This is his description of Dr. Walter A. Maier, who virtually invented radio evangelism, taught Justification by Faith as the capstone and inerrancy as the cornerstone of Christianity. Scaer: "Here was a potentially deadly potion of historical, theological, political, emotional and family issues." (p. 255, Surviving the Storms. Ha. [Referring to Dr. Walter A. Maier, who earned a Ph.D. in Semitics at Harvard. Scaer failed his doctorate in Germany and came home to get one at Concordia, St. Louis.]

ELDONA - Home of the Whopper. Heiser Graduated from Concordia Seminary, Ft. Wayne, Without ever Hearing Objective Justification?Fellow Alumnus Verified David Scaer Taught OJ in Dogmatics

 The Right Reverend James Rodham Heiser, STM, has no credibility when it comes to Justification by Faith.
ELDONA has a strange passion for beards.

Mars Society Presentation




Note on the video above -

1. Rydecki knew there were pastors who actually taught the Chief Article 16:50;
2. ELDONA certainly had pastors who were loudly UOJ and ones like Heiser who knew the difference, but gladly worked with Rolf Preus;
3. Bishop Heiser gulped (17:03) when he lied about "not being cognizant of this heresy"  UNTIL Pastor Rydecki was booted from WELS, 2012. Heiser was quite aware in 2000. He refused to deal with the issue for 12 years, so ELDONA was not a swarm of OJ deniers, as he claims. An alumnus of Ft. Wayne verified that Scaer taught OJ in Dogmatics class. Scaer mentioned OJ twelve times in his autobiography.
4. The video at 5.20 is fun, all kinds of excuses for not knowing OJ was wrong in seminary. Nobody mentions who troubled the waters of OJ while they were still comatose - moi.

What did he know and when did he know it?

 "Bishop Jim Rodham Heiser - what did we teach you at Concordia, Ft. Wayne? Bob Preus and I hammered OJ into you. You were upset at the Norfolk conference that someone "denied OJ", your words. Have you forgotten so soon?"

First, Pastor Paul Rydecki (formerly WELS) speaks about DP Buchholz lying to his congregation. All the WELS DPs are liars - Buchholz is just especially inept.

Rydecki was in the WELS Intrepid Lutherans (sic), a blog I suggested for group discussion of doctrine. They argued and were divided over Justification. At first, Rydecki argued for Objective Justification. My blog posts got them debating the origin of OJ, and Doug Lindee on that blog and now in ELDONA, I think agreed that OJ came from Halle Pietism.

Note this post on Pietism and OJ in particular - and the date - 2011.

Heiser's claim, 16.44 on the tape - that he "first became aware" of OJ during the Rydecki-Buchholz battle - is a blatant lie. He became aware when he read and sold copies of Thy Strong Word in 2000, which anyone can read for free here. He sold the first edition in 2000 and also told me he discovered how bad OJ was from my OJ quotations there. Before that, as a typical Ft. Wayne student, he thought OJ was fine. However, like many, he assumed OJ meant the Atonement - another deception by the OJists.

I challenged Heiser when he aligned with the Rolf Preus Synod and pretended nothing was wrong. He said, "We will get rid of Rolf later." I told him he would have to deal with Justification eventually, and that happened only with the prospect of Rydecki's congregation and property joining ELDONA and Kneprath's group also joining.

I gave up on Heiser when he decided to link up with the Rolf Synod, but I was encouraged when he was motivated to teach the Chief Article, even if a decade later. They did get rid of Rolf, as planned, but the rest of the tiny group ran back to the Little Sect on the Prairie, sobbing on Pope John the Malefactor's shoulder, hoping the terms of reconciliation would not be too harsh (Krauth reference). Rolf was not alone in his OJ fanaticism. His group agreed with him completely.

Rydecki conveniently skips the fact that he and I were in contact about Justification by Faith. Through a WELS friend, I put him in contact with the Latin works of Hunnius, which he translated.

 Most ELDONUTs are from Concordia Seminary, Ft. Wayne.
That may explain their attitudes and poor education.

Unfortunately, the OJ seminaries of WELS-LCMS-ELS teach their students to play political games and venerate their immaculate sect. OJ is the fuel that energizes deception - a habit that is hard to break.

How does one leave the greatest seminary ever - Bethany or Mordor or the Concordias - and not know what the Chief Article is? Please someone explain that to me.

 Fuller Seminary alumnus, Mordor President, destroyer of congregations.

Greek Students - Let Me Know You Are In Class. No Salesman Will Call.

Let me know if you are taking the Greek class using the Gospel of Mark. It is the same whether live or recorded. One student let me know the save was bad, so I published the autosave version.

Just send a note to greg.jackson.edlp@gmail.com.

I plan to have a navigation page for all the Mark videos, as they develop.

Midweek Lenten Service - 7 PM Central Daylight Time.Jesus Was Tempted

Mid-Week Lenten Vespers, 2019

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

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

Bethany Lutheran Worship, 7 PM Central Daylight Savings 

The Hymn # 240             Father Most Holy     
The Order of Vespers                                             p. 41

The Psalmody            Psalm   14                           p. 124
The Lection             
  
The Sermon Hymn #179   On My Heart  

         

Jesus Was Tempted

The Prayers and Lord’s Prayer                         p. 44

The Collect for Peace                                           p. 45

The Benediction                                                   p. 45

The Hymn # 558            All Praise to Thee

Mark 1:9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.

10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:

11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

12 And immediately the spirit driveth him into the wilderness.

13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.

14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,

15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Jesus Was Tempted - Compassionate and Merciful

From time to time the question comes up about the meaning of - The Father is greater than I. How are the members of the Trinity equal but the Father is greater?

Chemnitz answered in his Apology of the Book of Concord (against the Calvinists) - Compared to Jesus' human nature, the Father was greater in not being affected by physical harm. Jesus was subject to all our human failings, emotions, pain, and joy. Nevertheless, because the two Natures (divine and human) were and are united in Him, He did not give in to temptation.

Denying the temptation or trial is denying His human nature. Hebrews is such an eloquent summary of the entire Bible that it captures the meaning of His human nature and temptation perfectly.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

So we can see from this example that the temptation of Jesus, even in this brief form in Mark, can be understood in the message of the Gospel.

In His divinity, we see the power of the Son of God, from the Creation to Final Judgment. But in His humanity, there is nothing we face that He has not already faced as the God-Man Jesus.

Temptations are carnal and also inward. As James explains brilliantly, sin begins with the thought. Invisible sins often start with coveting (two commandments!). Coveting leads to actions that are carnal sins, which are self-justified by various excuses. There is so much of this that people become weary of it all.

A basic tenet of all counseling is that people help others when they have suffered the same temptations and problems. Jesus is that counselor. He has suffered the same temptations. He understands and helps the healing, which begins with forgiveness.

The first step is acknowledgement of sin. The second is trusting in the atoning death of Christ. The cross can be seen two ways. One is to see our sins on the cross. The second is to see them paid for on the cross. long before we existed. God set up a plan, knowing that man having freedom would sin. He promised Adam and Eve a Savior. She was so convinced of this that she said, "I have given birth to a man - God." That is the Hebrew pure and simple, because she believed the Messiah was already born. More importantly, she believed in the Savior, though He was to come much, much later.

Noah was a preacher of righteous, 2 Peter 2:15. That meant he preached the coming of the Savior. So did Moses and the prophets.

Abraham trusted he and Sarah would begin, beyond all human imagination, a line that would lead to the Messiah. He believed God's Promises and it was counted as forgiveness. He was Justified by Faith.

The journeys with the disciples for three years proved one thing for all readers. Those disciples were fallible men. They failed in the worst ways possible. They had little faith. They wanted places of honor in heaven. They ran away during the trial of Jesus. Worst of all, Peter denied Him three times, just as Jesus predicted.

But just as Peter denied Jesus three times before a charcoal fire, so he was absolved three times by Jesus before a second charcoal fire, John 21, when the risen Lord reminded them He would feed them - apart from the miraculous catch He delivered into their hands again.

One of the formal prayers says "God's power is chiefly shown in His mercy."

Luther called it "drowning our sins in an ocean of God's grace."

He emphasized being daily forgiven of all our sins, through faith.

But some say, "What about promising never to sin again, and failing? and failing again?"

No one can conquer sin, not even the most trivial. But God's healing power in Christ provides the greatest remedy possible. Rather than praising our own strength, we see the empathy of Christ, His suffering with us. When we see our life as one of constant forgiveness from God, it moves us to first see ourselves as sinners and to show the same graciousness with others. We cannot compare with His mercy, but we can use that as a guide.

Third Greek Lesson - Gospel of Mark - After the Midweek Service, Wednesday, 7 PM Central Daylight Time

Helps -

Parser - tells us the I.D. of the word

Lenski's Commentary - download as a PDF

Copy and paste a Greek word into Google, add "Strong" and "Thayer" - you will get an instant word study about that Greek word. This is modestly called "The Ichabod Greek Treasure Hunt."

English derivatives of Greek words

9 και εγενετο εν εκειναις ταις ημεραις ηλθεν ιησους απο ναζαρετ της γαλιλαιας και εβαπτισθη υπο ιωαννου εις τον ιορδανην

Hemerocallis - beautiful for a day; ephemeral

10 και ευθεως αναβαινων απο του υδατος ειδεν σχιζομενους τους ουρανους και το πνευμα ωσει περιστεραν καταβαινον επ αυτον

11 και φωνη εγενετο εκ των ουρανων συ ει ο υιος μου ο αγαπητος εν ω ευδοκησα

12 και ευθυς το πνευμα αυτον εκβαλλει εις την ερημον

13 και ην εκει εν τη ερημω ημερας τεσσαρακοντα πειραζομενος υπο του σατανα και ην μετα των θηριων και οι αγγελοι διηκονουν αυτω

14 μετα δε το παραδοθηναι τον ιωαννην, ηλθεν ο ιησους εις την γαλιλαιαν κηρυσσων το ευαγγελιον της βασιλειας του θεου

15 και λεγων οτι πεπληρωται ο καιρος και ηγγικεν η βασιλεια του θεου; μετανοειτε και πιστευετε εν τω ευαγγελιω

Roses in the Creation Garden - Some Basics

 Easy Does It blooms often and steadily in sunset colors, and it has a sweet fragrance.

Ranger Bob knocked on the door, then made scratching sounds. Sassy began barking her hello. She waits at Bob's home for him to come out, when we go on walks. Her look says, "This is my guy."

Bob said, "You better get some sunshine. It's raining tomorrow." I was already getting some things ready for planting roses. They came just before our mini-blizzard, two inches of snow, followed by zero degree temps. I had bare root roses arrive before the bad weather, sitting in barrels inside, water covering the roots. I moved them outside and added rainwater.

Roses can soak a long time, and they looked fine. Some even had green leaves on them.

 Veterans Honor is fragrant, lasts in the vase, and has spectacular blooms. We bought ours to honor cousin and veteran Peter Ellenberger

Why are roses such a good deal? When we plant them, it is their third year - leap year for many plants. When we buy small plants, which cost less per plant, they do very little the first year, a bit more the second, then really grow the third year: year 1 plant, year 2 sleep, year 3 leap.

Bare root roses will bloom one month after planting. Potted roses at the nursery are already blooming. One good, fresh rose sells for $5, sometimes less. One bush can cost $15 - $30. That is a good return, and everyone loves roses.

 Falling in Love is fragrant, pink and white, loved by our friend at the college, also by the couple who met in my classes. I cut two roses for their engagement, and we went to both weddings (the staffer's too).

I delivered cut daffodils to two neighbors. They look good but are not much in the vase until they are giant ones (in my opinion).

Sassy came outdoors to provide perimeter security while I planted. She does this with neighbors when I stop and talk. She positions herself for a view of the street, watches all movement, and shifts around for full coverage.

Bare root roses are easy to grow. I definitely believe in soaking shipped roses for two days, because they need to rehydrate. Mine had a long soak, so I wanted them in the garden before the rain, which supposedly starts at 4 am on the morrow.

Rain is free, safe, liquid fertilizer. Those who love roses will save rainwater or let tap-water stand 24 hours before using, to let the chlorine bleach evaporate out. Chlorine kills microbes, so we want  that gone from the plants when used. Rain has usable nitrogen dissolved in the water.

Our clay soil was damp, and rain was coming, so I did not add water.

I dug holes where I thought they would fit, pruned the canes and roots back, to spur growth, and filled in the soil plus Stinky Peat - peat moss plus manure, aka Peat Compost. I found red wiggler earthworms in the Stinky Peat, even though the bags were left outside all winter.

Meanwhile, I also pruned some of the roses from previous years, to get them started faster. Pruning them energizes their roots and branches. They love prunes.

I will watch the new roses in the coming weeks to make sure they have enough water, mulch, and pruning. Green leaves popping out are a good sign. Some established roses die, no matter what. I dig them out right away. Their empty places are good for new plants of some kind. A few may have gone wild, which means their wild roots are alive but the grafted hybrid tea rose top has died. I will get one set of dark red wild roses from them and dig them out. Wild roses only bloom once a year, and those much ballyhooed old roses are no different. Hybrid roses were able to blend perpetual blooming roses with the larger tea roses for the ones we enjoy today.

We met a gardener at the oncology clinic who did not know about the cure for Japanese beetles or the way beneficial bugs work.

Queen Elizabeth, front and center, is free of scent, but magnificent. Walter Lammerts, a Creationist PhD, developed this rose and Chrysler Imperial. The second rose outlasted the car. Too bad the Concordia Seminary St. Louis faculty has never gardened seriously. They might learn something about Creation, and the Bible has some good things to say about the concept.

Books Are Arriving This Week - Including Some Gems from Luther's Sermons

Some people are getting John's Gospel of Faith: From the Disciple Jesus Loved this week.  Amazon will send separate titles in different mailings, which arrive at varied times.

Most of the orders should be received by the end of this week. If you have questions, write me at greg.jackson.edlp@gmail.com.

December was the beginning of radiation for Christina, which multiplied doctor visits, tests, changes in medications.

I think most people are getting Calvin who expected it. Let me know if you were missed. I especially like to provide free extra copies for people who know others who might like the books. Gifts are given to provide them, so do not be shy.

 Calvin Ruined the Protestant Faith is the latest.

Why Link Popular Old Posts?

Governor Jake Preus, Minnesota, with his wife
and sons Robert (left), and Jack - aka JAO II.

Why would I go over the stats on all the posts and list the ones with more than 1,000 view?

One reason is to track the views that do not register on the summary pages. I will write that up later.

One page had 100 posts and 0 views, 0 responses on all of them. Accident or social media scrubbing?

Another reason is to give people an idea about what was happening in years past.

The blog is so big, with 17,000 posts, that the founder himself cannot find old posts with a search engine.

Pastors may want to consider blogging all their sermons. The reach is unlimited. Sadly, some WELS pastors found themselves caught in plagiarism, so they stopped publishing a written text that could be checked in a minute by a web browser or by Turn It In.

I will post a few more links each day and finish with a navigation page for all the sets - one stop shopping for sound doctrine, UOJ blasphemies, and the scandals spawned by Justification without Faith.

 "And so are you." - That is a routine debate tactic in the LCMS.

Confessing the Faith and Judging the Mercy of God. Reminiscere Sunday, The Second Sunday in Lent, 2019. Matthew 15

Reminiscere Sunday, 

The Second Sunday in Lent, 2019

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               

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 #142    A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining - Gerhardt  

True Faith

The Hymn #454          Prayer Is the Soul's Sincere Desire                

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 

Lutheran Library - Gerhardt's Biography

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.

Sermon Background

This miracle is considered one of the difficult sayings of Jesus, because it seems to offer an impression of Him being difficult, even insulting. One way to view such passages is to remember how much of His message went over the heads of the casual followers, on purpose, because they had curiosity but little faith. Some only wanted to view a new miracle, even if they had just witnessed one (John 6) so they did not listen to His divine Word and went away complaining. 

There is much in the Gospel messages that clash with human understanding from the start. One way people cope with that is to change its meaning and impose a distorting filter. I just read of a Lutheran professor who thought denying the raising of Lazarus was not a reason to break fellowship. He had to have developed a mindset where he could pick and choose portions of the Scripture and make the rest unimportant. I have found that to be true when asking rationalists about the Virgin Birth and resurrection of Christ, where they are even more absurd - "those are not important doctrines," they answered. The rationalists are clergy or about to be ordained, so that gives an idea about how hardened one can be when dealing with the Word of God.

There are many difficult or unclear passages of the Scriptures which, when examined and explained by faithful teachers, will be all the more significant when the real meaning is discovered. This is certainly one of them.

 By Norma A. Boeckler

True Faith

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.

Jesus was away from the crowds, in non-Jewish territory when this took place. This demonstrates how the Gospel began to spread outside of His own people. This woman came to Him because she heard the Word of the Gospel and believed in Him. She knew He could heal her daughter. I know of a girl with similar hardships, and the Christian family has done everything possible for healing, year after year after year. When they have hope, the malady returns, forcefully, horrible seizures.

The greeting means that Jesus is both Lord and the Messiah. This comes from a woman called a pagan by Lenski, or we might say with a distorted knowledge, since Canaanites had a form of the Books of Moses. 

Behold! - this alerts us to the importance of the event. She treats Jesus as God and Christ, saying, my daughter is plagued by the devil. Jesus could not keep the Gospel from spreading, and she heard of Him, believed in Him, and made sure she found Him.

The miracles of healing have several things in common - faith in Him, a serious malady, and Jesus healing the person, who is sometimes brought to Him.

23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.

"He did not answer her at all." Unbelievers get all tangled up with this and go various ways with explaining the meaning, which is hidden to us at first. But has anyone had unanswered prayers for years? Has anyone seen a situation go on, in spite of many prayers, as if God is silent and not even listening? 

This is the central point of the miracle. Jesus allows Himself to appear as harsh and uncaring, for a reason. 

The disciples got tired of her pleading with Jesus. "Send her away" should be seen as "Dismiss her by granting her this healing." They had reason to expect Him to heal her. This certainly shows some irritation about this woman's request and the lack of response. 

We should always consider too how Jesus allows a contrast between Him and the disciples. He demonstrated many times that He was and is the Lord with total command of the elements. 

One of the key examples in adult education today is learning from examples rather than just repeating theories. I get to have people imagine they are promoted to supervisor status and must set up training for a group of people at once. Some rise to the occasion; others crumple and do not try. 

When the disciples were out on their own, what did they remember? Jesus asleep on the boat, in a big storm, that would be easy to remember. They though they would die, but His sleep  was not indifference but teaching them to trust in Him, instead of relying on their emotions and experiences.

The disciples got involved here. "Send her away! Let's get this done!" Sometimes we have to slow down to see the real truth. Mothers say that after children are no longer so helpless as babies. "I miss holding a tiny baby," though crying at 2 a.m. - at the time - was not always so enjoyable.

We can have long period of time where the outward circumstances are very tough, yet they are filled with memories of many beautiful moments. That can involve family, work, or other circumstances.

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

Jesus' answer is hardly comforting. She does not belong to His own people. The conclusion seems to be, she is not worthy. When people are sunk in despair and nothing good seems to happen, they ask why others seem to bask in all kinds of obvious happiness, delight, and satisfaction.

Knowing the sincerity of this woman, because Jesus knew what was in the heart of everyone, He allowed Himself to be seen as harsh and unyielding, as a future example for everyone. The harsh and unyielding Savior is a mirage - something we think we are seeing when it is only an illusion formed by our own expectations. The Canaanite woman's faith is the contrast we need to see, the contrast between outward appearances and the mercy of God.

Luther:

4. Now, what does the poor woman do? She turns her eyes from all this unfriendly treatment of Christ; all this does not lead her astray, neither does she take it to heart, but she continues immediately and firmly to cling in her confidence to the good news she had heard and embraced concerning him, and never gives up. We must also do the same and learn firmly to cling to the Word, even though Go with all his creatures appears different than his Word teaches. But, oh, how painful it is to nature and reason, that this woman should strip herself of self and forsake all that she experienced, and cling alone to God’s bare Word, until she experienced the contrary. May God help us in time of need and of death to possess like courage and faith!

25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. (Lenski - be helping me)

The woman was behind the disciples and yelling for help. She moved up to Jesus and acknowledged Him as God. The older we are, the more we can recall those moments when nothing looked good and no answers were imagined. And yet God proved in the future that He could provide answers we could not even imagine. God helps with our common sense, but what we should pass on to younger generations is God's faithfulness in the face of opposition, distress, and humiliation. The woman did not ask for a specific miracle at this point but said, "Be helping me."

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

Lenski argues here that  Jesus used the term "little dogs" first, suggesting pets, which the woman then used on her own behalf.

I looked at the language, which makes a point about who receives the blessing - It is not the right (noble) thing to do, to take the bread from the children and throw it to the little dogs.

An ordinary dog would be like the ones that licked the sores of Lazarus, showing how degraded his position was. One could say the little dogs were like the Gentiles who had a knowledge of the Messiah, but a limited one. 

Nevertheless, this is not a welcoming or encouraging statement. It is bitter on the receiving end. "You do not qualify, and there is nothing that will change your status."

There are man-made traditions that are very much like this. Someone must be a family member to advance in the company. Or someone must be from the right school. WELS has a tradition that only NW Prep (now Luther Prep) graduates can be professors and DPs. 

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

Here the woman turned the apparent insult into an argument in her favor. Pet dogs were allowed to eat food from the floor, so she identified with them. She would take any crumbs that fell. Her response shows respect (Lord) and faith in His mercy, whatever scraps that might come her way.

We all know that feeling of rejecting food that is not exactly fresh, like bread, donuts, or cake. And yet when we are hungry, stale bread tastes delicious and donuts can be warmed up. Cake can be refreshed with whipped or ice cream. The crumbs improve with our hunger.

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.

As we can see from this passage, faith is not a work. Paul says faith is access to  God's grace, peace, and forgiveness of sin (Romans 5:1f.)

Jesus commended this woman for never giving up her trust in Him, no matter how bleak the outlook or how slight her chances were. So we can see that He allowed Himself to be seen as hard and unyielding when He was doing that to bring our her confession of faith in Him. And her prayer was answered that same hour.

Doing this allowed us an example of what faith means, to never stop relying on God's love and mercy, no matter what.

People have often commented on the gap between the education I received and the lack of recognition from synods, where I am on permanent pariah status. Of course, it is only natural for me to wonder about unqualified people spending their lives sharing their ignorance of Biblical, Lutheran doctrine, their hatred for the Reformation.

But this cooperative effort in not publishing my books (Liberalism was delayed, sold like hotcakes, and was greeted with an effort to fire me; later, the title was withdrawn but given to me; Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant was accepted for publication and put on the schedule, then withdrawn, etc). Synodical boycotts increased with publishing, but that led to completely independent teaching and publishing, which is not censored or stymied by synodocrats. So all the friction led to an ideal situation, which I would not have imagined, but technology leaped ahead of the old printing business.

This miracle applies to everyone, so we see our lives as constantly shaped by God according to His wisdom, not ours. That is far easier to say than to accept. Difficulties associated with the Word mean we are bearing the cross, and the cross is never pleasant.

Everything in the Bible is for our learning and edification. The longer we live, the more we need a mature understanding of the Word.

Luther:

10. All this, however, is written for our comfort and instruction, that we may know how deeply God conceals his grace before our face, and that we may not estimate him according to our feelings and thinking, but strictly according to his Word. For here you see, though Christ appears to be even hardhearted, yet he gives no final decision by saying “No.” All his answers indeed sound like no, but they are not no, they remain undecided and pending. For he does not say: I will not hear thee; but is silent and passive, and says neither yes nor no. In like manner he does not say she is not of the house of Israel; but he is sent only to the house of Israel; he leaves it undecided and pending between yes and no. So he does not say, Thou art a dog, one should not give thee of the children’s bread; but it is not meet to take the children’s bread and cast it to the dogs; leaving it undecided whether she is a dog or not. Yet all those trials of her faith sounded more like no than yes; but there was more yea in them than nay; ay, there is only yes in them, but it is very deep and very concealed, while there appears to be nothing but no.

Luther gives an answer about all these giant congregations that seem so successful on the surface. We should not judge Him according to our feelings and thinking. Those that do will attract an enormous following for a time, then collapse. Their words are like cotton candy. Whenever I see that being spun on TV or a movie, I think, "That would be great, to have some cotton candy again - so hard to resist." But if someone told me my meals would be cotton candy three times a day, I would revolt. 

There is always a yes buried in God's Word. Since He made parts of it difficult to comprehend, He strengthens us by letting us search for the intended meaning.

 By Norma A. Boeckler