Reminiscere, The Second Sunday in Lent, 2021. Faith - Against All Odds

KJV Cambridge Lectern Bible - Complete service on video

Reminiscere Sunday 

The Second Sunday in Lent, 2020

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

https://video.ibm.com/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time

Hymn # 151        Christ, the Life of All the Living - Winkworth translation          

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Remember, O Lord, Thy tender mercies and Thy loving-kindnesses: for they have been ever of old.

Let not mine enemies triumph over me: God of Israel, deliver us out of all our troubles.

Psalm. Unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul: O my God, I trust in Thee; let me not be ashamed.

The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19

O God, who seest that of ourselves we have no strength, keep us both outwardly and inwardly that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual       

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
Sermon Hymn #142    A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining - Gerhardt  

Faith - Against All Odds

Hymn #457          What a Friend We Have in Jesus              

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
Hymn # 50      Lord Dismiss Us with Thy Blessing

Prayers and Announcements

• Treatment and recovery -  Christina Jackson, Lori Howell, Pastor Jim Shrader
• Hospitalized - a brother who has just been given the two-part Covid shot
• Today - Important speech, DEP Trump, Right Side Broadcasting
• Wednesday, 7 PM - MidWeek Lenten service, Chapter 3 Luther's Galatians. Ask for a free print copy of Galatians or a free PDF - or both.
• Making plans for video and for a literature discussion wiki.

    

• Thank you for the donation of the Cambridge Lectern KJV Bible. It will be used for Scripture readings, for the sermons, and the Vesper Psalms.

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.

Faith - Against All Odds

Introductory - Matthew 15:21-28

The Canaanite woman's story has been portrayed as an example of "hard sayings," where Jesus seems to be unduly harsh with the woman who is only asking healing for her daughter, so harsh that the disciples are annoyed with Him.

In fact, if we look at this story, lacking faith in Jesus, there is so much material to fuel the suspicions and mockery of unbelievers. It has been the center of many efforts to twist the Word of God, but that is not by accident. The Word of God is not for idle gawkers and sidewalk superintendents. They become even blinder and more obstinate by using the healing for their own damage to the Truth.

But if we read it carefully and with faith, it is an inspiring miracle that gives us goosebumps.

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.

Some might wonder why this woman seems to have several nationalities. For the Jewish audience, Canaanite refers to the ancient pagan race conquered by the Israelites. Mark, writing for Gentiles, calls her Greek and Syro-Phoenician. (Lenski, Mark). Thus another so-called contradiction is vanquished.

One thing we learn especially from Mark's Gospel is that Jesus was always being pursued by people and crowds looking for healing miracles. Jesus took time to teach His disciples and that was not possible with constant demands. So, the woman made sure she could find Him and ask Him.

We know this woman had already heard the Gospel - faith comes by hearing the Word, Romans 10 - because she displayed her faith in her pleas of mercy. "O Lord, Thou Son of David." Like the blind man, she saw with the eyes of faith, not obeying her life-long religion, whatever it was. The Promised Messiah would help her, she was sure. "My daughter is grievously vexed with a devil."

Luther:

1. This Gospel presents to us a true example of firm and perfect faith. For this woman endures and overcomes in three great and hard battles, and teaches us in a beautiful manner the true way and virtue of faith, namely, that it is a hearty trust in the grace and goodness of God as experienced and revealed through his Word. For St. Mark says, she heard some news about Jesus, Mark 7:25 (7:25 "For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:"). What kind of news? Without doubt good news, and the good report that Christ was a pious man and cheerfully helped everybody. Such news about God is a true Gospel and a word of grace, out of which sprang the faith of this woman; for had she not believed, she would not have thus run after Christ etc. In like manner we have often heard how St. Paul in Romans 10:17 says that faith cometh by hearing, that the Word must go in advance and be the beginning of our salvation.

2. But how is it that many more have heard this good news concerning Christ, who have not followed him, and did not esteem it as good news?

Answer: The physician is helpful and welcome to the sick; the healthy have no use for him. But this woman felt her need, hence she followed the sweet scent, as is written in the Song of Solomon 1:3. In like manner Moses must precede and teach people to feel their sins in order that grace may be sweet and welcome to them. Therefore all is in vain, however friendly and lovely Christ may be pictured, if man is not first humbled by a knowledge of himself and he possesses no longing for Christ...

Thus many do not think of Jesus properly unless they encounter some great difficulty, sorrow, or loss. A self-satisfied modernist will look upon passages like this and make jokes about them, wonder aloud about "contradictions," and leave more scar tissue to harden the hearts of others and their own. At a gathering of liberal ministers, an academic can say, "Christianity grew through the sword," and no one will murmur. If one person objects to this nonsense, the rest will think, "One more reason to avoid the dissenter." So we can look at this miracle in the same way - most of the world mystified and a bit sarcastic - relatively few people moved by its powerful message of God's love.

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

To some, this sounds like Jesus and His disciples were incredibly mean. Shoo her away! - that is what they think they are hearing or reading. It is not a coincidence we are singing "Lord dismiss us with a blessing..." That concept is being expressed here. The disciples do not like hearing her call out repeatedly, so they are saying, "Give her what she wants and send her away in peace."

Two parts are always together in the work of Christ. One is believing. The other is expressing that faith. Since faith comes by hearing the Word, those who realize and believe the entire portrait of Christ in the Scriptures will confess that truth and always oppose rejection of it. Jesus alone and the disciples alone would not have spread the Gospel except through this combination of faith and witnessing to the Faith.

Luther expresses this by saying that Jesus was a like a hunter chasing and exercising that witness out of her. We do that on a modest scale when youth are confirmed in the faith and asked questions in front of the congregation. That was once a great tradition in many Lutheran groups, but the liberals decided to have first communion early like the Catholics and make confirmation into nothing. As I mentioned to one member yesterday, two years of Greek were expected in college for those going to seminary. Latin did not have the same draw. Now it is a summer class before seminary and must have all the sticking power of camp-firmation classes, where a little bit of catechism is mixed with a week of fun, games, and swimming.

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. 

This is direct challenge to her and to her request for mercy. It is oddly in sync with the passage in Galatians 2, where Paul argued that he won the contest of faith being the requirement of Christian membership, not Jewish circumcision and kosher food laws. Jesus is playing the role of the Judaizers here while letting the woman prove the argument of Paul - faith in Jesus is the requirement. 

She did not take the bait to argue for being - in some way - from the house of Israel. She proved her sincerity by worshiping Him (kneeling at his feet) and expressing her faith by saying "Lord, help me."

This miracle is different in Jesus not responding at once or even beginning to show what He would do (as in looking up into Heaven or designating what He would do for the sick, blind, or deaf man). The outward appearance is indifference, silence, and implied rejection. This is also explored and portrayed in Pilgrim's Progress. There are times of waiting.

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.

This is the most direct and easily misunderstood part of the miracle. Jesus answered

her faith and patience in the words that would appeal to the Judaizers. The bread is for the Children of Israel, so it should not be taken away from them and given to the unworthy. 

Jesus is not calling her a dog in this miracle but using a term for the little pet dogs that consume scraps. The dogs who licked poor Lazarus' sores were the wild, scavenger dogs. Lenski makes this distinction in his Matthew commentary.

This is certain a forewarning about Judaizers and a concise teaching about the real Children of Abraham. She answered in faith, as the New Testament teaches, pointedly in John 8 and Romans 4 - Those who believe in Christ are the true Children of Israel and heirs to the Promise. Jesus answered the objections by saying, "Before Abraham was, I AM."

Romans 4 teaches that Justification by Faith was not unique with Abraham in Genesis 15:6 but was true of all who believe in Him.

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.

The woman would cheerfully accept scraps, and that is the ultimate expression of faith, asking but not demanding, trusting and waiting. Her daughter was healed from that point on.

This miracle is extremely important because faith in Christ is the chief doctrine in the Word of God. This faith in Him connects with all we do, and there is a direct connection with faith and prayer.

A Good Miracle for Us All

I was counting the people exposed to error before they came to a knowledge of the true Scriptures and faith in Jesus as He is taught from the Word of God.

The Apostle Paul was trained in Pharisaical Judaism, which gave him the training to know the Messianic Promises without seeing them in Jesus and the Christians. The Risen Christ converted him to faith.

Augustine was a great classical scholar and intellectual, who looked down on the Christian Bible, though his mother prayed for him to convert. When children played and sang a song, "Take and Read," he picked up the Scriptures and the Word converted him.

Luther was a devout, Medieval Roman Catholic, who was trained in Catholic philosophy but told to earn a doctorate in Biblical studies. Exposure to the Word itself taught him how different the Scriptures were from his monastic training.

Many of us began in liberal or liberal Masonic or Justification without Faith congregations, with many errors embedded in our training. However, the defenestration (throwing out of the window) the KJV awakened many to the English version of Luther's German Bible. 

In addition, many difficulties have come along for individuals, because being aware of errors is a sure way to invite trouble from the Apostates, as if Jesus ordered the disciples to sleep while He was praying. 

This Canaanite woman is a miracle for those who feared the grace and mercy of God had gone away, especially since it seemed to have gone over to the other side - where the Protestants bow down to Roman Catholic Scriptures, paraments, and holy days; where the "true Gospel" is proclaimed as a version of Marxism while miracles are rejected. It is one of those twists of fortune that one man, Eugene Nida, because he could not tolerate translating in Mexico became a supervisor instead - and lived to be almost 100 years as the top man in the American Bible Society and United Bible Societies.

When we are in the Canaanite waiting time, it is difficult to bear. I know millions are waiting for the American policies they supported to receive political action. Many drop away discouraged, and that is a good term to remember. Dis-courage means being afraid, despairing, giving up. 

God uses negative, destructive times to start over and often to use them for His glory. I have a long list of people who were heroically nasty, dishonest, and vindictive, but they are on my thank list now. I would have settled down to middle class ease, luxury, and going to seed if they had not driven me to a place where I could study, write, and teach the truth to people who appreciate it.

That is quite an experience to have people appreciate sermons. Few clergy have that, and I am sure that drives them into being lazy bores of finding another profession.

I can look at others in the congregation and see that faith in Christ has energized them to accomplish many things that would be impressive for a large congregation, let alone a tiny one. For example, intense interest in the hymns has made that a priority and a teaching point, which led to a blog with 15,000 views in a few months. You know - the boring, old-fashioned, irrelevant, KJV language -The Lutheran Hymnal. If anyone thinks that is a waste of time, then they believe expressions of faith in God's Word are a waste of time. And - of course - that is where many people have gone, where so many churches have become theaters, homes, and restaurants.

Luther's Sermon on the Faith of the Canaanite Woman, Matthew 15:21-28

REMINISCERE. SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT



TEXT:

Matthew 15:21-28. And Jesus went out thence, and withdrew into the parts of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanitish woman came out from those borders and cried, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a demon. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But she came and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. And he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread and cast it to the dogs. But she said, Yea, Lord: for even the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it done unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was healed from that hour.


1. This Gospel presents to us a true example of firm and perfect faith. For this woman endures and overcomes in three great and hard battles, and teaches us in a beautiful manner the true way and virtue of faith, namely, that it is a hearty trust in the grace and goodness of God as experienced and revealed through his Word. For St. Mark says, she heard some news about Jesus, Mark 7:25. What kind of news? Without doubt good news, and the good report that Christ was a pious man and cheerfully helped everybody. Such news about God is a true Gospel and a word of grace, out of which sprang the faith of this woman; for had she not believed, she would not have thus run after Christ etc. In like manner we have often heard how St. Paul in Romans 10:17 says that faith cometh by hearing, that the Word must go in advance and be the beginning of our salvation.

2. But how is it that many more have heard this good news concerning Christ, who have not followed him, and did not esteem it as good news?

Answer: The physician is helpful and welcome to the sick; the healthy have no use for him. But this woman felt her need, hence she followed the sweet scent, as is written in the Song of Solomon 1:3. In like manner Moses must precede and teach people to feel their sins in order that grace may be sweet and welcome to them. Therefore all is in vain, however friendly and lovely Christ may be pictured, if man is not first humbled by a knowledge of himself and he possesses no longing for Christ, as Mary’s Song says, “The hungry he hath filled with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away,” Luke 1:53. All this is spoken and written for the comfort of the distressed, the poor, the needy, the sinful, the despised, so that they may know in all times of need to whom to flee and where to seek comfort and help.

3. But see in this example how Christ like a hunter exercises and chases faith in his followers in order that it may become strong and firm. First when the woman follows him upon hearing of his fame and cries with assured confidence that he would according to his reputation deal mercifully with her, Christ certainly acts differently, as if to let her faith and good confidence be in vain and turn his good reputation into a lie, so that she could have thought: Is this the gracious, friendly man? or: Are these the good words, that I have heard spoken about him, upon which I have depended? It must not be true; he is my enemy and will not receive me; nevertheless he might speak a word and tell me that he will have nothing to do with me. Now he is as silent as a stone. Behold, this is a very hard rebuff, when God appears so earnest and angry and conceals his grace so high and deep; as those know so well, who feel and experience it in their hearts. Therefore she imagines he will not fulfill what he has spoken, and will let his Word be false; as it happened to the children of Israel at the Red Sea and to many other saints.

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!

5. Secondly, since her cry and faith avail nothing, the disciples approach with their faith, and pray for her, and imagine they will surely be heard. But while they thought he should be more tenderhearted, he became only the more indifferent, as we see and think. For now he is silent no more nor leaves them in doubt; he declines their prayer and says: “I was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” This rebuff is still harder since not only our own person is rejected, but the only comfort that remains to us, namely, the comfort and prayers of pious and holy persons, are rejected. For our last resort, when we feel that God is ungracious or we are in need, is that we go to pious, spiritual persons and there seek counsel and help, and they are willing to help as love demands; and yet, that may amount to nothing, even they may not be heard and our condition becomes only worse.

6. Here one might upbraid Christ with all the words in which he promised to hear his saints, as Matthew 18:19: “If two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them.”

Likewise, Mark 11:24: “All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them;” and many more like passages. What becomes of such promises in this woman’s case? Christ, however, promptly answers and says: Yes, it is true, I hear all prayers, but I gave these promises only to the house of Israel. What do you think? Is not that a thunderbolt that dashes both heart and faith into a thousand pieces, when one feels that God’s Word, upon which one trusts, was not spoken for him, but applies only to others? Here all saints and prayers must be speechless, yea, here the heart must let go of the Word, to which it would gladly hold, if it would consult its oven feelings.

7. But what does the poor woman do? She does not give up, she clings to the Word although it be torn out of her heart by force, is not turned away by this stern answer, still firmly believes his goodness is yet concealed in that answer, and still she will not pass judgment that Christ is or may be ungracious. That is persevering steadfastness.

8. Thirdly, she follows Christ into the house, as Mark 7:24-25 informs us, perseveres, falls down at his feet, and says: “Lord, help me!” There she received her last mortal blow, in that Christ said in her face, as the words tell, that she was a dog, and not worthy to partake of the children’s bread.

What will she say to this! Here he presents her in a bad light, she is a condemned and an outcast person, who is not to be reckoned among God’s chosen ones.

9. That is an eternally unanswerable reply, to which no one can give a satisfactory answer. Yet she does not despair, but agrees with his judgment and concedes she is a dog, and desires also no more than a dog is entitled to, namely, that she may eat the crumbs that fall from the table of the Lord.

Is not that a masterly stroke as a reply? She catches Christ with his own words. He compares her to a dog, she concedes it, and asks nothing more than that he let her be a dog, as he himself judged her to be. Where will Christ now take refuge? He is caught. Truly, people let the dog have the crumbs under the table; it is entitled to that. Therefore Christ now completely opens his heart to her and yields to her will, so that she is now no dog, but even a child of Israel.

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.

11. By this is set forth the condition of our heart in times of temptation; Christ here represents how it feels. It thinks there is nothing but no and yet that is not true. Therefore it must turn from this feeling and lay hold of and retain the deep spiritual yes under and above the no with a firm faith in God’s Word, as this poor woman does, and say God is right in his judgment which he visits upon us; then we have triumphed and caught Christ in his own words. As for example when we feel in our conscience that God rebukes us as sinners and judges us unworthy of the kingdom of heaven, then we experience hell, and we think we are lost forever. Now whoever understands here the actions of this poor woman and catches God in his own judgment, and says: Lord, it is true, I am a sinner and not worthy of thy grace; but still thou hast promised sinners forgiveness, and thou art come not to call the righteous, but, as St. Paul says in 1 Timothy 1:15, “to save sinners.” Behold, then must God according to his own judgment have mercy upon us.

12. King Manasseh did likewise in his penitence as his prayer proves; he conceded that God was right in his judgment and accused himself as a great sinner and yet he laid hold of the promised forgiveness of sins. David also does likewise in Psalm 51:4 and says: “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in thy sight; that thou mayest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.” For God’s disfavor in every way visits us when we cannot agree with his judgment nor say yea and amen, when he considers and judges us to be sinners. If the condemned could do this, they would that very moment be saved. We say indeed with our mouth that we are sinners; but when God himself says it in our hearts, then we are not sinners, and eagerly wish to be considered pious and free from that judgment. But it must be so; if God is to be righteous in his words that teach you are a sinner, then you may claim the rights of all sinners that God has given them, namely, the forgiveness of sins. Then you eat not only the crumbs under the table as the little dogs do; but you are also a child and have God as your portion according to the pleasure of your will.

13. This is the spiritual meaning of our Gospel and the scriptural explanation of it. For what this poor woman experienced in the bodily affliction of her daughter, whom she miraculously caused to be restored to health again by her faith, that we also experience when we wish to be healed of our sins and of our spiritual diseases, which is truly a wicked devil possessing us; here she must become a dog and we become sinners and brands of hell, and then we have already recovered from our sickness and are saved.

14. Whatever more there is in this Gospel worthy of notice, as that one can obtain grace and help through the faith of another without his own personal faith, as took place here in the daughter of this poor woman, has been sufficiently treated elsewhere. Furthermore that Christ and his disciples along with the woman in this Gospel exhibit to us an example of love, in that no one acts, prays and cares for himself but each for others, is also clear enough and worthy of consideration.