The congregation's introduction to the Lutheran Service Book continued this week. We prepared for worship by singing the Agnus Dei (that is, "Lamb of God") on page 210 of the LSB. Heather, the kids and I arrived late and had to sit in the back under the choir loft, so I was not able to gauge how well the congregation took up this beautiful pre-communion song.
Pastor Zimmerman's sermon was based on the Gospel reading (Matthew 15:21-28). In this passage, a Canaanite woman comes to our Lord and begs him to heal her daughter, who is suffering from demon possession. In a difficult passage, our Lord seems to be unwilling to heal the daughter of a woman outside of the "lost sheep of the house of Israel"; but, in the end, when the woman goes so far as to equate herself to the dogs that that wait at the master's table for crumbs to fall from the childrens' mouths, he "relents".
It has been my pleasure to chew on this passage for a little over a week now. My brother and I recently began translating the lectionary together to keep our translation skills sharp. (And so I can take advantage of my brother's vastly superior knowledge of Scripture and the Christian teachings of our church). So we began working on this passage two weeks ago. On Tuesday morning, I also joined in a Bible study led by Pastor Zimmerman which also took up this then-upcoming Gospel. Because I have been working this passage over for so long, Heather and I have also had opportunities to discuss it.
The beauty of the Gospel lesson is not that the Lord leaves the woman a "dog" or says "fine, crumbs it is then". Our Lord shows the woman for what she really is: a child of Abraham and a member of the house of Israel. For the promise to Abraham is by faith. And this faith is not from ourselves, it is the gift of God; God raises children of Abraham through faith! The Canaanite woman knew that crumbs falling from the mouths of the master's children was enough; our Jesus said "no, my child" and gave her the loaf.
I was really looking forward to hearing the Pastor apply this Word of God to us. Unfortunately, Emily and I had to leave the sermon for an emergency trip to the bathroom just as Pastor was applying the text. But his preparatory remarks focused on our tendency to focus on what we do and can do, as well as what we have done and accomplished, in evaluating our worth. His examples included the efforts of China to "prove something" in hosting a larger-than-life olympic games and our introductory question when we meet someone: "What do you do?" We are a people trying to build a Tower of Babel under our own feet!
I do not know what Pastor said after Emily and I stepped out, but I liked where he was going. The last thing I heard was "this Canaanite woman had surely done everything she could for her daughter. When we returned, the first words I was able to concentrate on were: "The measure of our lives is not what we can do, but what God has done for us (in Christ)." I have great confidence that whatever connected these two phrases was of great benefit to its hearers; I wish I had been one!
This Lord's Day, we also celebrated the Sacrament of the Altar together. In many ways, our Lord draws near to seek, save, strengthen and preserve us. We come to him again as beggars, knowing we deserve nothing, but ready to take the crumbs that fall from his table. Instead, Christ Jesus feeds us with his very body, and nourishes us with his very blood. Amen.
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