Lent, Faith, and Persistence

2^nd Sunday in Lent 2015

Rev. Stephen E. Stults

St. Paul’s Anglican Church

March 1^st, 2015

Mat 15:22 :  “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.”

Our Gospel selection casts our Lord in a familiar light. We see him in his traditional role of itinerant preacher, traveling from place to place. In this case, we are told, ”Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.”[1] Thus, the Light departed from the Jews and was manifested to us Gentiles, in a figurative way, as Christ journeyed and preached in Tyre of Phoenicia and Sidon, a city not very far from Syria.[2] As so often happened in His journeys, an opportunity arose in which He manifested forth His glory, from which we are to derive some edification.

Our Gospel selection for the day is one of glory and of puzzlement.  Why? It is glorious in that Jesus heals a woman’s daughter, miraculously, from a distance. In that, it reminds us of the healing of the centurion’s servant in Mat. 8:13, that also occurred from far away, and that of the healing of the nobleman’s son, in John 4:49.

All of these marvelous happenings came about because Jesus spoke with authority, causing the evil influences to flee away. Just as Christ spoke Creation into existence, in this instance we see Him speaking health and healing. In the same manner, He will speak again at the Last Day, when he will separate the faithful from those who have enshrined their own gods in their hearts and have rejected Him. That will be a fateful and decisive speech, as it will be the final act in the play we call life on Earth.

Recalling Shakespeare’s lines from “As You Like It”, the character Jacques says:

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.[3]

In this case, the chief actors in the Gospel scene are Our Lord and the Canaanite woman, with the Disciples playing a supporting role. What a fascinating and instructive scene it is! As we have mentioned, this gospel is glorious, but also puzzling for a number of reasons.  On the surface, chief among these must be the curious reply he made to the Canaanite woman, as well as his overall indifference to her. We marvel at it because, on the surface, it seems so totally out of Jesus’ character.

As the story unfolds, it doesn’t seem likely that Christ gives her even scant notice. In fact, at first He totally ignores her. This continues to the point where even His disciples beseech Him to send her away, for they are obviously piqued at her persistence and importunity. One commentator took this as a positive sign, as in “Send her away with a blessing, but just send her away.”[4]  Perhaps, but this may be too rosy a view.  We believe that they just wanted to be rid of her.

Yet she couldn’t just give up and leave. Similar to the blind beggar of Luke 23, who had so much need that he cried out the more, so it is with this woman. We parents know how terrible a thing it is when our children are sick or injured.  How much worse if your child was “grievously vexed” by a demon?  Would not all of us earnestly seek all avenues of relief?

Yet, Christ seems to rebuff even his own disciples, when he says, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”[5] At first glance, it would seem that his actions, His very being where He was physically, belied His speech.  Yet, that is not for us to debate.  We know that Christ was sent primarily to the Jews and that we Gentiles are “grafted” into the tree of life by proxy, as it were.  For this, we give thanks and praise.

The woman’s faith is such that she kneels at Jesus’ feet. She worships him and simply says, “Lord, help me.” Despite her obvious faith and humility, Christ tests her further by telling her: “It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.”[6] In short, the blessings of the covenant family are not for those outside the vail of grace.  This is a stinging and seemingly harsh rebuke. In effect, Christ asks, “Why should I consider you, a stranger and a member of an outcast nation, to receive any blessing from my hand?”

Her response is both clever and humble.  She turns our Lord’s statement around in this respect: instead of allowing herself to be considered as one of a pack of wild, hungry dogs, she equates herself to one of the household  pets, to whom one might slip a morsel under the table.  She does this by saying: “Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.”[7] Just as our pets depend on us for daily food and even for an occasional treat slipped under the table, so she acknowledges and includes herself under the Lordship of Christ.

By any account, it is an amazing declaration.  Christ now turns to her and says, “O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt.

And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.”[8]  His testing done, Christ makes the pronouncement of healing and blessing.

This wonderful passage, as glorious at it is, raises our questions as well as our wonder. How could Christ act this way?  How could He be so seemingly callous?  What can we learn from this? Most importantly, what is the lesson we can glean from this passage?

First, was Jesus really ignoring the woman?  Did He hear the words of His disciples “to send her away, for she crieth after us?”

For answer, let us ask ourselves one question…is this type of behavior typical of Christ?  He was both perfect God and Man and as such, perfectly consistent in both natures, simultaneously.  If God’s nature is that of perfect love, which we believe and accept, does not this mean that His “ears”, so to speak, are always open to our pleas? Would not this mean that such a heartfelt appeal as that of the Canaanite woman could not be rejected or even ignored? Thus, we believe, one must reject the idea that Christ was dismissive or even remotely hard-hearted. It is inconsistent with His very nature. This not being the case, He must have had some other motive. 

Let us consider this. Was He testing her faith?  Was He seeing if this Canaanite woman would subject herself to the superior spiritual position of the Jew? Was he, in short, calling on her to persist in faith?  Very possibly this was the case.  Turning to John Calvin, he thought that God Himself was calling the woman into a closer relationship with Him through this situation. [9] In effect, her persistence was itself God-given, as a way not only to heal her daughter, but also to have her embrace a new spiritual reality in her life. Thus, Christ tested her in order to draw her closer to Him.

How often do we confront God through difficulty! Or rather, how often does He confront us with His absolute Sovereignty and unlimited Mercy through difficulty? Through difficulty, through trials, and through tribulations, we learn of both these divine and mysterious qualities.  If we allow ourselves to be led and instructed by the Spirit of God, we become teachable by God. After being tempered by the Holy Spirit, we may at last come to that point where we, like the Canaanite woman, allow ourselves to be subsumed into the mysterious and omnipotent Will of God.  It is at this point that we may bow our heads and say, “Thy Will be done”; even if that Will is difficult for us at that time.  Even though we don’t understand, we submit ourselves to it, even giving thanks for it, as hard as that may be.

The question is, through persistence and faith, will we be like this person, who allowed herself to be caught up by, enveloped, and ultimately rewarded by the Omnipotent, yet Merciful Will of God?  Will we respond like her and persist in our journey towards holiness?  In short, will we enjoy the fruits of being in the covenant family?

This is our choice, this Lent. Let us respond to the circumstances and experiences of Lent to draw closer to God.  Let us acknowledge our state as those spiritually dependent souls who are unable to live well without Him. Let us take this opportunity to shed our spiritual and emotional “baggage” in order that we may grow closer to Him.  Finally, let us allow ourselves to be rewarded with the wonderful presence of God, daily, in our lives.

This is our opportunity.  Now is the accepted time for penitence, for growth, and for reward.      AMEN

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[1] Matt 15:21

[2] Henry, Matthew, Commentary on Matthew 15:21

[3] Shakespeare, William,  “As You Like It”, Act 2, Scene 7, http://www.enotes.com/shakespeare-quotes/all-world-s-stage

[4] Henry, Matthew, Commentary on Matthew 15

[5] Matt. 15:24

[6] Matt 15:26

[7] Ibid 15:27

[8] Matt 15:28

[9] op.cit. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom32.ii.xlvii.html