Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
The text this morning is from the Gospel according to Matthew, the 15th chapter:
…Behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
Thus far the text.
Dear friends in Christ,
It’s not often that our Lord commends someone for their faith. In fact, it happens so infrequently compared to how often Jesus laments over weak faith, that it tends to pass us by. Think about it, in fact. Where was the other place that Jesus commended the faith of someone? Well, it was the faith of the centurion who asked Jesus to heal his servant. Yet, think about how many times Jesus mentions weak faith. The storm upon the water, Peter walking on the water, the disciples failing to cast out demons.
Now, we talked about this last week. In all these stories of Jesus, the little faith isn’t there to encourage us to have greater faith, to make our own faith, to somehow grow whatever we can. Jesus reminds the disciples, and perhaps even us, that weak faith still looks to Christ, even when it is all going wrong. By that same token then, even strong faith looks to Christ. Weak or strong, it is still faith, and that faith is dependent upon Christ. It can’t do anything by itself. It needs Jesus first and only.
So, let’s take this Canaanite woman. An outcast to the Jews, hated of the Jews, so used to being called derogatory names, she doesn’t bat an eye when Jesus calls this woman, this female, dog. She accepts it, she takes the title and owns it. Canaanites were heathens to be slaughtered because of their worship of idols; Canaanites were not faithful saints of God to be commended.
Yet, this woman, this faith-filled woman came to Jesus to help. She knew that this man, out of all men, would be able to help her. She needed Jesus. Her daughter was going to die because she was possessed by a demon. That’s what demon-possessed people do, die. And this woman was worried.
Yet, though she was descended from a long line of heathens, she somehow had faith in the one true God. She somehow had come to trust the Lord, and she knew that the Lord’s prophet could heal her daughter if indeed He wanted to.
But, that’s not what Jesus was sent for. I know that it may be hard to hear, but Jesus wasn’t sent to do miracles. That’s not why we need Jesus. Jesus was sent to come, to live a perfect life, to die a sinner’s death, and be raised from the dead unto everlasting life, all for us, because we sinners could not do it ourselves. Jesus wasn’t sent to do miracles for you. Jesus didn’t heal every person He came across. He didn’t raise from the dead every dead person He saw. He didn’t cast out every demon. He didn’t do His miracles for the sake of doing the miracles.
No, Jesus wasn’t sent to do miracles. He was sent to die for His beloved creation, but He did do miracles on occasion. And why was it that Jesus did miracles? Why was it that He healed some and not others? Why was it that Jesus showed some type of favor to certain people?
Have you ever prayed for some type of miracle? Have you ever prayed that God would listen to you and heal someone, help you in some way, do something for you, bring some type of extraordinary mercy to you because you think you need Jesus in that way? Of course you have. As you should. We lift all things in prayer up to our God. But has God always done the things we ask? No, probably not.
Why not? Doesn’t He care for us? Doesn’t He love us? Doesn’t He know that we need Him? Or are we too sinful to receive favor from God? Have we sinned in such a way that God doesn’t really like us all that much? Have we come from a background, like this Canaanite woman, that God doesn’t really like and so He just passes us by for the most part, only giving in to us on occasion, like when we really annoy Him?
No, of course not. All this is ridiculous. You can’t earn God’s favor. You can’t have enough faith to get His attention. You can’t make Him care less for you or more for you. He loves you. He absolutely loves you. And I can prove it.
God doesn’t just give us everything we want, we know that. God gives according to some type of thing that only He is privy to. I’m not aware of why God gives me the wonderful blessings He does. I’m not aware of why God withholds certain things from me. I’m not. And neither are you. We’re not aware of the counsel of God. But we know God loves us. How?
Jesus. He gave us Jesus. He gave His one and only begotten Son to us, that whoever should believe in Him would be saved. Well, that’s all well and good, but I can’t hold Jesus can I? I can’t throw my arms around Him. I can’t kiss his cheek. I can’t put my head to His breast and feel His beating heart today.
No, but you can taste Him. You can have Him put in your mouth. You can have Him truly placed inside of you, with you bearing Him from this altar out into the world. See, our Lord, the one who is given for you, has given Himself to you in the most intimate way imaginable. He comes to you in His real body and His real blood, even today, as a sign of His immeasurable love because He knows you need Jesus. He gives this sign to you to show you that you are His. If you doubt, He gives Himself to you. If you fear, He gives Himself to you. If you worry, He gives Himself to you. If you’re asking, He gives Himself to you. If you sin, He gives Himself to you. If you need Him, He gives Himself to you. Because you need Jesus.
This is our Jesus, the giver, the giver of gifts we didn’t ask for, don’t deserve, and cannot imagine. Our Jesus blesses us with Himself. This is how Jesus loves you. This is how we know; this is proof of His love forever. You don’t need a miracle to know Jesus loves you; He gives you this gift whenever and wherever you want it. Take it, take and eat, take and drink, it is yours. This the sign of His love toward you because He knows you need Him.
And so, this woman today was praying for a miracle from the God, Jesus, that she worshipped. She was worshipping Him on her knees. She wanted a miracle. Yet, the miracle that she received was not in the exorcism of her daughter. The miracle is that she was welcomed by Jesus as a woman of faith. She was welcomed into the community of Israel, for Jesus is the head of Israel, the head of the Church.
The miracle this woman wanted was only a crumb. She knew that the healing of her daughter is a crumb, a small thing, compared to the richness of the banquet feast. She knew the banquet feast belongs to the Master, Jesus, and she needed Jesus. She knew that if she would receive only a crumb, only a sign, only a pittance compared to the new thing that Jesus was doing, all would be well. If she received from Jesus the word that her daughter would be healed, okay. But, if He only said, “I love you,” would not that have been enough for her? Wouldn’t that sign from Jesus be enough for her? Wouldn’t she have gotten Jesus?
Of course. Jesus isn’t in the miracle business. He’s in the dying and rising business. And our Jesus, while He did miracles, the miracles were only there to continue to point as signs to His death and resurrection. This Jesus gives this woman a sign, a sign that pointed her towards Him as the resurrection and the life. He did it as a sign of her faith that He had given her. He did it as a sign of His love towards her. And she was pleased. She was pleased to be a dog to her Master. She was pleased to be less than Him. She was happy, not sitting at His table, but licking the crumbs off of the floor. And she got such a crumb. Her daughter was healed.
Imagine that. A miracle such as that is but a crumb, a pittance compared to the incomparable glory of the feast of victory for our God. And she was happy with the crumb, because she got Jesus, not because the crumb sustains life. But she is no longer receiving crumbs. This Canaanite dog woman is no longer licking crumbs off the floor. Instead, she is seated where you are. She is seated at the altar of the Lamb. She is receiving, in the communion of the saints, the very body and blood of the Lamb with us. She is eating Jesus and drinking Jesus and Jesus is in her as He is in you, and as He soon shall be. Because she needs Jesus. And you need Jesus. And we all get Jesus at the altar.
This is the glory of the Lord, and this is His love, this is how He proves His love toward you: that He laid down His life for you, His friends, and that He gives this life to you as much as you desire because Jesus knows that you need Him. And He does this through His Sacrament. This is love, my friends, love greater than anything you could ever ask for. So today, eat and drink and be merry in our Lord. For we pray that tomorrow, we should be with Him forever. Ask Jesus that. Ask that you should be with your Lord, and you shall. You shall today, and you shall forever. He is yours, and you are His. His Supper proves His love for you because He knows you need Jesus. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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