Trinity 2 Sermon

I was just able to get more than 15 minutes of upload on Youtube, so here's the sermon from June 17.  It's on the parable of the Great Banquet.  Enjoy.

Ehrhard-Legoute Wedding

Legoute-Ehrhard Wedding
Ephesians 5:22-33
28 May, 2011
Blessed Savior Lutheran Church—Florissant, MO

In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

3.

Three times in Holy Scripture it is said, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Gen 2:24; Mt 19:5 & Mk 10:7-8; Eph 5:31). Whenever Scripture speaks once, Luther says, “there the Holy Ghost, faith, and other gifts of the Spirit must necessarily be.” Where Scripture speaks three times, we ought to give double attention to what it is that our Lord intends to sanctify by His Word.

The Father first speaks these words at creation, when no suitable helper can be found for Adam. So from his side, God creates woman—bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. She is man’s complement, filling in the spaces where he cannot help himself. God sanctifies marriage with these words; a holy estate instituted in the holiness of Eden. And it is by this holy estate and the union of man and woman that God continues His creative work, the unique aspects of two individuals becoming one flesh in their children. “Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward” (Ps 127:3).

The Son of God repeats the Father’s words in order to defend marriage against sinful abuses. The Pharisees came to Jesus looking for some justification for getting divorced from their wives—after all, even Moses allowed it. But Jesus says to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so” (Mt 19:8).

Rachel and Lionel, unlike the first marriage where God joined together a righteous man and woman, today God is joining together two people with hard hearts. That’s the reality of sin. Not all days will be like your wedding day. Your heats will harden in sin against each other. You’ll bicker, you’ll fight, you’ll think that it was foolish to get married in the first place.

But the problem will not lie with your marriage—God has joined you together, let not man separate you—but the problem will lie in your own heart. Therefore, the solution will always and only be to have a change of heart. Jesus calls that repentance.

The third time the institution of marriage is invoked is by the apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians. But the words you heard read in the epistle were not St. Paul’s own opinions or advice about marriage—they were the preaching of the Holy Spirit. Here the Third Person of the Holy Trinity not only instructs Christians how to treat marriage, but also reveals to us why marriage is so important that God would repeat it three times in Holy Scripture.

2.

St. Paul writes, “’Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This mystery in profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church” (v 32). Today, your union in one flesh as man and wife is pleasing to God because it is a picture of Christ’s union with us in the flesh.

We confess a God who is incarnate—enfleshed—by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary. The same Son of God who defended marriage against the abuses of the Pharisees is Himself the product of the fleshly union of God and man. The unique aspects of God and the unique aspects of man come together in the person of Jesus.

Earlier in his epistle to the Ephesians, St. Paul writes that it was the eternal intention of God that He would wed Himself to His creation through the incarnation of Jesus—and He did so with the precise purpose to redeem us. “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish”

Rachel and Lionel, Christ has wed Himself to you—hard hearts and all—in order to sanctify you with water and the Word of God, and to redeem you and all the sins within your marriage. Rachel, you are redeemed to gladly submit to Lionel in your marriage, just as you and he together gladly submit to the Lord. Lionel, you are redeemed in your marriage to give yourself up for Rachel in love and to treat her as you would your own body.

1.

Three times in Holy Scripture it is said, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” I can only think of one other phrase in Scripture that is repeated as often: “Take, eat; this is My body…Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My blood” (Mt 26:26-28; Mk 14:22-24; Lk 22:19-20; 1 Cor 11:23-25).

In the same way that you will give each other rings in a few moments “as a pledge and token of wedded love and faithfulness,” so also has Christ given you a pledge and token of His love and faithfulness in the Holy Sacrament of His body and blood. When you go to the Sacrament, be reminded that your God is a God of flesh, who redeemed your flesh, and He is pleased with your union in one flesh.

St. Paul writes that marriage is a mystery.

THE GREAT MYSTERY OF YOUR MARRIAGE IS THAT IT REVEALS THE NATURE OF GOD’S LOVE AND FAITHFULNESS

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

JWE

VD+MA



Funeral Sermon for + Phyllis Diemer +

Funeral for T Phyllis Diemer T

Revelation 21:1-7

20 May, 2011

Emmanuel Lutheran Church—Dwight, IL

In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

            The thing that struck me when I first met Jake and Phyllis was how easy a conversation was with them.  I remember sitting in a hospital room with the two of them as one of my first pastoral calls.  I don’t exactly remember what we talked about, but I remember it to be very delightful conversation.

            Somewhere during one of those conversations, I also learned another very striking fact—they were approaching 70 years of marriage!  Nowadays, you’re lucky to hear of marriages lasting 7 years, much less 70. 

            Thirty-five years after making her marriage vow to Jake in 1940, Phyllis made another vow, this time in the Rite of Confirmation here at Emmanuel.  After learning the Small Catechism, Phyllis confessed her faith with these words: “Finally, do you intend faithfully to conform all your life to the rule of the divine Word, to be diligent in the use of the means of grace, to walk as it becometh the Gospel of Christ, and in faith, word, and deed to remain true to the Truine God, even unto death?  I do so intend by the grace of God” (The Lutheran Agenda).

            Phyllis was confirmed on November 23, 1975, which also happened to be the last Sunday of the Church Year that year.  The appointed verse for that day is taken from today’s reading from Revelation: “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (v 2). 

            These words from the holy writer remind us that Phyllis was a faithful bride in more than one way.  Not only was she married to Jake for 70 years, but she was also by virtue of her Holy Baptism a part of the New Jerusalem in the Church, which is Christ’s bride.

            Just as Phyllis had prepared herself those many years ago to be joined together with Jake, so also was she prepared by the washing of regeneration to be united with her Lord Jesus.  St. Paul writes to the Ephesians, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Eph 5:25-27).

            When Phyllis was joined together with Christ, the promise of our heavenly Father was fulfilled, “Behold, I am making all things new” (v 5).  Phyllis had become a new creation in Jesus Christ when that baptismal water poured over her.  The old, sinful self was drowned and a new person arose from the font to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.  Everything about Phyllis was made new, except for her flesh.

            Her old, sinful flesh still clung to her, which meant that even though there were few who were more pleasant, she still was inclined to all manner of sins.  This was not something that would have surprised Phyllis.  She knew it well, which is why she was so often to be found in the Divine Service.  It was always my joy to see Jake wheeling Phyllis into church an hour early so that they could make sure that the appropriate pages were marked.  And after Jake went to be with Jesus, Phyllis still made sure that there was someone who could bring her to church, at least for Sundays of Holy Communion, so that she could be again united with her Lord in the mystical union of the Sacrament.

            The heavenly Father spent a lifetime making Phyllis new, week in and week out, through repentance and forgiveness.  And today, St. Paul’s words are fulfilled, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Cor 5:17).  The old, sinful flesh that clung to Phyllis has finally been laid to rest.  She is no more burdened with a fallen and frail body.  Yet, because she was joined in this life to the One who makes all things new, she is also now looking forward to a new body, a resurrected body.  Because she is now still a part of the New Jerusalem, she awaits the day when our Lord’s promises will be fully realized.  “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (vv 3-4).

            I’ve been told that Phyllis and Jake would go out to eat in Streator every day.  That’s about an hour, round-trip.  On Monday, Phyllis joined Jake again for a meal, only this time it was at the wedding feast of the Lamb.  “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Rev 19:9).  Dear family and friends, this invitation is also for you.  When you kneel at the altar to receive Christ’s body and blood, you join Phyllis, Jake, and all the company of heaven in this wedding feast of the Lamb who was slain. 

            Today we entrust Phyllis to the God and Father of our crucified and risen Lord, who says, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.  The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son” (vv 6-7).

In T Jesus’ name.  Amen.

VDTMA

Sermon for Holy Trinity

Romans 11:33-36
Holy Trinity—5/30/2010
Emmanuel Lutheran Church—Dwight, IL
River of Life Lutheran Church—Channahon, IL

In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

“The rule of three,” according to wikipedia.org, “is a principle in English writing that suggests that things that come in threes are inherently funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other numbers of things.”1  You just heard the rule of three in the definition itself: funnier, more satisfying, or more effective.  And so there are three little pigs, three blind mice, three musketeers, Goldilocks and the three bears, and my personal favorite, the Three Stooges. 

Holy Scripture has a rule of three as well, but it’s more than just a literary device.  Triplets are everywhere in Holy Writ.  In today’s Old Testament Reading, the angels cry out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts” (Is. 6:3).  In the Epistle, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!...For from him and through him and to him are all things” (vv 33a, 36a).

It’s a bit of a mystery why things that come in triplets are so inherently satisfying.  It’s an even greater mystery that our one God comes in three.   

THE TRINITARIAN MYSTERY IS UNSEARCHABLE AND INSCRUTABLE, YET IS REVEALED TO US IN HOLY BAPTISM

I.

The Trinitarian mystery is something that cannot be grasped by logic and reason.  St. Paul was well aware of this fact, so he didn’t even bother trying to explain it.  He simply extolled it.  “Oh the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (v 33).

Recently, the motion picture Avatar became one of the highest grossing films of all time, aided in part by premium prices for its 3-D technology.  But for all of the hype surrounding its three-dimensional effects, the story and characters were surprisingly one-dimensional, as one reviewer put it. 

With our God it’s precisely the opposite.  All of our presuppositions about God are one-dimensional.  We think of Him as this all-powerful sovereign sitting somewhere in the sky.  But God has a height and a breadth and a depth to Him that we could never presuppose in our finite human mind.  God is a God of fullness, and to fill anything, you need three-dimensions.

Yet your nature would really prefer a one-dimensional God.  Because that kind of God is easy to get your mind around.  Your nature always desires to know the mind of God.  You are not content with rejoicing in what He reveals to you, but you lust after the secrets of His hidden mind.  When you suffer, you want to know why.  When you eat His body and blood, you want to know how.  When you pray for something, you want to know when. 

The nature of sin is to desire to dissect God and put Him under our microscopes, to deconstruct God and submit Him to our analyses.  All of this is an attempt to know His mind so that we can give Him counsel, to tell Him how He can do a better job at being God.

But St. Paul writes, “For who has known the minds of the Lord, or who has been His counselor?” (v 34).  The answer is none.

II.

 “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” (v. 35).    The mystery of the Holy Trinity is really wrapped up in the mystery of grace.  The Holy Trinity is not a God to whom gifts must be given, but who gives gifts to you.  Even though you will never be able to search out the depth of the mystery of the nature of God, He gives the mystery to you through the gift of Holy Baptism. 

The economy of the Holy Trinity defies all human reason in that He gives gifts to us without any desire to be repaid.  Reason suggests that any benefit from God must be provoked by a gift sacrificed to Him.  But the Incarnation of Jesus Christ shatters this expectation. 

O love, how deep, how broad, how high,
Beyond all thought and fantasy,
That God, the Son of God, should take
Our mortal form for mortals’ sake! (LSB 544.1)

    There was nothing to gain for the Son of God to take on human flesh and its mortality.  There was nothing to gain for Him to die.  Except our salvation.  In the Man who hangs from the cross, you see the depth of the mystery of the Holy Trinity.  God dies to give us life.

This death is our gift in Holy Baptism, as is His life.  “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (Jn 3:5).   

Holy Baptism places the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit on you.  God’s name is washed over you.  You are born again as a child of God’s kingdom with an inheritance of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

In Holy Baptism, the depth of the person and nature of God is revealed.  Though His judgments remain unsearchable and His ways inscrutable, you are now an owner of this mystery.  And rather than try to understand Him, simply praise God for who He is. “For from him and through him and to him are all things.  To him be glory forever.  Amen.”

Holy Father, holy Son, Holy Spirit,
   Three we name Thee;
Though in essence only one,
    Undivided God we claim Thee
And, adoring, bend the knee
    While we own the mystery.

In the + name of the Holy and Blessed Trintiy.   Amen.


Rev. Jacob Ehrhard
VD+MA

Sermon for Judica (Lent 5)

John 8:46-59
Lent 5—3/21/10
Emmanuel Lutheran Church—Dwight, IL
River of Life Lutheran Church—Channahon, IL

In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

A.

In John’s Gospel, Jesus’ story follows a pattern of Jewish feasts. In most every story, Jesus is either going to, coming from, or in the midst of a feast of the Jews. Today’s Gospel finds Jesus in Jerusalem following the Feast of Tabernacles, or the Feast of Booths, which commemorated Israel’s wandering for forty years in the wilderness.

Thus, the Jews Jesus encounters in today’s Gospel were most likely the temple Jews—Sadducees and priests. These Jews were different from others (like the fundamentalist Pharisees) in that they were the liberal elite of their day. The Sadducees were functionally atheist, or at best agnostic, because they did not believe that God—if He existed—was involved with His creation at all.[1] One of the chief characteristics of their system of beliefs arose because of the influences of earlier Greek philosophy—they completely rejected the resurrection of the body.

It was this particular teaching of Jesus, along with His identification with the Father, that made the Jews thirst for blood. The reason why is that the resurrection of the body offended their common spiritual assumptions.

As I said, these Jews were influenced by Greek philosophy, which taught that reality is divided into two realms—a lower and a higher; a physical and a spiritual. Of these two realms, the spiritual is the ideal, the good, the blessed. Things that are physical, things that are carnal are bad. When Jesus reveals that the physical bodies of those who keep His Word will not see death (v 51), the false faith of the Jews causes murderous thoughts to darken their souls.

It’s just a few chapters later when Jesus gives a sign of the general resurrection by raising His dear friend Lazarus after he had been dead four days. But the Pharisees who saw this sign brought word to the chief priests and the Council (the temple Jews) and from that point on they began to plot together about how to kill Jesus. Jesus’ death was because He taught the resurrection.

There is also quite a bit of Sadducaism in the Christian Church today. The heirs of the Sadducees in today’s Church are the liberalizing mainline Protestant denominations, functionally atheist, or at best agnostic Christians, who reject more and more of the Lord’s Word each year. Yet, the error of the Sadducees is not found strictly in those churches.  In fact, it's a trait that's shared with the morally conservative, fundamentalist Christian right.  It’s found also in ours. For many Christians, like those Jewish elite, tend to spiritualize Christianity, and in so doing, effectually deny the resurrection of the body.

Evidence of this “Sadducaical” spiritualization of Christianity is found most clearly in two places: beliefs regarding the Lord’s Supper and about what happens after death.

One of the most malicious works of the devil in the Church today is the attack on Christ’s Word that the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper only represent a spiritual body and blood. So the Supper is only a meal of remembrance and nothing more. Yet such a belief is a failure to keep our Lord’s Word, which most clearly says more than once, “this is My body; this is My blood.”

Another common misconception found among Christians that we must do our best to battle against is that after death, we will spend eternity in a spiritual heaven, floating around in some sort of a-physical bliss. But our Lord Jesus Christ rose in His body and He promises to raise each one of us in our bodies. It is as St. Paul writes, if there is no resurrection, then “your faith is in vain.”

B.

So when Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death” (v 51), it the Jews listening to him are quite irritated. Now, unfortunately, the English translation isn’t quite accurate and doesn't show why the Jews were so worked up. A better translation of what Jesus says is, “If anyone keeps My Word, he will certainly not see death for eternity."  

These Jews, however, who deny the resurrection of the dead, misunderstand Jesus to say, “If anyone keeps My Word, He will certainly not taste death forever” (v 52, translation mine). They scoffed at the thought that Jesus could insulate His hearers from death’s bitter tang.

In a way, the Jews are right to be shocked. After all, one does not have to live for long before the taste of death sours the soul. Every time an illness strikes, every time an injury afflicts the body, you get just a little taste of death. Even bitterer is the taste of death that comes when a loved one is laid to rest. And as surely as the sun sets each day, each of us will taste death when our bodies are lowered into the grave.

The curse of sin is that all will taste death. But Jesus doesn’t promise that we will not taste death. In fact, to taste death is precisely why He came into the flesh.

JESUS CAME INTO OUR FLESH TO TASTE DEATH SO THAT WE MIGHT NOT SEE DEATH FOR ETERNITY

B'.

The taste of death was with Jesus often. Especially in the years of His public ministry, He was almost always found among the sick, the suffering, and the distressed. He was found among the dead. Jesus did not flee the dregs of society to set up a holy commune removed from the sufferings of the common man to live a victorious life. He touched the sick, spoke peace to the suffering, and raised the dead. He left life in His wake, and took death into Himself. “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows,” the prophet writes (Is 53:4).
And then our Lord fully tasted death by allowing Himself to be taken into the hands of ruthless men, beaten, mocked, and hung upon a cross. The bitterness of death echoes in our Lord’s dying words, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Mk 15:34). For Jesus didn’t just suffer the pain of physical death on the cross— which is the separation of the soul from the body—but He also suffered the pain of eternal death—which is the separation of both soul and body from God.

This is the glorification of which Jesus speaks to the Jews. “Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge,” “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’” (vv 50, 54). In a short time, Jesus will also speak to some Gentiles, and when He does, He says, “‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified’…‘And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die” (Jn 12:23, 32-33).

Jesus crucifixion is His glorification by the Father, for it is in His crucifixion that we see His true nature of love. He loved us all to the point of tasting our death, joining us in our curse, and accepting the punishment that God does not desire that anyone receive. So He gave it to His only-begotten Son on behalf of all. Behold the glory of God in a dying man.

A'.

The Jews misunderstood Jesus and so they failed to grasp the promise He offered to them. Jesus says, “Amen, amen, I say to you, if ever anyone keeps My Word, he will most certainly not see death for eternity” (v 51, translation mine). Here in Jesus’ Word is a promise of resurrection for those who would believe. And He seals His Word by allowing us to taste His death through the blessed Sacraments.

In the waters of Holy Baptism, we are baptized into His death (Rom 6:3). Just as Jesus was buried in the tomb, so also are we, with all our sins and evil lusts, buried in the waters of Baptism.

And in the Holy Sacrament of His body and blood, our tongues taste bread and wine, but our faith tastes His flesh and blood which were given over into death and poured out for the forgiveness our sins.

Thus if you are searching for the glory of God, look no farther than the Sacraments, for they are where Christ delivers His crucifixion.

The promise Jesus gives us is not that we will not taste death in our lives, if we keep His Word. In fact, quite the contrary. He promises that there will be suffering and trials in this life—even death of the flesh. But St. Paul explains that sufferings are where we daily taste Christ’s death. “For I bear on my body the marks of Jesus” (Gal 6:17b). Suffering become for the Christian, God’s sign that you are in Christ.

And what awaits the one who suffers is the fulfillment of Jesus’ Word and promise. Though we will all taste death in this life, we will most certainly not see death forever. “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his” (Rom 6:5). This means both that we are given new, righteous life here on earth, and also that there is life for eternity awaiting us in God’s kingdom which is yet to come.

So rejoice with Abraham that you have seen the day of the Lord, the day when His glory has been revealed on Calvary. And be glad that you are also given a foretaste of the feast to come in the Holy Supper of our Lord, where you sit at table with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven. O taste and see that the Lord is good.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.


Rev. Jacob Ehrhard
VD+MA

-------------------
[1] TDNT, VII:46.

Sermon for Reminiscere (Lent 2)

Matthew 15:21-28

Lent 2—2/28/10

Emmanuel Lutheran Church—Dwight, IL

River of Life Lutheran Church—Channahon, IL

In the name of the Father, and of the T Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

1.

            The Canaanite woman from today’s Gospel had no ordinary problem.  “And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And 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’” (vv 21-22).

            The trouble that this woman faced was a spiritual one.  The malady afflicting this woman’s family was not something that could be fixed by a visit to her primary care physician, nor by a letter to her local elected officials.  Hers was a spiritual battle.

            So she turned to prayer.  Prayer is a spiritual battle, because it’s the primary target of—and weapon against—Satan and his evil host.  Apart from God’s Word and His precious Sacraments, there is nothing that Satan attacks so vehemently as the prayers of God’s people.  From the simple prayers of children as they lay themselves down to sleep, praying for the Lord their souls to keep, to the most fervent litanies prayed in great discipline and fasting during Lent, the adversary wants nothing more than for such praying to cease, for he knows what harm it brings to him.

2.

            In our spiritual battle of prayer, we are often met with struggles and trials that will cause our weak flesh to cease praying. 

            This Canaanite woman serves as our example of the struggles that come with prayer.  Three times she approached Jesus begging Him for relief and mercy, and three times she is met with unfavorable responses.

            First, she is met with silence.  “But he did not answer her a word” (v 23a).  Though the text does not tell us explicitly, we can identify with the feelings this woman undoubtedly was experiencing.  “He doesn’t care.  He probably isn’t even able to help me.  Who does this man think He is?”  These are the subtle, subconscious suggestions of the spiritual enemy.

            The disciples now weigh in and this time Jesus answers, but He is cold and unfriendly.  “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’” (vv 23b-24).

            Now Jesus suggests that she, being Canaanite and not of the same blood as Jesus and the rest of the Israelites, is not entitled to help from this Jewish Messiah.  “The promise isn’t for you.  You’re an outsider.  Why don’t you ask your own gods?  Go away!”  More temptations from the devil.

            Again she comes to Jesus, this time throwing herself at His feet.  “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’” (vv 25-26).

            Now Jesus adds insult to injury.  Not only does He refuse to give her what she wants, but He also adds an ethnic slur, for the unclean Gentiles were like dogs to the Jews.  “I deserve to have my daughter healed—look at the lengths I’ve gone to!  How dare this man ignore me, then call me a dog!  I shouldn’t have even come.  This is certainly not the Son of God I expected to find.” 

            Often times Jesus seems like a hard man, even cruel.  His handling of the Canaanite woman is not exactly what we would expect from our Lord.  He puts her off again and again.  He doesn’t answer favorably.  He even speaks a bit rudely to her.

            Have you ever met this Jesus in your prayers?  Have your prayers seemed like they are falling on deaf ears?  Have you felt as though Christ were sending you away, as if He didn’t have time?  Have you even felt that God is insulting you by heaping more trials upon the already crushing load for which you’re praying for relief?

            These are the battles that are fought in spiritual warfare.  The Lord’s responses are often less than what we expect from Him—or demand from Him—and our weak flesh is always too ready to give up and seek its own solutions, or, even worse, to raise the white flag of surrender and join the camp of the enemy.

            Part of the nature with which we are all born is to expect God to answer and act on our terms.  In our prayers, we lay out what we expect from God, and if He doesn’t follow to the letter, we’re not satisfied.  We pray for healing from cancer, but God offers two years of struggle that end in death.  He obviously didn’t listen to our prayers, or refused to answer them.  We pray that we might find a job in this poor economy after three months of unemployment, and God answers with another three months with no salary, and you have to cut your summer vacation plans and stay home.  So God doesn’t care about my livelihood. 

            If we give up prayer because the Lord’s response does not suit our expectations, or when we face struggles and trials, Satan has won the victory.  And his spoils may very well be your eternal soul.

3.

            Yet, when viewed through the lens of faith, one sees that it is precisely in those struggles that the Lord is revealing just how comforting His Word is, for it is the only thing that can gain victory over Satan and his lies. 

Faith Clings to the Word of God No Matter How Difficult the Struggle

4.

            While Jesus’ three responses to the Canaanite woman outwardly appeared cruel, they were meant to bring her to a great faith in Christ by holding fast to His Word.

            First, His silence.  His silence is to show the woman that He is not answering her prayer simply to get rid of her, like the disciples suggested.  He earnestly wants to do what she asks, but He also wants her to know that He does so by grace, not because of the quality of her prayer.

            When He says that He was not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, He was not saying that she was excluded from the promise.  But He wanted to show her that there was no worthiness in her to receive an answer, but that He gladly invites her into His household of grace to be an heir of the promise.

            And what appears to be an insult is really no insult at all, but a word of promise that she—although a Canaanite and outside the household of Israel—still has a place in the Lord’s house and is entitled to the benefits of being at the Lord’s feet.  “She said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table’” (v 27).

            All along, Jesus is providing His Word to the woman and leading her to a great faith.  Martin Luther says regarding this woman, “She catches Christ, the Lord, in his own words and with that wins not only the right of a dog, but also that of the children.  Now then where will he go, our dear Jesus?  He let himself be made captive, and must comply.  Be sure of this: that’s what he most deeply desires.”

            There is a mighty lesson of prayer taught here.  It is not the power of prayer that accomplishes anything, but the Word and promise of God, to which faith holds fast.  With the woman’s initial petition, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David;” Jesus sees the faith in this woman, but He wants her to struggle with His Word so that she learns to not let go of it.

            Our Lord desires our prayer, then, not for His benefit, but for ours, that we might realize that all good things come from Him without any merit or worthiness in me.  There is no right—no entitlement—in the Church apart from what His Word promises and offers.  Our prayers are a confession of faith that the Lord is the source of all our benefits.

5.

            Luther taught that prayer makes a theologian, but that it must also be accompanied by meditation on God’s Word, and what he called tentatio, or Anfechtung.  Prayer and meditation on the Word of God are met with struggles and trials. 

            We see all three exhibited in the Canaanite woman.  Her prayers were answered with Christ’s promise, though it was hidden under what appeared to be cruelty.  But by her struggle she is commended and her desire accomplished.  “Then Jesus answered her, ‘O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.’ And her daughter was healed instantly” (v 29). 

            Learn to love these three things; prayer, meditation on God’s Word, and struggling with trials, and you will also see the comfort that is found in the Word of Christ.  And then you will hear for yourself, “O Christian, great is your faith!”

In T Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Rev. Jacob Ehrhard

VDTMA