Podcast of "Of the Faithful, For the Faithful (MP3)
Genesis 45:1-15
Psalm 133
Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32
Matthew 15:21-28
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen
Covenant, the tie that binds. Covenants are different from contracts. Both are legal agreements, both are between two parties; and that’s where the similarities end. In contracts both parties have obligations to one another. In contracts both parties have to bring something to the table. In contracts both parties can be penalized for failure to honor the agreement. Not so in a covenant. A contract is a legal agreement between two parties but a covenant is an agreement, a promise, one party makes to another.
Covenants are promises made by taking a solemn oath. A couple of weeks ago, our Old Testament reading was what’s known as “Jacob’s Ladder,” the dream containing God’s covenant with Jacob.[1] Jacob receives this promise, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”[2]
There is a formula to covenant.[3] It began with a solemn promise made binding by an oath. The promise in Jacob’s Ladder was made in verbally. Such an action or formula is recognized by both parties as a formal act which binds the one who makes the promise to fulfill it. In this instance the Lord uses words to make the promise. Jacob recognizes the promise setting a stone as a pillar and pouring oil over it. This is when he names that place Bethel
Genesis 37 contains another covenant promise, this one made to Joseph. The promises made to Joseph are symbolic, not verbal. Where Jacob’s promises are declared in plain speech, the promises made to Joseph come in his dreams. Receiving the same promise twice, once represented by the wheat in the field and then again by the stars in the skies, God’s covenant that Joseph will have dominion over his brothers is established and confirmed.
Our Genesis reading from last week seems to erect a detour to this covenant. Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers and taken to Egypt
In our Genesis reading today, we see not only how God’s covenant is fulfilled, but what it means for the promises made to Jacob. In verse five of our reading, we learn how even the brother’s betrayal cannot stop the Lord from keeping his covenant with Joseph. “Do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.” The covenant with Jacob was fulfilled through the covenant with Joseph.
What confidence we can have when we know and trust the Lord because of a personal covenant. Joseph could bear years of slavery knowing that it was all a part of God’s plan. He even tells his brothers “It was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt Israel would grow large and strong in the land of Goshen
Our reading from Matthew ties its roots back to an even older covenant, a covenant made by God to Abram in Genesis 12, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”[4] This is the root of the saying “salvation comes from the Jews.” The Lord promises Abram not only that he will be made a great nation, but that he and his nation will be a blessing to all the families of the earth.
This blessing is highlighted in Matthew 10 when Jesus sends his disciples out to the world saying, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel . As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’”[5] The blessing of the Lord and from the Lord is sent first to the Jews.
This is why Jesus tells the Canaanite woman “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel .”
I think I’ve done a pretty good job of explaining where Jesus was coming from so far. I like to think I’m pretty good at explaining things. One of my favorite pastors was an explainer and listening to his sermons for over five years influenced my preaching style tremendously. One of the things he taught me was if you don’t understand it, don’t try to explain it.
Let me share this with you: I have no idea how to “explain” how and why Jesus responds to Canaanite woman like he did. It rubs me the wrong way to see Jesus so callus, so cavalier to someone who is desperately in need, a need that extends beyond her daughter’s demon possession. She is not a member of the twelve tribes; she is a gentile, a foreigner. There doesn’t seem to be a husband or son to care of the family business. In this society, being what would appear to be a single mother, is another big strike against her and her daughter.
She doesn’t appear to have any money or other goods to trade. Evidently the healing arts of the time were unable to help, assuming the healers of the time would have anything to do with her or her tormented daughter in the first place. She is at her wits end and this is when she sees Jesus on the road.
How did she know he was Jesus of Nazareth? Scripture doesn’t say. Surely she didn’t see his picture in the paper or on the news. He wasn’t wearing a name tag, but she knew him when she saw him. She also knew about him. She called him the Lord and the Son of David, both titles belonging to the Jewish Messiah. She knew he was a healer. She knew he was compassionate. She saw him, she came to him, and she cried her plea, “Have mercy.”
His first response is simply ignoring her. Whether he just kept walking or took a seat and turned his back scripture doesn’t say. Neither would have been comforting. After her second cry, Jesus explains why he denies her with the authoritative answer “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel .” This answer doesn’t help a lick even though it’s the covenant answer, the “correct” answer. Frankly this answer has all the pastoral sensitivity of nails on a chalkboard. She cries out again and finally after rejecting her twice, he insults her and her entire race. This is my opinion, and I believe many would agree with me; this seems harsh.
Nevertheless it’s his answer and even though it’s the right answer it doesn’t help. Jesus knew his mission and this may sound like a restrictive way to describe God Incarnate, but Jesus knew his place and his place began with the children if Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jesus tells her that the blessing she seeks is not for her, but she points out that the dogs get to lick the floor and pick up the spills. The dogs get to share in the blessings of the master even if they were not intended to receive them.
I can’t explain his words, but this I do know, the blessing of the Lord is overflowing, and even if this woman and her daughter aren’t intended to receive this blessing, they still receive the remains. You see, this Canaanite woman knew her place in Jewish society, a place that didn’t exist. She didn’t count on her status or her power to be entitled to a blessing, but she had faith, faith that God’s overflowing love would be enough for her family.
Last week we heard Peter test Jesus. We heard Peter say “Lord, if it is you tell me to come to you on the water.”[6] Peter wasn’t up to trusting, so he tested. The Canaanite woman does no such thing. She doesn’t say “If you are the Lord” or “If you are the Son of David.” She knows, she believes, and she trusts.
Her faith is greater than Peter’s. That’s right, at this moment the faith of an impoverished Gentile single mother is greater than the faith of the Rock upon which the Church will be built. She is faithful. Jesus declares her faith is great. She cries out.
So what is her faith? Her faith is that Jesus of Nazareth, the Lord, the Son of David is enough. Christ the Messiah is enough for her, her life, and her needs. She’s not entitled to his blessing, yet she has faith. Her faith has nothing to do with deserving his blessing, but that he will bless her even though she doesn’t deserve it. Romans 5:8 says it this way, “But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.”
This is her faith. She hoped, prayed, and she had faith that while she didn’t deserve what she cried for; it might still be granted. She knew that even though he owed her nothing she had faith that there might be a leftover crumb and that crumb would be enough.
Jesus knows his path, Jesus knows his vocation is first to the nation of Israel , but he also knows that when the cup of his bounty overflows, others will be blessed from the font of many blessings. Jesus is faithful to Israel , and by her faith he is faithful to the Canaanite woman healing her daughter. Saved by grace through faith, this is the foundation of our faith.
God has a plan for salvation. We see its beginnings in Genesis. We see it in the covenant with Abram. We see it in the covenant with Jacob. We see it in the covenant with Joseph. Today we read how Joseph’s covenant plays out and provides for the covenant with Jacob.
God has a plan for salvation which begins with the Jews, and through the Jews all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
If there is something important for us to take from this story, it begins with the fact that God’s love is gracious. It is undeserved. And it is overflowing. Flowing like a great flood, the grace of God in Christ will not be contained. God promised by the faithfulness of Israel the world will be blessed, and the gospel gives the world its first indication of that all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
It is also important for us to know that this new blessing will not come without controversy. This narrative must have been scandalous when it was first shared with the nation that this Canaanite woman is blessed by the Lord. The truth is that when blessings overflow to the feet of outsiders, insiders will not be comfortable. It is up to us to know that what God is doing is not meant to make us comfortable, it is meant to save us.
In Genesis, the Lord established what he will do. In Matthew, the Lord established he will do that and more. God will not be limited, not by culture or even by death. God doesn’t change, but the world does; and God saves the world and all that is in it.
I can’t explain why Jesus said what he said, and especially not how he said it. But I believe to a certain degree I can explain why Jesus did what he did. Jesus is faithful and responds to the faithful. What Matthew shows us is the first time this gracious response touched the gentiles.
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