"Even If It's Only Crumbs" Second Sunday in Lent Reminiscere March 16, 2014 Matthew 15:21-28
And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods. Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many.'" (Joshua 24:2-3) In his Gospel account, Matthew traces Jesus' lineage back to Abraham. The Jews of Jesus' day traced their lineage back to Abraham. Many times God had referred to Himself as "the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?" When we speak of our heritage as humans, we go all the way back to Adam, the first man. When as Christians we do, just like the Jews, we go back to our forefather in the faith, we go back to Abraham. The New Testament emphasizes that this is the spiritual fatherhood of Abraham. What was it about Abraham that made him our father in the faith? Did he have stronger faith than others? Was there something about his character that drew him to God's choosing him for this role? Was he uniquely suited for it, with certain qualities and abilities that no one else had? The Old Testament, in speaking of Abraham, teaches us that, no, it was none of these things. The New Testament, in teaching us the tremendous importance of Abraham, shows us that, no, it was nothing like any of this. The Old and New Testaments stand together in their contention that it was all by grace. God chose Abraham out of His favor. Far from Abraham having something within himself that moved God to choose him, it rather was something within God that moved Himself to choose Abraham. And that something was grace. It was His undeserved, eternal love and mercy toward Abraham. This is the way Paul says it in Romans 4: What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about; but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? "And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness." Now to the one who works, his wage is not reckoned as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness (Rom 4:1-5) Looks like Paul knew well what Joshua had said to the people of God as they entered the land of Canaan: And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods. Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many.'" (Joshua 24:2-3) If we do not understand Abraham in the way the Scriptures do then we make Abraham into an idol. He achieves almost mythical status. We miss the whole point of God's saving him by grace, which was the promise He gave to Abraham that through his offspring God would save all people by grace. That offspring culminated in Jesus Christ Himself, as we saw that Matthew traced Jesus' lineage back to Abraham. It was because of the promise of God to Abraham which was fulfilled in Jesus. Abraham may have been an upstanding citizen. He may have been a paragon of virtue. He may have been a leader in his community. But Joshua tells us nothing of this kind of thing when he talks of Abraham. He says something that seems almost scandalous with how we usually think of Abraham. He was a pagan. He served other gods. Before God ever gave Abraham the promise that he would be the father of many nations and that the Savior would come through his lineage, God called him from his false religion. God converted him. He saved him. In the Gospel reading a woman comes up to Jesus. The only problem is that she wasn't a daughter of Abraham. That is, she wasn't of that lineage. Even worse, she was a Canaanite. This explains the disciples' reaction to her. Granted, it wasn't justified, but it explains why they wanted to have nothing to do with her. When God had promised to give Abraham the Promised Land, a land of abundance, a land flowing with milk and honey, it was the land of Canaan. God was calling Abraham to become a new nation, of people that worshiped Him alone. Genesis 12 says, "And [Abraham] passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land." Canaan was a land of pagans, of people who worshiped false gods. When the disciples see this Canaanite woman coming to Jesus, it brings up old prejudices and deeply-ingrained revulsion of past enemies of God's people. Why should Jesus have anything to do with her? Send her away! It appears at first that Jesus agrees with them: "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But what the disciples didn't realize is that they did not see Jesus nearly as clearly as this Canaanite woman did. Was she of the house of Israel? No, but she knew who Jesus was. "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David." Calling Him Lord! Calling Him Son of David! These were names for the Messiah that those who were of the lineage of Abraham would use of the Messiah, or as Jesus said, those who were of the house of Israel. It's quite stunning, isn't it, that the disciples were so quick to dismiss her. That she was revolting to them when she was coming in need. Here she was coming to Jesus with a wonderful confession of faith of who Jesus is and they were smug in their knowledge that they were of the house of Israel. There's something pretentious about being a child. When you are invited to sit at the table. When the abundance of the household is given you on a silver platter. It's easy to look down on those who aren't members of the household. They don't belong. They don't deserve what you deserve. Everything is given you, why should they get any? This is why God chose Abraham. Abraham was not part of the household of God. He was a pagan. He was an outsider. But God invited him to the feast. He gave him a seat at the table. And he became the father of many nations. He became the one through whom the promised Messiah would come. And the sad part of it all is that people mistook Abraham as being the father of many nations as being their ancestral father. If you were born of his lineage you were in. If you weren't, well, then you were out. You didn't deserve what God gives. The New Testament shows that Abraham, though, is our father in the faith, not our father by lineage. He is our father in the faith because salvation doesn't come through ancestry but through the promise given to Abraham. Somehow, someway, this Canaanite woman knew this. Somehow she had heard. Some way, she had come to see that though she was of a race that was outside the house of Israel, the God of Israel had much to give. And even if it was just crumbs that she would receive, it would be enough. Long after it was over, the disciples must looked back on that day in shame. They were humbled by that experience. This woman who they disdained was exalted by Jesus as having great faith. Much greater than the faith of the disciples, who were of the house of Israel. It was great faith because it looked solely to Christ and His inclination for giving in abundance. It's true, He came for the lost sheep of the house of Israel. He would feed them in abundance. But something happens when the children are fed. The dogs get to eat too, because the children are too busy enjoying the rich feast to be concerned about the crumbs falling to the floor. The dogs have no pride. They have not a care for what kind of fare they receive. The crumbs fall to the ground and they feast on it. This is what that woman saw in Jesus. She saw one who was ready and willing to give. Would He give a lot? Would He give a little? She didn't care. Even if it's only crumbs, I want what you have to give. And what she found out, and what you and I ought to see, is that when Jesus gives, even if it's only crumbs, it is rich in abundance and far greater than we could ever imagine or ask for. He gives us Himself, in a lowly state, God coming in humility as a man. He goes Himself, humbly to the cross to suffer for every sin you have ever committed. He gives Himself to you in the rich feast at His table of bread and wine in which He gives you His body and blood. Even if it were only crumbs, you would have more than you ever needed from Him. But in grace and abounding love, He gives you everything in His Son. Amen. SDG -- Pastor Paul L. Willweber Prince of Peace Lutheran Church [LCMS] 6801 Easton Ct., San Diego, California 92120 619.583.1436 princeofpeacesd.net three-taverns.net It is the spirit and genius of Lutheranism to be liberal in everything except where the marks of the Church are concerned. [Henry Hamann, On Being a Christian] _______________________________________________ Sermons mailing list Sermons@cat41.org http://cat41.org/mailman/listinfo/sermons
