The Tenth Sunday After Pentecost
August 17, 2014- Pastor Adam Moline
Isaiah 56:1, 6-8 Romans 11:1-2a, 13-15, 28-32 Matthew 15:21-28
Hymns LSB 779, 615, 683 Communion Hymns LSB 685, 901, 571,
570
Grace, mercy and
peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our text today is form the Gospel lesson just read, especially these
words, “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” Thus far our text for today.
Dear friends in
Christ. Oh, that we had faith like the
woman in our text. She has nothing to
offer Jesus in exchange for what she wants.
She has no money to pay him. She
has no gifts to offer him. Her only
words to him are to cry out continuously, “O Lord have mercy upon me.”
The mercy she asks
for is underserved of God. She hasn’t
been holy, but is a sinner. She’s not
even a true Israelite, but is instead a Canaanite despised by all the Jews. She isn’t special in her self, she’s just an
everyday average person. She hasn’t done
any special mission to please God. She
has nothing, nothing, and she knows it.
She doesn’t make
excuses saying “Its not really my fault – the sinful things that have happened
in my life.” She doesn’t claim to be a
victim of circumstances out of her control.
She doesn’t avoid the truth.
Instead she owns up to her sin and her life, which is the reason that
her cry is only “Lord have mercy.”
And even when
confronted by Jesus himself, when God himself says to her “You don’t deserve a
seat at the table for any reason, you aren’t an Israelite.” Her reply is only, “You’re right O Lord, I’m
but a dog, but even dogs eat the crumbs from the master’s table.”
Do you see her
faith? Her faith is completely in Jesus,
not in herself. She doesn’t think she’s
capable in herself. Instead she trusts
only in God and in his great mercy!
And when Jesus
hears her trust in Him and Him alone, he gives her the mercy she begs of him, “O
woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.”
What Great faith
that woman had, to trust in Jesus alone.
What great faith that woman had in confessing her sin. What great faith that woman had in looking
for God’s mercy. Oh that we had such
faith as to not trust in ourselves.
We too are
sinful. We too have nothing within
ourselves to please God. We’ve broken
all God’s laws, day in and day out. We
are indifferent about the times that we’ve done it. We make excuses for it, we blame it on
others. We are guilty, dear friends, and
nothing we can do will change that.
No, you can’t give
enough money to make God happy, you can’t do enough works to please him, you
can’t keep your promise to avoid sin.
Its too great, within each one of you.
The only option we have is to follow the example of this woman, to beg
for mercy. To fall down on our knees
before God and to say, “Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy
upon me a sinner.”
And in fact that’s
what we cry each week in our liturgy – we sing the very words this woman cries
out before God. Lord have mercy.
And have mercy,
God does. He shows mercy to you in your
sin. He shows you grace for what you’ve
done wrong. He gives mercy to promise
you eternal life. And his mercy is not
just a nice saying, or empty words. His
mercy comes through a person, through Jesus Christ himself. Jesus suffers upon the cross, so that you
might have mercy. Jesus bleeds so that
you won’t suffer hell. Jesus dies,
because you deserved to die. Jesus is
laid in the grave, because of your guilt, and Jesus rises on the third day to
promise you mercy and forgiveness.
This mercy comes
to you in the promsies of God’s words, promises to guard and protect you. This mercy comes to you in Water and the
Word, knowing God’s mercy has washed away your sin. This mercy comes to you, here today, and
evermore. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
