Reminiscere – Sunday 25 February A✠D 2024
✠ Psalmody: Psalm 25:6, 2b, 22;25:1-2a, 7-8, 11;25:17-18;106:1-4
✠ Lection: Genesis 32:22-32;1 Thessalonians 4:1-7;St. Matthew 15:21-28
In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In contrast to last Sunday, when we praised Jesus as our Champion, as our Victor, as He was led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil and overcame him by the word that proceeds from His mouth, today we see Jesus conquered. Twice. It was His will in both instances that this happened. It was His will that Jacob prevailed over Him, even after inflicting much pain upon the man by putting his hip out of socket. It was Jesus’ will that the woman of Canaan conquered Him, too, even after inflicting much trial of her faith by comparing her to a little dog. There are times when God cannot be conquered; because of this, you should have confidence in Him. And there are times when God can be conquered; because of this, you should have faith in Him, for the strengthening of your faith is exactly why He wills it.
We know most certainly that God was conquered by Jacob by the name that He gives to him: Israel. I- being a name indicator such as in Ieremiah (Jeremiah), Isaiah (Isaiah), Ieshua (Jesus). -sra- meaning to prevail, and -el meaning God. I-sra-el, one who prevailed over, or conquered, God. But unlike us, or any other created thing, God is not able to be conquered by an outside force that is greater than Him, for there is none. Therefore, any conquering of God is done only by Him allowing it to be so. This also means that there must be purpose in God allowing one to prevail over Him. And if He purposes it, then it is good.
This same truthful dynamic is reflected in the lives of parents. A father, who is able to to quite literally crush his toddler son, restrains that might and even submits himself to defeat to the toddler in a playsome wrestling match on the living room floor. The father is conquered. The toddler is delighted. The toddler is emboldened. Their bond is strengthened. And as said child grows older, other times arise in which the father must show stern denial, not to curtly refuse a request, but to bring about greater desire for the one from whom it is being asked, greater wisdom about what it means to ask and to receive, and greater thankfulness if and when the request is granted. Afte the father has stirred up within the child the thoughts and considerations that he desires, then he yields to the child. He allows himself to be conquered for many of the same reasons as he did when the child was but a toddler.
It is seen with Jacob, with Israel, that is, it is seen with the woman from Canaan, and thus Jesus desires to see you struggle with Him. He desires not that you persist in asking him for something, not even a miracle, just so that you can have the miracle, but so you may see that He is conquerable by those whom He loves. Let us not look at the miracles that Christ performed only to covet one for ourselves or else we shall come to only seek a sign from Jesus like doubting hypocrites. The woman did not say to herself, “If Jesus does this for me, then I will believe in Him.” No. Her existing belief in Him drove her to come to Him, to cry out to Him, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David!” She cried for mercy from her Lord, that is, from the Divine Majesty. She cried for mercy from the Son of David, not even being a Jew herself. Her eventual miracle, and all the miracles, are not recorded for us to long for miracles. Nor are they performed just for us to know that if it’s miracles that we want, then come on down, Jesus is our guy and He’s got plenty of hot miracles just in time for the big Easter Sale. Miracles are not about miracles. They’re about the One by Whom they are done, because in Him is life and the life is the light of men. And He desires to give that light and life most of all. Miracles are about God revealed to us, face to face, in Christ.
Therefore, to believe this more, to see Him more, to love and trust Him more, He engages in a struggle with us. Heavenly faith dwelling within sinful beings requires this. At first, we may worry that He hasn’t heard our cries when we call out to Him; doubting whether or not He even cares about what concerns us. We must never think this about Him. He cares about all that we care about and He cares enough to wrestle us into seeing all things by faith and not be fear, greed, anxiety, or despair. He hears all, especially the cries of His own children. The woman cried out to Him, but He answered her not a word. The struggle with God intensifies.
His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.” His answer is to them showing that they were asking that He just give her some of what she wants. Please, just give her some of what she’s asking for, a little bit of that mercy, and send her on her way. If Jesus was about just purposely giving stuff out, this is where He would oblige. If the miracle was the treasure to be given, here is where it would come. But He answered the disciples and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” implying that His mercy was not for her, or at least not yet. This is the first thing that He actually says in response to her and her cries. Take note of what it isn’t said. The Lord Jesus doesn’t give an absolute denial of her request. There was still room for argument, which was His intent. There was still room for her to say, He has not denied me, so I must press on and strive with the Lord my God. When the Lord doesn’t answer No to you, it may be that He’s pressing you to seek Him even more, to draw you closer to Him, for seeking Him is greater than anything that may be gained in this life. Maybe more of Himself is what He intends to give you most. His answer to the disciples left room for her to press on after Him, to wrestle with Him more, to strive, to struggle with Him. He is exercising her faith so that it gleams in the genuineness of its focus. It seeks Him. It knows Him. It trusts that from Him, even the smallest of things is bountiful.
The woman of faith clings to Jesus and will not let go until He blesses her. But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” Yes, in the fulness of time and in accordance with the word of God spoken by the prophets of old, the Son of God, the Messiah, came into the world from and to the chosen people of Israel. They had often strayed mightily, thus He came to seek and save the lost sheep first. But His mercy extends beyond the descendants of Jacob, because in his Seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Israel’s Lord is Lord of all people by faith, and faith this woman has. Faith trusts every no, every yes, every scarcity, every bounty, every healthy youthful year, every trying elder year, everything to the One Whom it believes to be good, merciful, mighty, and eternal. Faith trusts, even as the children to whom the bread is first served disregard it and count it worthless as it falls from the table, that by rejected crumbs the Master provides food for even the begging dogs, because in their begging, they learn more about their Master.
The woman conquers Christ in the way that He wants her to; in the way that He pushes her and allows her to. Christ, your Conqueror, awaits you to conquer Him likewise. He awaits your trust in Him to be shown in your repentance, in your prayers, in your cries for mercy that are persistent, for they are always seen and heard by Him. In seeking out the everlasting Master, to see and believe Him to be Who He is, He shall stretch your faith so that you come to trust Him above all miracles. He shall grow your faith with bread from His table, so that by it you may stand firm in the face of demonic assault, confident in every word that proceeds from His mouth. By wrestling and striving with Christ, trusting Him for all good by however He responds, by however He withholds, by however He afflicts, by however He blesses, you come to possess the Miracle to which none other compares: Jesus, your Lord, your Master, Himself. Having Him is to truly get all the miracles.
In ✠ Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.