Baptism of
Sayler Danae Miller
In
the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The
account of the Canaanite woman is a masterpiece of a Gospel reading. It’s one
of my personal favorites. It’s such a stunning account of faith because it
shows faith’s life and death struggle with God. Faith is not all tranquility
and relaxation. While faith in God’s promises does supply us with peace and
comfort, peace and comfort that the world cannot give, the act of faith itself
is not easy. Faith is the persistent struggle to overcome doubt and to cling to
God’s Word no matter what, even if it seems that God has turned away from us.
First of all, this woman is a Canaanite, a
Gentile, an outsider. That means she is not a descendant of Abraham and she has
no right to ask the God of Abraham for help. The thought must have nagged at
her conscience: “I’m not worthy to
approach Him. I shouldn’t even bother. I’m a Gentile, and He’s a Jew, sent to
the Jews.” And I’m sure you’ve all had similar thoughts attack you when you
pray. We might feel as though we shouldn’t pray because we’re not good enough. We
might feel as though God won’t listen to us anyway, He’s tired of us, tired of
the same old problems, the same old sins. We might feel as though we can’t pray
because we don’t have enough faith or we’re not sincere enough. For the
unpracticed heart, the Christian who has stopped struggling, these thoughts
succeed in silencing our prayer. And then the struggle really is lost, and
faith dies. But look at this Canaanite woman. She’s heard a good report about
Jesus, a Gospel message of His word and works, and so she believes. Her heart
is so full of trust in Christ that she is convinced that He will not turn her
away. With this faith she banishes every thought of her unworthiness. She
refuses to debate with herself and her sins. Instead she focuses all her
confidence on Jesus. She knows that she needs help and so she humbly comes
seeking help from Him.
She cries out, “Have
mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a
demon.” But on top
of her feelings of unworthiness, Jesus adds another blow: He did not
answer her a word. You know
she must have thought, “Where’s the kind man everyone was praising for His
compassion, being quick to listen, eager to help?” When this kind of thing
happens to us, we immediately get upset with God. And some even give God their
ultimatum: “I would never believe in a God like that…” Maybe you’re a little
disappointed with Jesus here. He doesn’t seem like the “Jesus loves me” kind of
Jesus that we’re so comfortable with. But the poor Canaanite woman doesn’t let
herself be scared off. She is all too aware of her desperate need. And she is
willing to fight through the silence and darkness while her Lord ignores her. But
she doesn’t stop expecting help from Him.
Now, the disciples tried to be nice people. They
were annoyed by her crying and carrying on, but they meant well. They wanted
Jesus to help her. And if His helping her made their lives a little easier then
so much the better. Nice, satisfied people don’t really know what it means to
struggle with God. They don’t really have faith in Christ the way this woman
does, because they don’t realize their deep need for Christ. This might be some
of us, if we’re only interested in the quick fix – the fastest, easiest way to
make sure everyone gets along. And when problems arise we bury our heads in the
sand. We might commiserate, but we never want to tackle the problem head on. We
don’t want to struggle with God or with men, and that’s another indication that
faith is dying. But Jesus gives the disciples something to struggle with. He
refuses the woman again, first by His silence, and now by His answer to the
disciples, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house
of Israel.” What did the disciples think? “Oh well, we
tried” Still, she does not relent, but keeps right on.
She comes right up to Him, kneeling in front
of Him, and says, “Lord, help me.” And
then Jesus deals her the hardest blow yet: “It is not
right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” If
He had said that to me, I would’ve probably slunk off to the corner. If
He had said that to most people today who get offended at the slightest
provocation, He would probably be slapped in the face or sued. But
the dear woman is not upset. At last, she has gotten a word out of
Him! First, He ignored her entirely. Then,
He dismissed her, but only through the disciples. Now, He has finally
addressed her directly. And it doesn’t matter to her that this
word is so harsh, she is going to grab hold of it and not
give it up.
This is the struggle of faith, so
beautifully depicted. Faith takes Christ captive in His word, even when He’s
angriest, and out of His cruel words faith makes a comforting inversion. She
says, “You say I’m a dog. So be it. I will gladly be a dog. Now give me the
consideration that you give a dog. I’m not a child of Abraham. I’m not a
righteous, deserving person. I am a poor sinner with no other helper. But You
are a rich and merciful Lord and You set a lavish table. Let me eat of Your
crumbs. Even dogs must have masters and crumbs. And even Gentile sinners like
me must have a God and Savior. And that’s You, Jesus.”
Do you see how this faithful woman
catches Christ with His own words? “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the
crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” She’s got Him. Where can our Lord Jesus go? “O
woman, great is your faith!” You can hear the smile creeping on
Jesus’ face. “Be it done for you as you desire.” Jesus is more
than happy to be caught. It’s what He most deeply desires. With His words, she
has won, not only the right of a dog, but also the right of the children. Her
faith pleases Him so much that she is no longer a dog, a sinner, a Gentile. But
He heals her daughter, makes her a descendant of Abraham, and welcomes her as a
beloved daughter of God.
This is all true for you too. When God seems
to hide His grace from you, when He seems to ignore your prayers or give you a
harsh and angry answer, you must press on in your faith, and catch Him in His
Word. Don’t think about Him according to your unworthiness. Don’t think about Him
according to your thoughts or your feelings, but only according to His Word. Confess:
“Yes Lord, I am a sinner, but You came to save sinners. You died for me, Jesus.
O Father, You must hear my prayer, You cannot refuse me, because my sins are
forgiven by the blood of Your Son.” When we admit that God is right in His
judgment on us, then we have won and caught Him in His own words. When we hold
Him to His Word, then He must hear and answer, and He is happy to do it. It is
of the utmost importance that we pay attention to God’s Word, learn it and
firmly cling to its promises, so that we will know how to catch God’s ear with
it, and never doubt that our prayer will be heard, even though for a time God
delays His answer.
The struggle of faith is most acute when it
seems as though God is against us, and that His answers to our prayers sound
like: “No.” His answers to the Canaanite woman sounded a lot more like “No,”
than “Yes,” but there was actually more “Yes” there than you might think. In
fact, there was only “Yes” there, but it was deeply hidden. And by faith, the
woman caught the “Yes” in Jesus’ words. St. Paul wrote: The Son of God, Jesus Christ… was not Yes and No, but in Him
it is always Yes. For all the
promises of God find their Yes in Christ. (2 Cor. 1:19–20). At times it may seem that God holds back
His “Yes,” but it will be for our good. And He will answer your prayers, He
will heal and help and deliver you, either in this world or in the resurrection
to come.
So faith struggles against the darkness and
uncertainty of the things we experience in this life. Faith struggles against
God when He appears to reject us and turn against us. But let us never doubt
that we have a “Yes” in heaven, an answer to all our prayers, embedded in the
heart of our Lord Jesus Christ who gave His life for us, and in the heart of
His Father who has become our Father. In time this “Yes” will be revealed.
For now, God hides His answer from our
sight. And for now, the devil tries to shoot his futile “No” at us. But we must
learn to cling to the “Yes” by faith. God will be merciful to me, to His
Church, and He will rescue all who cry to Him for help. Even today, you heard
the Father’s eternal “Yes” to us, and specifically to little Sayler. Yes, your
sin is washed away in the blood of the Lamb. Yes, you are my child. Being
baptized into Christ means that we have all the promises and answers of God. That is why it is through Christ
that we utter our Amen to God for his glory (2 Cor. 1:20)
In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.
