I am posting the sermon I preached. I wonder what others think of bold faith? What does it mean?
Our gospel reading this morning is challenging, mainly
because of Jesus’ response and reaction to the Canaanite woman. Earlier in chapter 15, Jesus was challenged
by the Pharisees and scribes why the disciples had broken with tradition,
particularly, why didn’t they wash their hands before they ate. Jesus challenges back about why they break
the commandments of God, particularly speaking evil of parents when God
commands to honor your Father and Mother.
Jesus says, This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are
far from me.
Our reading picks up on this idea with a very descriptive
image—what enters the mouth goes to the stomach and will go out via the
sewer. But what exits the mouth proceeds
from the heart and this is what defiles, for out of the heart comes that which
we do and say to others that is unclean.
Dirty hands will not defile, dirty words and actions will.
To illustrate this further, Jesus and the disciples enter
the district of Tyre and Sidon, a Gentile territory that Israelites would not
venture into alone. Just then one of
them, a woman in fact started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David;
my daughter is tormented by a demon.”
She is multiple-unclean---Canaanite, woman, daughter with a demon.” Jesus doesn’t answer, and the disciples urge
him to send her away—because she keeps shouting. She approaches him and kneels, Lord, help
me. This time he isn’t silent, and says
it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs. This illustrates that he had said earlier he
had been sent to the lost sheep of Israel.
Dog would have had the same impact that calling a woman a female dog
would have today! The woman, bold in her
conviction replies, Yes Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from
their masters table.” Moved, Jesus
responds, Woman, great is your faith, let it be done as you wish and her
daughter is healed instantly.
Jesus’ responses are rough to hear. However today I want to focus on the bold
actions, the bold conviction this woman displayed. She knew the traditions of the Israelites,
she knew speaking to a man, let alone and Israelite man was just not done. But it was her child, and some boundaries are
crossed when a parent needs something for their child. So she crosses the social, ethnic, gender
boundaries to reach this Jesus, the Son of David, and asks for compassion! The tradition, the boundary was a fence that
kept her away from Jesus, and she was not going to let this stand.
I wonder, am I as bold?
Are you as bold? Are we, as a
church as bold?
This past week, we offered a Back to School Fair, for
everyone! Everything was free, no one
had to prove anything. We trust that
those who came needed what we had, and no questions. I believe we were bold. We welcomed people, we engaged with people,
and almost all comments I heard was how great this idea was and how people can
help next year.
The week before, as we were setting up, a young man came
in—most people in the church at that time were concerned. He claimed he needed money for a bus ticket
to Toledo, for his mother’s funeral. All
the signs were there, all the warnings, at least they were for everyone but
me. So I went to the ATM, took out some
of my own money and gave the young man $43 for a ticket. Only to find out later that day he had also
been seen at a bowling alley and a supermarket asking for money for a bus
ticket—and he was supposed to have been already on the bus. Duped.
And out $43. I could get into all
the things I did wrong here, but that would take too much time. Leave it said, this could have jaded me, but
I will still say that if I have to face God at the pearly gates and defend
myself, I will boldly defend myself for giving to people who don’t need it than
not giving to those who did! Sometimes
bold doesn’t equate smart!
It seems the news in our world today is
overwhelming. Issues with genocide in
Iraq with ISSIS. Ebola outbreaks
throughout Africa and now on the soil of the US. Israel and the people of the Gaza strip
warring. Riots and looting after a
police officer shot a young man.
Ukraine. The Islamic state has
executed over 700 people, many civilians from a tribe in Syria; and have stated
a desire to eradicate Christianity from their territory. Two peace keepers were killed and 11 others injured
by a suicide bomber in Mali.
In our own community, shootings, gangs, poverty, hunger.
Racism, economic disparity, education inequality, undocumented children.
It is overwhelming, and it can lead us to think there is
nothing we can do, there is too much.
One of my struggles is where is the church in all of this? Where is the bold proclamation of mercy,
grace, love, reconciliation, peace, God’s kingdom on earth as in heaven? Are we so overwhelmed we can’t do anything,
that we remain silent? Are we afraid
that not everyone will agree on where we stand on an issue that in order not to
offend anyone we keep our mouths shut? I
truly believe that if the congregations in Saginaw stopped worrying about
keeping the doors of the buildings open or doctrines that separate us like
female clergy, homosexuality, communion—we could change this city, if we could
be bold enough to take down the traditions and barriers that separate us from
each other.
Recently, Bishop Elizabeth Eaton and the leadership of
the ELCA has been speaking out against many of these issues. In
response to the undocumented children, some of who have moved into our
community of Bay City, advocates in the ELCA encouraged leaders to act with
dignity and compassion. It doesn’t
matter where you land on whether the children should be here or not, people
deserve dignity and compassion no matter what is done.
In an Aug. 15 letter to the church,
Bishop Elizabeth Eaton of the ELCA wrote that Psalm 133 generally is "an
encouraging Psalm, at a time such as this, when the world seems anything but
unified, these words may feel more jarring than inspiring. This is especially
so now as news from Iraq continues to worsen."
About 150,000 people have "recently fled their homes
in the wake of attacks from Islamic state militants and their allies. While
reports indicate that the immediate threat to many of these precious lives was
abated by the delivery of food and water aid, an estimated 300 people, many of
them children, still perished from exposure, dehydration and starvation.
Reports of attacks, atrocities and human-rights abuses, often targeted at
religious minorities and other vulnerable groups cause, our hearts to cry out
in lamentation rather than in the hope that this week's Psalm celebrates,"
she wrote.
In response to the shooting in
Ferguson, Bishop Eaton writes; "Throughout the gospels, Jesus reached out
to the 'others,' those whom society deemed utterly foreign. We are at greatest
risk when we divide into 'us' and 'them.' Then, we are unable to see each
other's humanity," said Eaton. "In Christ, there is no 'them,' not
Michael Brown, not the community, not the police. All are one. All are 'us' and
all are Christ's."
"We pray that peace will come to Ferguson and the Brown family – peace is founded on the knowledge that in Christ, there is no 'other,' only brothers and sisters," she said.
In an effort to bring the community together, the Rev. Rick Brenton, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Ferguson, said thousands of local residents gathered for a peace march Aug. 14. "Last night we came together to march and reclaim the streets," said Brenton. "Somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 people marched. Clergy from all over the city, from every denomination, creed and origin, came together along with youth and others to peacefully protest. We had also delivered food and toiletries items to residents of the Canfield Green Apartment complex where police opened fire Aug. 9. People there are afraid to leave their homes. God's people deserve better than what has been happening."
As church, the first thing we need
to do is be careful not to make judgments too quickly. First, not every person that practices Islam
is attempting to eradicate Christianity.
Not every African American in Ferguson is looting and destroying the
city. We can cry out for justice. We can
reach out to those who are being destroyed---the Christians of the Middle East,
the Brown family, the police officer and family, the community that had nothing
to do with this but stores that are being looted.
How will we, as a community of faith
demonstrate the bold convictions of the Canaanite woman? How will we reach out and boldly make Christ
known? Sometimes our hands, our feet,
our money will be used to aid those in need with mercy and compassion.
The church cannot be silent on these
issues. We must be bold, we must reach
out with the conviction that all are God’s children, nothing separates us. We need to enter into the conversation,
writing our political leaders, demanding justice, demanding that we name what
issues we are dealing with, stop supporting companies and agencies that foster
them and us.
I wonder, what if every one of us
committed to pray for the issues around the world, for the issues in our
community, for each other. Not just on
Sundays mornings or Wednesday evenings, but if we took the prayer list home and
prayed instead of putting it in the recycle bin? What if all Christians prayed for justice and
peace in Ferguson, Missouri—even when we don’t really have all the
answers. We don’t need them to pray for
justice—God knows what is just! What if
we prayed for our brothers and sisters around the world—Christian, Muslim,
Jewish—for mercy and understanding in our differences?
I pray for bold faith, for me, for
us, for the world. I believe that as a
people of God we are called to make a difference. To make us difference silence isn’t an
option. To make a difference we need to
put ourselves out there in the bold trust and conviction that God will show
mercy on this world, and that we are called to be part of that. Lord, make us bold in our prayer and in our
actions. Let the people of God say,
Amen.
