After returning Tuesday from a working vacation in the Blue Ridge Mountains I was consumed by the minute details of ministry that seem to pile up while one is away. So my plan was to work on my sermon today (Thursday). Well, needless to say, ministry kept "getting in the way" of my being able to pen the next great theological dissertation on the finer points of Lutheran theology. And THANK GOD that it did or I might have missed the point!
At 4:15 I finally got around to really considering the texts for this week. Sure, I had looked at them long enough to pick the hymns yesterday so that the bulletin could be prepared. I read enough so that I could come up with a somewhat engaging sermon title (In Christ through Faith Matt: 15:21-28 in case you were wondering) but now that I was really digging in to the texts I was kind of blown out of the water.
A common mistake the human race makes when considering matters of faith, is that we tend to favor the Law. That is, we focus on the woulda, shoulda, coulda's of the text. We see the worst side of every story and every scripture passage. You know, like when you hear the words of John 14:6"No one comes to the Father except through me"? The sinful person in each of us has a tendency to say to ourselves, "well that's a little harsh, isn't it?" We don't like ultimatums or dictums. We want options, choices and freedom to decide "what's right for me." But, if we had just paid attention to the first half of the verse we would have heard the sweet words of Gospel in which Jesus said, ""I am the way, and the truth, and the life." In the quest for the great answer to the meaning of life Jesus gives us the answer—IT'S HIM!! And sometimes when we finally realize that we've totally missed the point, we feel a little sheepish and excited at the same time.
Well, anyway, that's kind of how I felt this afternoon. I had been taking a law approach to this text all week and now the Gospel Light was shining all around the neighborhood (♫I'm gonna let it shine♫).
The three texts for the LSB Three Year Series are Isaiah 56:1, 6-8; Romans 11:1-2a, 13-15, 28-32; and Matthew 15:21-28. The Law approach I had been taking was basically, "You gotta believe or you aint going to heaven." While true, it really misses the heart of Jesus when we look at all three texts together. Instead, "Jesus came for all, especially not you" is a much better rendering of the theme.
"What??? How is that any better?" you might be asking. Well, let's look to the epistle lesson from Romans.
The heading in the ESV says "The Remnant of Israel." If you will recall, the prophets of Israel conveyed to God's people that despite their failings and shortcomings God would preserve a Remnant who would believe so that the world could be saved through her. That salvation was accomplished in Jesus Christ. He was the progeny of the Holy Spirit and the faithful remnant-believer, the Virgin Mary. Salvation had arrived and was now available for all people. There was no longer a need for that remnant. A remnant is a cast-off, small piece of material that you don't quite know what to do with, but hold on to in case you find a use for it. The Remnant believers mentioned in the Old Testament were the odds and ends faithful on which God kept around KNOWING the use he would have for it and which he would reveal "in the fullness of time." But now that Jesus has arrived the hopes of the world no longer rests on the cast-offs, but on the real thing—Jesus Christ. And in Jesus we see that all of us are remnants, just small pieces of the perfection he intended us to be; useless by ourselves, but when sewn together by the hands of the savior by his body and blood on the cross, we become a beautiful patchwork quilt.
So, that's enough about the heading, let's get to the text itself.
Paul is writing the Romans post-Resurrection; that is, Jesus' work is done and he has ascended and is already seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven. To misquote a famous Roman emperor, "Jesus came, he taught, he did a little preaching", and when he was done the vast majority of the remnant of Israel had rejected him. How ironic; the very people that God preserved through hundreds of years of persecution, famine, slavery, and exile specifically so that the Savior of the world could be born from them, had rejected the one for which they were preserved. Jesus was still in the process of trying to convert them when he spoke to the woman in our Gospel lesson today. At this point he had not yet finished his teaching and preaching. But, as we know, the Jews did reject Jesus.
They could have been held in honor for their faithfulness, but now, as Paul writes to the Romans, they are shamed by their own actions. The remnant thought it was the whole bolt of cloth and the store from which it came. The Jews who rejected Jesus as Lord were trying to continue in the role for which they were indeed created, but the problem was that the purpose for which had been created had been accomplished in Jesus. Their work was finished. They were now free to move on to a new role; growing the kingdom again, instead of just preserving it.
The Jews aren't unique in this character flaw. Paul even states so in verse 32 when he says, "for God has consigned all to disobedience." In other words, God has written all of us off as sinners; he knows what to expect from us. And what is that which he expects? Well, he probably expects us to act much like them. In their role as Remnants, the Israelites always had hope that the Glory Days they remembered of old when David and Solomon were king would one day return. They hoped to preserve the remnant in hopes of restoring former glory. We too often find ourselves looking back, saying, "Remember when…?" All too often we cling to the past, hoping to restore things to the way they were, or at least, to the way we remember.
But can those fond memories really be trusted? Can we really rest our future on the past? David and Solomon, while revered Kings of Israel, were both sinners and did reviling things before God and were reprimanded by God for their sins. Some of you will look back with fondness to the "simpler" days when Christmas Trees were lit with candles and long for those days to return. But those were also the days when Air Conditioning was only for the wealthy or commercial buildings in the city. Those were the days before seat belts and air bags in cars. Those were the days before polio vaccine. Our sinful, human nature is to forget about the bad in our past and to exaggerate and venerate the good and so we tend to think the answers to today's problems are found in the past.
But as Christians our eyes are not set on the past to repeat it, but learn from it and to move forward to a new purpose and a new calling. While God might right us off as sinners, he doesn't write us off as lost to him forever, even the Jews. As Paul continues he says, "For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all." That's why Jesus said what he did to the woman in our Gospel today. Because he knew that the Jews would not accept him as the Messiah, but that she had, he confirmed her faith and healed her daughter from afar. Paul was sent to the Gentiles, but always started his preaching in a city by visiting the Synagogue. And even in our text from Isaiah, though the Word of the Lord was spoken to Israel, it prophesies that many other people groups would be the beneficiary of the Lord's benevolence.
But how does all this pertain to you and me, especially if we just talked about how the past isn't what we focus on? Why do we continually look to these ancient texts each Sunday as the basis of our worship and study? While we can certainly look to scripture for words of comfort and healing, they also lead us forward by letting us witness and observe the failings of our forefathers. Israel and the Jews, once their Savior had arrived, did not adjust their sights on him and his new mission for them. You and I now find ourselves in a similar position. We were waiting for a Savior and he came to us through faith at our Baptisms. At that blessed moment we were joined to a church which was not meant to preserve and protect a Savior yet to come, but to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations." We gather here on Sundays at worship, not to be coddled and lulled in to reminiscent denial, but to be healed, fed, and energized to leap into the world finding those who are not yet part of the New Israel, Christ's Church on earth.
There are many Canaanite women, men and children very near you and me right now. They too are desperate for help, and are ready to meet their Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. Whether it's the disabled person facing eviction or starvation because their fixed income won't stretch through the month, or the young couple who can't see how they can hold together their marriage, Christ has a message of love for them and seeks to reach out to them in mercy through an me. As you read the first couple of verses of our Matthew text, notice what the disciples said-- these beloved pillars of the church, of which we even commemorate by naming our houses of worship after them--, they said to Jesus, "send her away." What isn't written but understood by the context is, "Lord, she's not one of us, don't you think we should 'take care of our own'? "Pastor, don't you think we should help our members first ?" And what was Jesus' reply? "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel."
So, who are the 'lost sheep'? Jesus was not being rude to the woman here. He was teaching his disciples about humility and focus of mission. The Jewish code of ethics had a well-defined code of honor by which no-one in the community would go hungry or without shelter. Technically, there were no 'lost sheep' with-in Israel if they were following their tradition of honorable care for the weak and old among them. Now that Jesus had come, Israel's identity had shifted from the bloodline of Abraham to the blood line of Christ and Jesus came to gather those who were outside that flock—those who were not yet saved and known by God.
Now that he has ascended into heaven, and we are his body here on earth, that is our mission. Yes, we take care of the widows and orphans among us, but the mission of the Church in Christ is to save the lost. The two are not exclusive. As Christians, let it be said of us, "See how they love one another." But it is also God's good will that all would hear the Good New and come to saving faith and we are blessed to be the instruments of his will and he has equipped each of us to do that in unique and powerful ways. And when we are able to come together to do that the combined effect is unstoppable. As we prepare to get back into our regular season of programming and ministry at Redeemer, pray to God that he might show you where he wants you to serve him, his flock, or the lost sheep. Ask him how you might be of service. It may be that God is asking you to call on our shut-ins or those who have been absent. Perhaps he wants you to teach a class or mentor a student. Maybe he is calling you to service at one of the schools in our neighborhood or helping us get the Good News into our community in other ways. Maybe he wants you to become a Pastor, or a missionary. Maybe he wants you to help and minster to the poor and indigent, or the foreigners among us. Maybe he wants you to bring the Good News to your office or workplace.
There are many ways we are doing these types of things at Redeemer, but God may be calling you to start something new. That can be scary, but it can also be exciting. To be able to help someone, AND bring them the Gospel is a wonderful blessing and encouragement to the whole body of Christ. For, when that one sheep is returned to the 99 all the angels in heaven rejoice.
As we begin this year, let us together find new ways to find those lost sheep so that those angels are rejoicing continually because heavens numbers are growing continually through God's love shown by us to everyone around us.
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
