St. Aidan’s Sermons
Winnipeg, Manitoba
The Rev. Deacon Linda Stokes, August 14, 2011
“What’s faith got to do with it?
Matthew 15:21-28
Opening Prayer:
Come Lord Jesus come, come with your healing power, come with your faithful mercy, come & speak to all our hearts, as only you can… in Jesus name. Amen.
Introduction
One of Tina Turner’s famous songs is titled “What’s love got to do with it?” The words, which she belts out, as only Tina can, compares love to a second-hand emotion, an emotion that can break your heart. Today’s scripture is about love, the love of a very desperate mother, one whose heart is breaking, but it is not love which saves the life of her child, it is her faith, or should I say her faithing action.
Today I would like us to encounter this familiar story with spiritual eyes and ears attentive to this woman’s faith process as she encounters Jesus. If we consider both Mark (7:24-30) and Matthew’s stories, in a dramatic reading, we can get an enhanced perspective. Each scene offers a new challenge to this woman’s faith, and perhaps an opportunity for us to think about our own faith.
Scenes from the parable
In scene one, we are told that Jesus retreats to the region of Tyre and Sidon, outside of Israel, in order to find some rest away from the crowds. On the way, a Greek woman, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, interrupts his journey calling out after him,. She says “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.” Jesus does not say a word, but keeps on walking. His disciples however become annoyed by her constant cries. To them, she is a gentile, a non-believer, one who has no hope in a Jewish Messiah. So, they ask Jesus to send her away. Jesus doesn’t send her away; instead he pauses, sighs and says to his disciples, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel”. The woman is quick to pick up on his words. Internally she thinks, yes, you may be sent to the Jews but here you are in gentile territory and you are not sending me away! The woman continues her pursuit with renewed commitment, following the group up a set of stairs towards a house.
In scene two, the woman enters the doorway, in full view of Jesus and his disciples. The room is full of noise, women bringing water, children playing in the corner and dogs barking. With a courage she did not realize she had, the woman pushes her way in and falls to her knees in front of Jesus. Afraid to look up she chokes out “Lord, help me.” With this woman’s sudden action, the energy in the room comes to a sudden halt and Jesus’ eyes, filled with concern, focuses on the ground in front of him, while his disciples look away, in distain. In that moment of surreal silence, the woman slowly lifts her eyes, searching for the face of the one, who she knows can heal her girl. When their eyes meet, she feels strange warmth in her heart and senses that, somehow everything is going to be OK. Jesus, looking into her tear filled eyes, gently says “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” The woman takes a deep breath. She thinks to herself, dog, I’ve heard that before. What to do? What to say? Then it dawns on her & with a slight smile on her face, she calmly replies, “Yes Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” This is the threshold moment, in the woman’s faith experience, when trust in the other casts out all fear. Jesus’ response is immediate, He joyfully proclaims, “Woman you have great faith! Your request is granted” and somewhere in the hills, a child with an unknown faith is healed. Faith in the living Christ had everything to do in this moment in her life.
What do you hear God saying in this reading? If we have faith as small as a mustard seed & if we have hope in Christ’s provision & if we step out in faith, Jesus will meet us where we are…in the rejection, in the judging, in the confusion. Christ may challenge our faith, in order to grow our faith but He will never leave us and he will never test us beyond what we are capable of handling. In the end, he will proclaim the state of our faith & grant our request. What do you see? Some may see the woman’s wit in her chosen words, but what about the beginning of her trust? Some may see annoyance in her persistent calling out but what about her sacrificial love? Some may see her inappropriate social behavior but what about her amazing faith?
“How is our faith?” Will Jesus say to us “Wow, St. Aidan’s your faith is something else?” Have we laid all of ourselves, before Christ, holding nothing back, have we, like this Canaanite woman, come in all our vulnerability, never taking our eyes off Jesus, putting aside any challenge that would come between Christ and us. Normally, we don’t think about our faith, at least not on a minute-by-minute basis. For some, faith is like breathing, a natural everyday experience, something that has always been there. It is comfortable, solid and never changing. I want to shake up this perception, stir up what might have settled into complacency. Not to make us feel uncomfortable although that may happen, but to open up a possibility of getting closer to the heart of Jesus by having a faith which is open to growth, a faith which has everything to do with our Christian life.
As a chaplain, I am called to be with people in crisis. Often their crisis involves pain, physical pain, mental pain or emotional pain. It is a time when faith is called into action, a time when life can become desperate.
It was a normal day for me as a student chaplain assigned to the rehab ward. Feeling out of place, praying for guidance, and strength as I walked down the hall. “Lord, I don’t know why you have me here. I don’t feel like I know what I am doing at all! I know this is the place you want me, help me to do the right thing!” Suddenly, I was stopped in my tracks by loud screaming, cries for help, intermingled with profanity. Normally, I flee from distress; certainly any mention of the ‘F’ word in the same sentence with the ‘G’ word turns my stomach into knots. For some reason the opposite happened. I was drawn into the room, past the privacy curtain. I saw two nurses, one working on a struggling woman and the other attempting to restrain the patient. The patient however was too much for them, she was screaming, clawing, fighting with everything she had. I immediately went to the side of the bed and began praying, audibly at first and then internally. I reached out to put my hand on her forehead, while simultaneously looking at what was happening. The nurse was removing staples from the stump of the woman’s leg, which had been amputated just below her hip. Slowly, I pulled away, all the while praying for Jesus to come and help this woman, to help me. All the while, the woman continued her struggles, her screaming and her swearing. I left the room, …stunned.
I knew I should not have rushed into a room where a medical procedure was taking place. This was not a good thing for a student chaplain to do! As I walked away, I pondered my internal feelings and my out of character actions. My ears had been offended by her blasphemy, but her cries for help deafened the offence taking it from annoyance to curiosity to compassion. The sight of her exposed wound had shocked my eyes, but her clawing arms, so strong and powerful, somehow blurred the ugly-ness, refocusing my attention on her need. My presence felt out of place but my spirit felt a stronger more purposeful presence beside me. Over the next year, I would walk beside this woman in her life journey. She was a nominal Christian, I think almost afraid of religion or should I say judgment. I would share her hopes and her fears and I would come to marvel at her positive, gentle, unassuming personality, so different from our first encounter. This picture of faith was scary, gruesome and challenging. Looking back I have wondered what Jesus would have said to me. Would he say, “Wow, Linda your faith is something else” or would I say “Wow Lord You got me through that one. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you”.
I have shared two stories about faith in the midst of crisis. I have suggested that faith is a process. It is belief and trust in the living Christ. It is an invisible hope, a tenacious petition. It is not without challenge. It is a fresh encounter with Christ, which naturally results in sharing the good news. Such faith has everything to do with how we behave as Christians. Paul says, that faith is believing in something we cannot see. Jesus saw what happened to the Canaanite woman’s faith. She took a risk believing that Jesus could save her daughter, and heal her daughter he did!
In the final scene the woman returns home pondering all that happened. Isn’t it interesting she thought that a rumor, a word could start such an event? Isn’t it profound that I would be lead to this Hebrew man at just the right time? Isn’t it curious that He would not send me away as the others wanted? Isn’t it, and then stopping in her tracks she looks up at the sky and realizes what really happened. She returns home deep in thought. Can you imagine her joy and tears as she embraced her healthy child? Can you hear her words of praise and wonder and thankfulness to Christ? Can you relate to her burning need to share her ‘good news’ with all who would listen? Like the Centurion, like the two blind men, like the woman with the issue of blood. The Canaanite woman risked all, accepted all and I am sure told all. Telling all is a crucial step in the faith process because it opens up opportunities for others.
Part of the reason for me sharing my chaplain’s story is to encourage you to step out in faith. Thinking back, I believe that Jesus saw the seeds of my faith as an opportunity for growth. There was an interesting twist though & that is that the whole process was a collaborative one, for in the risking of myself, in my weakness & doubt, Christ took over, standing near, holding my fragile faith in his hands? Jesus says “My Grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness.” In a way, our weakness is an opening for Christ’s strength to grow in us. So how do we open ourselves up to this faith process? God forbid that it should take the pending death of a loved one to bring us to our knees before Christ and God forbid that we should complacently go to our knees with unbending attitudes and locked hearts! As Christians, we are called to exercise a righteous faith, one that believes and trusts in the living Jesus Christ, and one that is continually being stretched and strengthened and proclaimed.
To me, faith is like a wrapped present, a gift from God individually fashioned and just right for our life situation. Everyday, we wake up and open our faith with new expectations, or at least we should. Only God and you know when your faith is being stretched*. I do know one thing though, and that is, that your individual need, to be stretched is a deep concern for our living Christ. Why, because every point of stretching will enable a deeper Christ relationship to grow. If our faith is to grow, it needs to be open to new possibilities. This will look different for each of us, but the result will be the same, for we will all experience the presence of a living Christ, so close that we will be taken by surprise, so astounding that we will shake our heads in wonder and so challenging that yes, fear might just be our first reaction. Remember what Pastor Brett said “We cannot put Jesus in a box”. Peter didn’t, the Canaanite woman didn’t…they each stepped out in a faith which was beyond themselves. They opened their faith beyond what others hesitated to even think…and as they did strange things happened. With their eyes riveted on Christ and their ears attuned to his words, their spirits felt a strengthening. Fear diminished, rational thoughts took a back seat and a much yearned for hope became a living reality. Exercising faith opened up new possibilities.
Today, we are called to step out in our faith, into a place of dis-comfort, risking more than what we can comfortably give, allowing ourselves to be dependant on Christ’s mercy and strength. I don’t know what your place of dis-comfort is but Christ does and Christ yearns for you to step out in faith…not just any faith but a faith, which is centered in HIM.
Closing Thought on Faith
I want to close by reflecting back to Tina Turner’s song Whats love got to do with it. Tina sings with her whole being, holding nothing back. She sings about the pain of love, which she has lived. In a way, her song is like a modern day lament, which I am sure many people can relate too. To love is to be vulnerable and to be vulnerable is to be open to being hurt. Faith like love is a risky business. It is not a second hand emotion and it is not without a cost. We love because he first loved us. We have faith because He is faithful. Faith has everything to do with our Christ relationship. Faith is the solid rock we stand on as we pray; faith is the invisible strength that bends the knee; faith is that which fills a yearning heart; faith is the spark that lights a heart’s passion; faith pushes you to speak out, to act out of character, to stand because you can do no other, to dance like only Jesus is watching, to dream of freedom for all God’s children, to embrace the untouchable and to love those who oppose you. Faith is the center of our Christian being; faith has everything to do with our Christian life. Amen
