“In His Mercy”

There are several examples in the Bible when Jesus throws us for a loop… He does something we don’t see as a usual expression of His compassion for people.  In fact, He does the opposite and appears, on the surface, heartless and mean-spirited.  He was never one to be pressed into any particular mold.  For example, he set the “righteous” folks on edge when He would banquet with sinners.  He showed mercy to a woman caught in adultery.  He didn’t hold to the approved view and social convention when dealing with women, tax collectors, lepers, the infirm, prostitutes, or others of ill repute. He didn’t kowtow to the authorities like the lower class should.  He challenged them!  Some of that same behavior might concern us as well.  Rabbis are to be held to higher standards but who would presume to second guess the Jesus?

Again, what about Jesus’ 4-day delay in helping His good friend, Lazarus? Or to the “tea-totelers,” the temperance crowd, Jesus’ miracle of changing water into wine, when He made 120-180 gallons of fermented grape drink at 11-12% alcohol content, and that after they had already drunk the first supply at the reception.  Now for some that can be troubling.

The Biblical admonition to love God more than family, country, baseball, apple pie, and Chevrolet is considered unpatriotic!  But to Jesus the First Commandment must be obeyed!

So, this Gospel reading causes us much trouble, too!  But to harbor such a concern, and to say that Jesus has sinned in any of these actions is to find ourselves outside the pale of Christianity. That’s right!  Deny any of these events, argue with Him on any of these points, and you become a self-righteous Pharisee, standing outside, apart, and opposite of Jesus.  You might as well use their words when they declare their belief that Jesus is “Beelzebub!” “Satan!”  Questioning the actions of or standing in judgment of Jesus is to view Him as something other than God’s Anointed!

Jesus and His actions do not easily fit into any logical pigeonholes. He has a loving reason for doing what He does… A divine reason!  In EVERY instance, we must submit to His better and perfect judgment!  When coming to grips with some of the stranger things Jesus does, we might ask the question, when is compassion NOT compassion? Or. When is Jesus, being tough, warranted?

When operating under human circumstances… we might be unsure of what is right and what is wrong.  God makes it clear that in our dealings, concern for only a part of man and not the whole, concern for the body but not the soul falls far short… you could be dressed to the tee, the nicest among your neighbors, possess the whole world, and still only fit for hell!  On the other hand, to be concerned only for a man’s soul but not His bodily needs… to wish your neighbor in need a blessing and nothing more falls short in God’s view! It’s inhumane!  It’s not divine!

Anything done without faith is displeasing in the sight of the Lord no matter how noble it may appear on the surface.  The whole person is redeemed body AND soul, by grace through faith. Soul and body are destined for resurrection through Jesus’ righteousness, by grace, through faith! We will ultimately spend eternity in heaven and be with God, body and soul, as a result of His grace, Christ’s sacrifice, and a Holy Spirit and Holy Word produced faith!  That’s why this is all so important!

Charities concerned with physical this-worldly concerns only are honored in this world, while the Church and its body and soul concern is despised by this world as impractical, irrelevant, and foolish!

A second question to be considered is this: when is an apparent lack of compassion true love?  Ask any teenager who is grounded if his parents love him.  He may doubt it for the moment even though his parents are attempting to work some good in his life and spare him more severe punishment in the future.  The path of discipline is rough going for a time… still, they are hoping for a good result. 

In the Scriptures, Jesus’ actions here leave us in such a conundrum! Obviously, the conclusion we are to arrive at, is that Jesus, the Son of God, the innocent Son of Mary, the sinless Messiah, is always compassionate, whether we think Him so or not!

However, His disciples are NOT so concerned…  “Jesus, dismiss her!  She’s bugging us!”  Their actions reveal a horrible inner truth, even as it reveals in our hearts, that we might have wished the same thing.  Here is prejudice raised against a Gentile woman and her child!  They are impatient with her, not spending a lick of time considering what good they might offer in her need!  In their view her problem is an unnecessary burden on them! They display a definite lack of compassion by any standard!

They failed and we most likely would fail in similar circumstances.

However, Jesus seeming lack of concern appears to be an obstacle.  In this instance, He is setting up a spiritual challenge!  He seems to ignore her.  Do you think that He knows what He’s doing?  Then comes a second obstacle.  He gives a gruff response to her.  He says, “I have only been sent to the lost sheep of Israel!”  What self-respecting person wouldn’t have already given up, yet she persists!  Then a third obstacle, “Does a person take the children’s food and give it to dogs.” Is He saying she is unworthy of daily bread?  Did He just call her a dog?  We think she should have walked away in indignation, but she didn’t.  She could have claimed that Jesus had no intention of helping her… a display of sour grapes!  She could have claimed that Jesus was dealing with her in a manner beneath her dignity… How dare He!

I still hear people deal with the Lord or His Word as if God needs to make concession to our weakness, our desires, passions, lifestyles, or to our way of thinking.  This is an unsavory part of human nature, that’s even more rampant nowadays.  Arrogance is in full bloom when we try to second guess and then manipulate our Lord to fulfill our whims and fancies. 

What did this woman deserve from the Prince of Peace?  What would we deserve?  Before our fellow man, we assume a certain amount of dignity and we want the best treatment, but as sinners before the eternal Judge we deserve no dignity on account of our continual sinning, we have not deserved good treatment but condemnation.  We have earned that in our own right, by my own fault, my own most grievous fault! Whether Jew or Gentile, Slave or Free, Male or Female…  As the Scriptures tell us: There is none righteous, who seeks God and does not sin!

Some would give up at this point.  Some refuse to wrestle with the Lord when He allows obstacles, difficulties, and setbacks along our life’s path.  They would look somewhere else for consolation.  Some would refuse the test as beneath them!  Some would refuse to implore God’s help a second time as too demeaning.  Such would lose out.  For them there would never be a blessing from heaven.  His mercy to them becomes an elusive mystery, left untasted and unexperienced!  It’s a situation comparable to being pardoned and then choosing to stay in prison!

My friend, faith is the key!  It makes all the difference in our perspective.  Right faith knows who we are who stand before the Lord.  There is no room for haughtiness or pride, for we are but poor sinners crying out for help.  Empty and humble hands are ready to receive even the tiniest morsel. Right faith knows who it is we are dealing with… the very Lord of heaven and earth.  Faith is perseverance and this woman proves herself true and godly, not giving up, while not wishing to deprive the children of Israel.  They should receive their rightful due as God’s chosen… but she just asks for a tiny crumb fallen from the Master’s table.  Still, she doesn’t take “wait” or “no” for the final answer.

Faith has as its object a Savior/a Lord who can help, who has helped and continually offers His undeserved assistance.  He wants to draw the whole world to Himself and does it by everyday provision, by hidden intervention, by mighty miracles, and through the old rugged cross!  His redemption of the world, worked out by the shedding of His holy, and innocent blood, is the greatest act of compassion above all else!  In His sacrifice everyone is included!

The more glorious lesson with which we leave this place is this: The kingdom of heaven is opened up and its benefits are available to those who don’t deserve it.  God already showered down His mercy on this fallen world in Christ Jesus.  The whole world stands pardoned.  You have been declared “not guilty” already when Jesus shouted with His dying breath, “It is finished!”  The whole world is even now being called into His salvation and care! Elect from every tribe and nation are being gathered by the sound of the Gospel and the message of forgiveness through the blood of Christ; that is its chief theme.  Among that number undeserving sinners – by faith, right faith, strong Spirit and Word bred faith these sinners are declared saints… fit to behold the face of our Creator and Father.  We sinners are now saints in His eyes all for Jesus’ sake!  And all things, according to God’s promise, are working for our good! whether we think they are or not… whether we feel it is or not… whether we see it or not!

That’s how He operates and to those who taste the goodness of His love and mercy, abundant forgiveness (and soon eternal life) these are the morsels for which we are deeply thankful!  For such crumbs we must persevere, our keenly focused faith being worked out with proper fear and trembling.  Through God’s own doing we are overcoming when we could not have done so on our own.

How we live will mirror this example set by this unnamed Gentile woman that in common faith we will one day meet up with on Judgment Day!  And then as now, we will joyfully praise Him who has been so good to us and blessed us beyond our deserving, and then as now, our God, Father, Son, and Spirit, will be eternally glorified for how He loves us and so graciously has dealt with us!

God is righteous!  He is merciful and loving!  And we are, without any doubt, recipients of His grace in Christ Jesus! 

Amen!