The Church is for All People
Matthew 15:21–28 21
Jesus left that place and withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22There a Canaanite woman from that territory came and kept crying out, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! A demon is severely tormenting my daughter!”
23But he did not answer her a word.
His disciples came and pleaded, “Send her away, because she keeps crying out after us.”
24He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
25But she came and knelt in front of him, saying, “Lord, help me.”
26He answered her, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
27“Yes, Lord,” she said, “yet the dogs also eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
28Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, your faith is great! It will be done for you, just as you desire.” And her daughter was healed at that very hour.
But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ (Ephesians 2:13). Amen.
Several years ago – BM (Before the Merger), I was leading an advent worship service at New Hope. We had a teenage boy with autism at the service. His autism didn’t let him sit still, so he was walking around the church during the entire service.
I’ll admit that I was pretty nervous when the young man kept walking around the Christmas tree in front of the church. I was concerned that the tree might fall … and him with it. But we all kept on worshiping and everything was fine.
We are going to be restarting our Jesus Cares Worship at the Cross service next month. Jesus Cares is designed especially for children, teens, and adults with special needs, and their families. I’m glad we’re restarting the services because we’ll be inviting the children and their families from the Wisconsin Early Autism Project (WEAP).
WEAP has been meeting for the past year in the nursery at our Racine campus. On Tuesday and Thursday mornings, parents and grandparents drop off their autistic 3–5-year-olds for one-on-one therapy with licensed teachers. The teachers are teaching the children to be ready to go into public education in a few years. My office is right next to the nursery. For three hours, there is a lot of crying and singing, teaching and patience.
I’ve talked to some of the moms and grandmoms and shown them the sanctuary. They’ve commented that they haven’t been in church for years. Their autistic children are not quiet and don’t sit still. They mentioned that they’ve seen the looks, felt the stares, and heard the whispers.
So, they’ve stopped going to church.
We at Water of Life are working aggressively to invite these special needs families, the families at WLS and Shoreland, and the families in the neighborhoods around our campuses to worship with us. These are families who probably have not been in a church for a very long time. Their children will squirm and wiggle. Their bodies may not allow them to remain quiet. The ladies may be wearing hole-y jeans – not holy as in sanctified – but jeans with rips and holes in them because these are their most expensive pants. The guys may not own a tie or even a dress shirt. The parents may speak a different language.
And that’s great! I pray they come! I pray that you pray that they come! We pray together that our sanctuaries are filled with noise and activity.
Because a quiet church is a dying church.
After all, we see in our Scripture lessons today that the Church is for all people.
Matthew beings writing, “Jesus left that place and withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon.” Where is the “there” Jesus is leaving? Jesus leaves the region of Galilee because of the intense opposition he is receiving from the scribes and Pharisees.
Jesus and his crew head out west, far from Galilee to the region of Tyre and Sidon. That’s all the way to the Mediterranean coast, in the northwest corner of Israel. That’s over a 35-mile hike.
The Jews didn’t associate with the people of Tyre and Sidon. The religion between Galilee and Tyre and Sidon is farther apart than the miles. In his Gospel, Mark calls this woman a “Syro-Phoenician” woman, which was the more contemporary term in the time of the New Testament. But Matthew purposely calls her a “Canaanite” woman, which was the more historic Old Testament term for her ethnicity.
To call her a “Canaanite” brings with it a lot of baggage. The Canaanites were an ancient enemy of the Israelites. They were the people whom the Israelites were to drive out of the Promised Land 1400 years earlier under Joshua. The Canaanites were a pagan people, worshiping false gods of their own making. That’s what Matthew is emphasizing by calling here a “Canaanite” woman.
She is not the kind of woman who walks into a Galilean synagogue/church. She approaches Jesus as her life is crumbling. “A Canaanite woman from that territory came and kept crying out, ‘Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! A demon is severely tormenting my daughter!’”
This plea seems right up Jesus’ alley. This is exactly the kind of thing Jesus does – healing people and driving out demons. … But this time, Jesus puts her off. “But he did not answer her a word.”
The ones who speak are the embarrassed disciples. They sound like us when we are dealing with the unchurched who make us feel uncomfortable. “His disciples came and pleaded, ‘Send her away, because she keeps crying out after us.’”
Jesus also speaks like he is bothered by this woman. He tells her, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Here’s a woman who needs help. Jesus is very good at this kind of help. Yet, it seems like the Savior who came to help all people doesn’t want to help this woman.
Jesus is pointing out to this woman and his disciples that his primary mission is directly and specifically for the Jews. He is fulfilling his mission as the Messiah of Israel. The mission to the Gentiles would come later through these very same disciples. … Just not yet.
The woman doesn’t give up. “She came and knelt in front of him, saying, ‘Lord, help me.’” He answered her, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” Jesus is saying, “I have come to bring the Bread of Life to the children of Israel. This is my Messianic ministry.”
Again, the woman cannot be deterred. “Yes, Lord,” she said, “yet the dogs also eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Ah, she’s catching Jesus in his own words! And Jesus loves it! She acknowledges his mission to Israel, but at the same time she says there will be some leftovers, some scraps off the table for the Gentile unchurched people like her. Like Rahab. Like
Ruth. Like Naaman and the widow of Zarephath. Bravo! Jesus applauds her for her faith. “Woman, your faith is great! It will be done for you, just as you desire.” And her daughter was healed at that very hour.
Did you see what Jesus is doing? By putting her off for a little bit, he is accomplishing two things. First, he is giving her the opportunity to express her God-given faith and persistence. Second, he is teaching his disciples who will soon be called his apostles – his sent ones. Their mission will be going to these Gentiles. It won’t just be the Jews who will enter the Church. The Church is for all people.
She rightly cried out, “Have mercy on me, Lord!” This is the cry of the Church of all ages. We still cry out these words. We cried them this morning in our prayers: “Lord, have mercy! Christ, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!” We fall before our Lord, bringing our needs before the only one who can help us.
We need to receive this mercy so we can share this mercy. God’s mercy is big enough for all. For we are all sinners in need of mercy – Jews and Gentiles, Israelites and Canaanites, insiders and outsiders, saints and sinners, liberals and conservatives, those in the church and those who haven’t been in a church for years. We are all sinners in need of God’s mercy and forgiveness.
We need to admit that we are all dogs who are not worthy of being seated at the Master’s table. We admit we are all dogs in need of the crumbs of mercy. We are the top dogs – the “chief of sinners.” Through his mercy, the Lord invites us to pull up a seat at the table. Not as dogs, but as children. Not drips, but the pouring of God’s grace over our heads in baptism – like Bob, Luke, and Cecelia Greco, who were all baptized on Tuesday evening. Not crumbs, but the Bread of life and the Wine of heaven in the Sacrament of the Supper. “No longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household” (Ephesians 2:19).
Jesus came to be the Savior of all people – first for the Jews and then for the Gentiles. He poured out his mercy when he was hanging on the cross – suspended between heaven and earth. Jesus won mercy between a holy Master and wicked dogs. Mercy for holy ones and those with hole-y jeans. Mercy for those who come to worship in their church clothes and those who come in their work clothes. We are all welcome in God’s Church!
Now, you who are in the Church need to go out and share this mercy with those who need it, who are crying out for it, who are lost, alone, depressed, desperate, angry, and disruptive without it.
By God’s grace, we have baptized six children and one dad already this year. We pray to schedule more baptisms with our adult confirmation classes starting next month. When God blesses his Word, we will see more families with young, squirmy, and autistic children in our pews.
How are we going to react to all the new noise and activity that will fill our sanctuaries? We will be like the disciples who said to Jesus, “Send her away”?
Will that noise and activity bother us so much that we would rather have a quiet, aging, dying church than a noisy, vibrant, and growing church?
Pastor Klusmeyer told me a story about a mom with five children under the age of 5. All five were boys. She brought them to church with her. Young children – especially boys – do not sit very well for an hour.
Can you guess what happened? I hope that you cannot.
This already struggling mother found an anonymous note in her church mailbox. It read: “If you can’t keep your children quiet in church, it’s better if you don’t bring them to church.”
That’s awful!
But our sinful natures all cause us to be equally awful. Looks. Stares. Whispers. Snide comments. Gossip. Frustration. Anonymous notes.
Do you think there’s a better way that we can handle this? A more loving, sanctified way?
As one of our members said to me the other day when talking about this subject: “We can’t be both inclusive and judgmental.” Then my former Seminary professor added: “Except Jesus. Jesus can be both inclusive and judgmental.” To which I replied: “Yes. But since we’re not Jesus, let’s just work on being inclusive and leave the judging to Jesus.”
So, what can you do to be inclusive; to help parents and grandparents who are already struggling; who feel like everyone is looking and talking about every noise.
What can you do that is loving? Caring? Supportive? That shows God’s mercy? That proves that you’ve been where those parents and grandparents are? That demonstrates that you have received the Lord’s mercy and you desire for them to be here in church to receive the Lord’s mercy?
Search them out when they come into church.
Sit by them.
Offer to help with the kids.
Give them assurance that it will get better.
Bring some healthy snacks and quiet toys with you to church.
Write a note. Not a nasty, anonymous note. A signed, good note gushing with admiration and realization that you know how hard it is. But it’s all worth it. They and their children are exactly where they need to be. They are here in God’s Church.
And God’s Church is for all people. Amen.
This is the declaration of God the LORD, who gathers Israel’s dispersed people: “I will gather still more people to my house besides the ones already gathered” (Isaiah 56:8). Amen.