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Sunday, September 30, 2012

“Turned and Re-Turned”


Scripture: Ezra 1:1-11

Today, we begin a new series, one that is based on a book of the Bible that I have only preached one other time. For the next 4 weeks, we will consider the effort and opposition that the Jews faced in the rebuilding of the temple after the exile ended, and we will compare this to the difficulties that we have in building up the Church of Jesus Christ. But first, a little background.
When the Southern Kingdom of Judah was taken into exile by Babylon, they would be absent from their home for over 70 years. A lot would happen during that time, both back in Judah and in Babylon, with very little of it being good.

Read Jeremiah 29:10-14

It seems that God had a plan for the people, and the prophet was reminding them of this. The Lord had carried them out of Judah, and he would carry them back home when the people had sufficient time to reflect on their sinful ways, and sufficient time to mend their relationship with their Lord.
Eventually, Babylon would be defeated by the Persians, and the Persian king Cyrus, when he came to power, would allow the first contingent of Hebrews to return to their home, for the express purpose of rebuilding the temple.

Read Ezra 1:1-4

Ezra, though, would not be leading this contingent – Zerubbabel would. As a matter of fact, I’m not even sure that Ezra was even born at this time, as he wouldn’t lead the second group home until some 60 years later. But God’s declaration could not be denied, and the first 50,000 exiles would soon begin their journey back to the Promised Land.

But let’s think about this for a minute. First, it may seem odd at first glance that only 50,000 would be returning. But we have to remember that the majority of the people were left in Judah. Only the select, the upper class, the educated would be taken into exile – they are the ones who would be able to serve the Babylonians the best. Jeremiah tells us that Nebuchadnezzar would only take about 4,600 people into captivity (other books would have different numbers, but each of the totals were still only a small portion of the entire population), and these would be done in stages (Jeremiah 52:24-30). It would seem that God’s command to marry and increase in number and to work for peace and prosperity for their new home was heard and carried out (Jeremiah 29:4-9). And even more interesting, there were many who would choose to remain in their new home where they had prospered, and which, for the vast majority, was the only home they had ever known. The Jews who were taken into captivity would have done much better than those who had remained behind.

The point here is that the time that we spend in exile is not necessarily a bad thing. We hear this from men in prison all the time – that the Lord brought them inside the walls to get their attention! We can make the most of it, and it can produce the best results from anything we have ever experienced.
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Second, King Cyrus was not a Jew, and yet he freely proclaims in verse 2 “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah.” He acknowledges that it is God Himself who has given him all of these victories and has brought such great power to him. If we didn’t know any better, we might think that these words were spoken by King David – but never a Persian King! But isn’t God able to use any one and anything to accomplish his purposes?

He gave words to a donkey to challenge Balaam in his actions with the rulers of Moab. (Numbers 22:21-33)
He used the priests of Baal to prove that he, and he alone is all powerful. (1 Kings 18:20-40)
He used a young virgin to be the means of introducing his Son into the world. (Luke 1:26-38)
He used the Samaritans and Gentiles, and women at that, to proclaim his grace and mercy to the Gentile world. (Mark 5:1-20; John 4:1-42; Mark 7:24-30, etc.)
He even turned the hearts of some Pharisees, notably Nicodemus (John 3:1-21; John 7:45-52; John 19:38-42) and Saul (Acts 9:1-19), away from their legalistic ways and into the ways of truth and Light.
Why shouldn’t the Lord use the Persian Cyrus? After all, didn’t God use the Babylonians to teach an important lesson to his people!

The same God who stepped back from both his people Israel and Judah would also step up and inspire a foreign, pagan ruler to send the people back home to rebuild his temple.
The same God who would have an intimate relationship with the children of Israel would also call non Jews to proclaim his might and glory. And not just in that time - hundreds of years before Jesus’ birth - but throughout the centuries since then.
The same God who can never tolerate sin, is also the one who forgives and redeems and restores the sinner.

Point number 2 – never try to put God in your own self defined box, because he will never – he can never - stay there.

Read Ezra 1:5-11

Nebuchadnezzar had stripped the temple, had looted the city, took the best and brightest of Jerusalem into captivity, and destroyed the temple and the city (2 Kings 25:1-22). The temple had been a source of pride for the people, and now all of its splendor was gone. They had seen the temple, a glorious place, as the residence of their God, and now he had no place to live. (Ezekiel 10:18-19). Almighty God had left them to fend for themselves, or at least that’s what they thought.

The children of Israel had always struggled in their relationship with the Almighty. Time and time again they would turn away from God, and after a time of correction, they would turn back, but only for a brief period. God would send his servants to the people with messages of both grace and warning, and, at best, they would be ignored. He would allow them the latitude to live life in their own way, hoping that they would discover the folly of this approach, but they never did. And one day, he would even send his very own Son with a message of grace and forgiveness, and while some would listen, most would not. (Matthew 21:33-46)

But the greatest surprise of all is that those who, throughout the centuries, have listened the closest to God’s word are those who are outside the mainstream of Jewish faith. The lame and maimed, the lost and sinful, the poorest, the rejected, and the foreigner. And while none of these would have been allowed into the inner courts of the temple, the Lord would offer them the same gifts of salvation that Israel had rejected. (Matthew 22:1-14)

But what has the Church done with this wonderful gift? Some have taken Jesus’ words to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:18-20) very seriously, while others have virtually ignored the commandment. And the question has to be asked today, what have we done with our gift of redemption and salvation? How active have we been in living out the Great Commission of Matthew 28? Are we too comfortable and satisfied in our faith? And if so, have we become complacent in our faith? And as it was in the case of Israel, have we also turned away?

But more importantly, have we turned back – have we re-turned control of our lives to Christ? And if so, are we prepared to rebuild his Church? There has been a steady decline in faith for far too long, and a revival is long overdue. I want to ask you to do something, and please notice that I’m not offering this as a suggestion! I want each of us to pray every day this week that God will send the names of 3-4 close friends or neighbors or relatives who are either unchurched, or unsaved, or who have fallen away from the church in recent years. And then in the weeks to follow, I want each of us to pray every day that a revival will come into their hearts, and that the Lord will give you the words to say, and the attitudes to exhibit, and the faith to share, and that the Holy Spirit will turn their lives back toward “Home”.

Only a percentage of the exiles would eventually return to Jerusalem to begin the rebuilding of the temple, but by the grace of God, many would. The promise is ours, that we, too, can begin to rebuild – in John 14:12-14, Jesus says “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” Do you believe that? Will you claim that promise for the benefit of your friends and to the glory of the Father?

Israel had begun a very long journey, and it all had to begin with 1 step, and then followed up with another, and another, and by many more. God had a plan for their lives, but they had to want to re-turn, and they had to step out in faith, and so must we. Won’t you take this step in faith today?

Sunday, September 23, 2012

“Power in the Name of Jesus”


Scripture: Mark 9:38-50

For the past three weeks, we have been considering the power that comes to us in our discipleship to Christ. Faith, touch, the word – all are very great powers that we can use in our outreach to those who have yet to know the grace of Jesus Christ. And they aren’t even limited to our contact with those outside the Church – we are to use them within the Church, too – for encouragement, for healing, for correction, for growth.
But each of these powers are not just randomly bestowed on whoever thinks they want them. Each of them, as well as many other gifts, are given in and through the name of Jesus Christ - to all who will believe. As soon as we begin to think that these powers are ours, they will no longer be available to us. They are God’s, they are of God, they are from God, and are given to us through the Son of God. They are not ours! They are simply given for our use.

And these gifts are not exclusively the purview of some select few! These powers, as well as all spiritual power, including faith, come in the confidence and trust and commitment that we show toward Jesus. Not just by Methodists, not just by Protestants, not by any denominational distinction – but solely through faith. No one has the solitary inside track. And Jesus had to constantly remind his disciples of this truth.

Read Mark 9:38-41

For me, the surprising aspect of this passage is that it is John who seems to be at the lead of this complaint, and not Peter! John is always seen as the faithful, thoughtful, understanding disciple, while Peter was always the impetuous one, the “foot-in-mouth” one. But now it seems that John is just as guilty of “speaking before thinking” as any of the others! He sees these others as intruders in the faith at best, and possibly even as false prophets, but the truth is that they were casting out demons, and it was in the name of Jesus. And the Lord is just as forthright in his correction of John as he was of anyone else.
And what does Jesus tell his followers? In essence, that anyone who is proclaiming or serving or teaching or healing in my name and in my way IS one of us! Anyone who isn’t standing in opposition to my word is standing in support of it.

Today, there is a lot of denominational angst out there. We let the little things create tremendous division in the Church. What is the correct method and timing and understanding of baptism? Who can receive the sacrament of communion and who must be excluded? What is the right means of worship? What is the most appropriate way to pray? And the list goes on and on! It’s a wonder that the Church can survive at all! And yet, in the name and power of Jesus, it does.

And the Lord even tells his disciples that if someone reaches out to them because they are of Christ, that they, too, will be remembered! It is the moralistic attitudes that matter, and not the ritualistic. It is the truths that Christ taught that matter, and not the misinterpretations of humanity. The power that comes to the Church Universal is in the fact that only Jesus matters! ONLY JESUS MATTERS!

Read Mark 9:42-50

Now before everyone begins to consider drowning and amputation as a Christian solution, let’s think about what Jesus is really telling us!
First, we know that he is talking about our sin – the sin of causing another to deviate from faith, to doubt their faith, to drive one away from Christ. And this is what John and the others were doing to those who were ministering in the name of Jesus Christ! And the reference to “these little ones” is, for me, a warning to all who lead or preach or teach others. Remember James 3:1 from last week – “we who teach will be judged more strictly!”? That is why no one should ever assume responsibilities as bible study leaders, or Sunday School teachers, or committee members, or someone who proclaims the word, without first praying about it and seeking the Lord’s leading in our efforts.
Second, in the reference to the removal of our hands and feet and eyes, he wants us to know that if there is anything that we use routinely in our everyday life, and if that “thing” is leading us astray, then we need to reevaluate the way that we are using this “tool”. It certainly could be portions of our bodies, but it could also be our vehicles, or our homes, or our televisions, or our computers, or any other aspect of our life. If the use of any of these things are causing us to commit sin, and usually it is without even thinking about it, then we need to reconsider the ways and methods in which we are using them. If in our driving, we are routinely subject to anger and rage against others who are on the road, then letting someone else drive might be a good idea. If we tend to check out a few pornographic websites every day or so, then we might be better off shutting our computer down for a few days. If many of our favorite television programs seem to have a decidedly violent or sexual overtone, then disconnect the cable.

I don’t believe that Jesus would have us physically mutilate ourselves, but I do believe that he wants us to be vigilant for those areas of our life that do not reflect his nature, his teaching, or his grace filled ways. And in the power of his name, we can.

But without that power, we haven’t got a chance. Sin, and the source of sin, is all pervasive! It constantly tries to worm its way into our lives, it is persistent to a fault, its lies are designed to seem perfectly consistent with truth, and the ways of the Satan, the Accuser, are the ways that will always lead us away from Jesus Christ and the ways of heaven.
Now, I’ll be the first to admit that Jesus’ ways are never the easiest to follow, nor are they always the easiest to understand. God has given us the power of his word and the power of faith in Christ. We have the written word to help us on our way, but Scripture isn’t easy to understand, either! We think that one passage, by itself, is all we need, but without the entire word, we will always fall short.
Power is in the entirety of Jesus, and not just in a word or two. Power comes in our complete surrender, in faith, to Jesus’ ways, and not just in one or two of his commandments. Power resides is our desire to live as Jesus lived, to touch as Jesus touched, to love as Jesus loved, and without a personal commitment to do that, Satan wins again.

These sayings of our Lord in Mark’s Gospel challenge us to examine the quality of our discipleship. Is following Christ at the core of our being? Is he far too important for our lives to let him slip out of our grasp? Is our faith a matter of convenience, a matter of tradition, a matter of minor importance? Or is it everything to us? It is said that “The proof of the pudding is in the tasting”, and it can also be said that the proof of discipleship is also in the tasting. For every time we come in contact with another person, every time we reach out in the name of Jesus, others are experiencing our faith, and they are tasting the grace of our Lord, and that, my friends, is what the power of Jesus is all about.

The last sentence of our text today reads “Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.” Think about salt for just a minute – it preserves, it brings out the flavor of our food, and in small quantities, is vital for our health and well being. And in the context of our lesson today, the reference to “salt” is the preservation and flavor, and vitality of our walk with Christ. And Power? The power that comes through faith in Jesus is the “salt” that brings us peace in our relationships with each other – a peace that extends far beyond the walls of our church, far beyond our community of faith, far beyond our own limited experience with Jesus.

For the past 3 weeks, we have considered the power of faith, the power in touch and healing, and the power that exists in both words of goodness and words of evil. And the power that comes in a relationship with Jesus cements it all together. John and his friends didn’t quite get this – they thought that the power existed only within their own perspective. But Jesus showed them that faith in him, surrender to him, trust in him, being born again in him, was where the power truly was.

And we need to remember that lesson, too. Let the power that is in the Name above all names be our hope. Let the power that enables each of us to share our faith with those who do not know Jesus be fulfilled. Let the power that works miracles through our touch on the lives of others be fulfilled. Let the power of the word of goodness bless and nourish and change us and others.

And may the salt of Jesus Christ bring all the power that you will ever need.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

“The Power of a Word”


Scripture: James 3:1-12

What’s in a word? It’s an easy question to ask, but the answer is far more difficult. In my Worship and Sacraments class at Wesley last week, we spent quite a bit of time considering the implication and depth of various religious symbols – such as the Cross, a candle, the altar, and so on. On the surface, we see them as physical objects, but in faith, they have a depth that is far greater than the physicality that they exhibit.
And in that light, humanity tends to throw out words without regard for what they mean and for how they will be perceived and received. Micah 6:8 tells us that the Lord wants us to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God.
But what does that really mean? I think that many folks spend a lot of time trying to figure out how much justice is enough, and if “liking” mercy is sufficient, and do we really have to be totally humble before God, or is some humility acceptable!

Words, in and of themselves, are just fine, but don’t we just love to massage them, and spin them, and analyze them, and redefine them until the original thought is totally lost? The power of a word, assuming that we don’t study it to death, is in the intent and heart of the speaker.

Read James 3:1-6

The power of a word can help and encourage, and the same word can be used to mislead and misrepresent and chastise.

A poor old man walked into a diner and sat down at the counter. A big, hulking waiter in a dirty T-shirt came up and said, “What's yours, Mack?”
The man said, “Give me two eggs, scrambled, and a few kind words.” The waiter clomped off to the kitchen and returned in a few minutes with the plate of eggs, slamming it carelessly down in front of the man.
As he turned away, the man said, “Wait a minute, what about those kind words?”
The waiter turned back and said, “Oh, yea. Don't eat dem eggs.”
- Homiletics on Line

Do you think the two men had greatly differing concepts of what a “kind word” was all about? The power of a word is unlike any other that humanity can wield. It can help and it can harm, it can build up and it can destroy, and once it is released, it can never be called back. In the first chapter of James, we read “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak” (v.19), and later, “If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself, and his religion [i.e. his faith] is worthless.” (v. 26). Think about what you are going to say before you say it!

There’s an old saying that helps us to understand this:
Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.
Heart, tongue, hands, minds, life.

James writes about the impact that our words can have on others if there is no thought behind them. He uses the analogy of a bit in the mouth of a horse, the rudder on a ship, and a careless spark in a forest. The thoughtless word will be no less powerful than these and will have no less of an impact on our life and the lives of others.
Consider your thoughts and intent first and take your time about it; then and only then let your words reflect what you really want to say – in other words, it is “ready, aim, fire”, not “ready, fire, aim”!

Read James 3:7-12

James thoughts on the power of the tongue are offered almost completely in a negative context - that the wrong words can have devastating consequences.

Dr. Tony Evans, author, evangelist and President of The Urban Alternative in Dallas, Texas, suggests what our problem, as the Church, might be. He writes:
“There's obviously nothing wrong with the head of the church. Jesus is alive and well .... Our central nervous system, the Holy Spirit, is also fine. The Spirit is taking the Word and sending it through the body so the body knows what to do and has the power to do it.
The problem lies in the body. The hands get the word from the Spirit, but they don't feel like moving. The feet don't feel like walking. The mouth doesn't feel like talking. As a result, the church stumbles around like a diseased body. Think of the message [that] a sick church gives to the world.
--Anthony T. Evans, America's Only Hope (Chicago: Moody Press, 1990), 90.

This “sickness”, the wrong words, the failure of the body to respond in the truth of God’s word and of the Spirit’s call - is what all too many people today identify as Christian thought, and it is destroying any true witness that we might have to share with them.

But what about the right words, the thoughtful words, the ones that come from the depth of Christian thought, from the prompting of the Holy Spirit, and are not simply a human response? Don’t they have great power, too? Of course they do! But these words can never be our words – they need to be the words that come directly from Almighty God!

Isaiah 55:10-11 “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth; it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

The power of God’s word is incredible! And his word will manifest itself in one way or another, whether we allow it to flow through us or not. It will not return to heaven empty! If we refuse to let it come from our tongue, it will come from someone else’s. Wouldn’t you prefer to be the faithful servant instead of the one who buries his gift? Remember Jesus’ parables of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) and the Minas (Luke 19:11-27)? These are about the power of God’s word, and whether we will allow it to work within us, or whether we decide to bury it, or corrupt it, or hide it.

In verses 7-8 of our James passage, he tells us that we can never “tame” our tongue. We cannot control it, we cannot harness it, we have little to no influence over it – but if we give the Lord the opportunity, he can do wonders with our thoughts and our words and our actions and our habits and our character and our life. But we have to surrender our control to him if we truly want him to begin to work through us.

Are you willing to “let go and let God”? Are you prepared to let the word that comes from the heart of God to flow through you and out into the world, regardless of what that word may be? Thinking that having Jesus in our life, and that that is sufficient for the Christian experience, is narrow and limiting. That is “3rd servant” thinking, when what we really need to be is “1st and 2nd servant” disciples! We need to claim the power of God’s word for our lives, and not to fear it, not to turn away from it, not to bottle it up, not to decide that we aren’t quite ready yet and that the Lord will just have to wait!

The power of a word! To refuse God’s word and to remain deathly silent is just as bad as letting our own poor, restless, thoughtless words become a replacement for his perfect ones. Why do you think Jesus came to this place and into these lives? It was solely to bring the perfect and glorious word of Almighty God to us.
May the power and fulfillment of God’s word occur in your life today. Power upon power is given to us; but never in our way! It must always be in his!

Sunday, September 9, 2012

“The Power in a Touch”


Scripture: Mark 7:31-37

Jesus’ ministry among us was focused in 3 ways – teaching, healing, and redeeming. And of the three, healing is the most encompassing, because it is the essence behind the other two. His teaching healed our minds from the misconceptions and falsehoods that we have lived with. His redeeming healed the rift that had grown ever wider between us and our heavenly Father. And his healing itself took on so many forms that we probably will never understand them all. Jesus touches us physically, emotionally, intellectually, spiritually, and once we recognize and accept the impact of each, we can never be the same again.

He healed physical ailments – blindness, leprosy, lameness, even death.
He healed the sinful state – the woman caught in adultery, the man filled with legion, the woman at Jacob’s well, his followers’ thoughts regarding the gentiles.
He healed the division that humanity had created between themselves and the Divine, through his sacrificial and miraculous act at Calvary.
He healed the law through his teachings that addressed dependency on ritual worship and the misunderstandings that surrounded God’s call on the people. Healing, in this case, is the ability to understand correctly.

Everything that Jesus did, and every way that he touched our lives, was with an eye toward the healing of our humanity.

Read Mark 7:31-35

Sometimes there was a physical contact between Jesus and a person who was in need, and other times, it was simply through a word and without a touch. Sometimes Jesus was in close proximity to the individual, and at other times, they were separated by a considerable distance. Sometimes he prayed for the healing, and sometimes he simply proclaimed the miracle. But the one thing that was a constant in all of Jesus’ healings was faith. In every instance, the person, or someone who loved them, held the strong belief that Jesus could, without question, heal. And he always did. And in those occasions when the people didn’t believe, healing was either limited or couldn’t happen at all. In this case, it appears to be the man’s friends who believed in the power of Jesus, and they weren’t to be disappointed.
And the healing would be complete. Because of the man’s deafness, not only couldn’t he hear, but he had trouble speaking, too. First, Jesus touches the man’s ears, then his tongue, and with a prayer, a sigh, and a word, the man is restored to perfect wholeness.
Touch, prayer, sigh, and a word. Does anyone wonder why all four? Well, at least I did! It may be that this incident was not just a healing, but a teaching. Touch is intimacy, and in this case, it shows compassion. Prayer shows us that even Jesus looked to the Father for the power in healing, and that it wasn’t by his means alone – and we must understand that, too. The sigh – a strange addition to the story, and one that I don’t see anywhere else in scripture – may simply be the Breath of God settling on the man, but we may never know for sure and it will remain a mystery. And finally, the word “Ephphatha”, “Be opened” is a healing command. Did Jesus need all of these means for the healing? Probably not - in other instances, he didn’t, but the meaning in this story doesn’t seem to be obvious.
The point for us, though, is this: The means of the healing can come in any of several ways, but is not primarily in the touch, or the prayer, or the sigh, or the word – it is almost completely by the power of God that comes in faith. But each of the means that Jesus used that day are still important for us to use. In our service today, we will touch, and we will pray, and we will speak words of faith in the Christ. And by the grace of Almighty God, your need will be cared for.

Read Mark 7:36-37

At nearly every healing, Jesus tells the people to keep it to themselves. It may not make much sense to us, except in one aspect. Jesus wanted people to come to him by faith, and not simply because they could get something from him. He wanted people to seek him out, not because he was some miracle healer, but because he is the Son of God. He wanted to give great gifts to humanity, not because of need, which is universal, but because of trust and confidence in the one who will heal and bless and sustain.

And the word still spread far and wide, and it has continued to do so for two thousand years, and it comes to us here today. And the question that each of us must ask is this – do I believe that Jesus is and has and gives? That he is Almighty God, that he has unlimited power, and that it is given to us in faith.

Come to his altar rail today, in need and in faith. Come for yourself or for a loved one. Come alone or with a friend. But regardless, come.
And you will be anointed, and hands will be laid on you, and prayers will be lifted up, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will be proclaimed. And that is what we are called to do. Remember that the power of healing isn’t in my touch or that of anyone else – it is in the touch of Jesus.

Come.

(At this point, a healing service was held, with all invited to come with their burdens and pains.)

Sunday, September 2, 2012

“The Power of Faith”


Scripture: Mark 7:24-30

Today, we begin a 3 week series on Christian “power”. For some Christians, though, power is nowhere in their vocabulary. Instead, they seem to only want to talk about humility, trust, grace, peace, and so on. And those are certainly Christian characteristics, but without a certain amount of power, how can we ever be humble? Without power, how can we trust? How can we discover and advocate for peace? How can we possibly show love to the majority of the people we come in contact with?
Power comes in many forms, and we will be looking at 3 of them. For today, we look at the power that comes to us in faith. Buell Kazee, a Southern writer and storyteller, once wrote:
Faith is not trusting God to get something; faith is trusting God when there seems to be nothing left. When everything is gone with no hope of restoration and when there is nothing on which to base your faith; then can you still trust God?
--Buell Kazee, Faith Is the Victory (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 1983), 149.

How about the folks who lost everything a year ago in that devastating flood, but somehow, retained the great faith to know that God is still a loving God? Power? Absolutely!
How about those who are suffering in oppression and persecution throughout the world, but continue to worship and praise the Living God? Power? You had better believe there is! Today, we consider the power of faith that was in one Gentile woman.

Read Mark 7:24-26

So why was Jesus even in Phoenicia? He left Judea, passed through Samaria, then through Galilee, and on to Tyre. It was a trip that was at least 100 miles long, and it took him into Gentile territory, of all places. Did he need a rest? A time away to pray and meditate? Perhaps it was something totally different, but scripture tells us that he didn’t want anyone to know that he was there. Good luck, Lord! It’s never happened before and it wasn’t going to happen this time, either! I expect that word began to spread as soon as he came into view of the town, and a certain woman – a Greek no less – came to him with a vital request for healing.

A woman, a gentile woman, and probably a very poor woman at that, has the audacity to approach Jesus and fall at his feet in a worshipful posture. This was happening all the time – non Jews seemed, on average, to see Jesus in a much better light than the Judeans did.
When he healed the 10 lepers, who was the only one who came back to give Jesus honor? The Samaritan! (Luke 17:11-19) Who were some of his greatest evangelists? A Samaritan woman who he met at Jacob’s Well (John 4:1-42) and a Gentile man who he had freed from a legion of demons (Luke 8:26-39). And to the Pharisees chagrin, he tells a story about a Samaritan man who is far more loving of another than their fellow Jews were. (Luke 10:25-37)
Jesus had, without question, established a powerful relationship with Jews and non Jews alike, and the Jews didn’t like it and couldn’t understand why he did it. The Pharisees were disgusted by it, his disciples were embarrassed by it, and everyday Jews tried to ignore it. But regardless of what others thought about it, Jesus never distinguished between people – he loved them all, welcomed them all, taught them all, and healed them all.
And this makes his encounter with the Syro-Pheonician woman all the more strange.

Read Mark 7:27-30

Many commentaries and academics try to make sense of this passage by explaining that the woman, in faith, was able to change Jesus’ mind – to turn him away from his apparent demeaning words and thoughts. But if Jesus truly loved all people as much as we believe he did, can this really be what the exchange all about? Why does he seem to be heaping insults on this poor woman, who comes only to ask that her daughter be healed, if he loves her?

Good and right intentions can sometimes be muddled by what Garrison Keillor describes as “woofing”. He writes:
To know and to serve God, of course, is why we're here, a clear truth that, like the nose on your face, is near at hand and easily discernible but can make you dizzy if you try to focus on it hard. But a little faith will see you through. ... When [life] temporarily goes to the dogs, cats must learn to be circumspect - walk on fences, sleep in trees, and have faith that all this “woofing” is not the last word.
-- Garrison Keillor, On the Meaning of Life, in We Are Still Married (New York: Viking, 1989), as quoted in Tim Dearborn, Taste & See: Awakening Our Spiritual Senses (Downers Grove: Ill.: Intervarsity Press, 1996), 71.

With all due respect to my learned colleagues, I think they are “woofing” – that Jesus’ words are not what they seem to be, and are definitely not the last word. I believe that Jesus was using this situation as a teaching moment – not for the woman though, but for his disciples. The words that he was speaking were not his opinion, but rather that of his followers. The disciples were “surprised” when they discovered that Jesus was talking to that Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well (John 4:27). On another occasion, they tried to shoo the children away from Jesus and chastised their parents for bothering the Lord. (Matthew 19:13-14) And when Jesus began this conversation by implying that the gentiles needed to get in line behind the Jews, that they only deserved the leftovers of God’s grace, I believe that the disciples began to smile.
But the Lord wasn’t through yet - he was going to teach them that it wasn’t a blood line that endeared people to God, but a faith line. The woman believed that Jesus could heal her daughter, and he would. The disciples believed that Jesus shouldn’t heal the girl, but he did anyway. Which one do you think had the living and powerful faith?

In 1928, the Church of England revised the wording in the Communion service from “lively” faith to “living” faith. This revision created quite a stir. One Yorkshire churchwarden in particular, who disliked the change vigorously, protested: “Look at our vicar. He's living, but he ain't lively.”
--Michael Wright, Yours, Lord (London: Mowbray, 1992), 9.

The disciples may have been walking in faith, but the woman was living in faith. And how many of us are wavering between these two descriptives? Is ours a living faith, one that is as strong and vital as this woman’s? In Luke’s gospel (20:38-40), Jesus tells his listeners “He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” Jesus wants living disciples, not just ones who are lively. In Colossians 3:12-17, we are offered a description of what it means to live in Christ. Except for the singing part, these are not “lively” characteristics – compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and so on. These are “living” characteristics, and each requires the power of faith in Jesus Christ, for without him, they would all be impossible.

But there are times when we don’t seem to have the strength or courage to “live” with Jesus. The woman’s daughter was in that situation. She was bed bound, incapacitated by the effect of the demon, and her mother couldn’t even carry her the distance to see Jesus. But in faith – in powerful faith – she went herself, on behalf of her beloved daughter, seeking Jesus’ mercy for the life who was struggling. Remember Rahab in Jericho? Through her living faith, she and her entire family were spared from the destruction. (Joshua 6:24-25) Sometimes it is the power in our faith that sustains someone else.

A woman had experienced one loss after another. Her husband had left her for another woman. Her mother had died. Her son had been arrested and put in jail for selling drugs. She had been laid off from her job. She said to her group at church, 'I feel numb. I've lost my faith in God. I'm having trouble seeing any reason to go on living.' A member of the group responded, 'We'll hold on to you and we'll hold on to your faith until you are able to take it back again. Until then, let our faith carry you.'
--Quoted in J. Michael Ripski, Conversing With God (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1992), 86.

The lesson that Jesus taught that day wasn’t for the woman. She had the faith already, but Jesus’ traveling companions still had a lot to learn.
First, they had to learn that faith in the Triune God is not restricted to a select few – it is available to all who will come to Christ.
Second, that the power that comes in faith isn’t for us alone – actually, it is for others as much as it is for ourselves.
Third, our response in faith can never be just an active and busy life in the church. It is to be a living faith, an honest faith, a serving faith.
Fourth, it is only in our weakness that Christ’s power can become perfect. (2 Corinthians 12:9)
I wish that Jesus had taken a personal film maker with him, one who followed him around on his travels and encounters and put everything into the eternal record. I would love to see the expression on his face, on the woman’s face, and on the disciples’ faces, and hear the inflection in their voices, as this scene played out. And I would love to see the changes that came over each one.
Did the woman change Jesus’ mind? No, I don’t believe she had to. Did Jesus change the minds and hearts of his disciples? I believe that he did. Has he changed our hearts and lives? I’ll leave the answer up to you.

But has he?