April 11, 2010 – Sermon by Dr. Linda Bausserman

For my morning prayer time I sometimes use a book by Jeanie Miley called Becoming Fire.  She takes stories from the scriptures and writes a paragraph of description about the story then asks questions (often probing and sometimes uncomfortable) for reflection. The week before Easter I happened to be on the story of Peter’s denial of Christ. She wrote a description of Peter in the high priests’ courtyard, cowering in fear, looking about for other disciples, worrying about how to free Jesus but most of all trying to go unnoticed. Then the servant woman approaches and asks if he was a follower of Jesus.  And, you know the story, Peter denies Jesus three times. As I read along, I began to squirm because I anticipated that the question Miley would ask at the end would be how or when have you denied Jesus. I didn’t really want to have to deal with that. But instead the question she asked was, ‘what evidence shows others that you spend time with Jesus?’  What an amazing question!! Have you ever thought about it? – What about you shows others that you spend time with Jesus? Well, to be honest, I couldn’t really answer for myself.  Perhaps we need to be telling others how we see evidence of Jesus’ influence in their lives. It may be that we can’t answer this question for ourselves. But I did think about the question in general terms.  My answer surprised me. I would have thought compassion would be the first thing to come to mind. And certainly that is on the list. As Christians we highly prize the characteristic of compassion.  Unfortunately, the secular culture often takes our view of being loving and turns it into weakness and sentimentality.  But that is not how I see followers of Jesus. In fact, the trait that came to my mind first was strength.  Strength coupled with humility.  Strength, when a loved one dies to mourn passionately, work through the grief and live on.  Strength, when faced with a crisis whether financial, physical or family-related to bear up, face it and get through as best we can.  The strength to risk trying new things. And, strength to be honest about who we are and stand our ground. And then the humility, to recognize that we depend on God’s help to do all this.

The syro-phoenician woman whose story was read to us this morning by Britany is an example for me of a person who exhibited just these characteristics of strength and humility. Mark’s version begins the story by saying that Jesus and his disciples withdrew to the region of Tyre, found a house to stay in and hoped to remain unrecognized. Tyre is north of Galilee on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It sounds to me like Jesus and the disciples were planning a little minivacation. Some time away from the demands of the crowds. They found themselves a nice little beach house and thought they would have a chance to sit back and put their feet up. But Jesus’ fame had traveled even to this northern region and this woman showed up “almost at once” according to Mark. You can imagine their annoyance at having their vacation interrupted. It’s like going to the beach and having someone from the office call you on your cell phone.

We don’t know a whole lot about this woman, not even her name. We know that she was a gentile, a Phoenician from Syria, and that she had a daughter who was possessed by unclean spirits. It must have taken great courage for her to come to Jesus in the middle of that close knit circle of men. She started out with two strikes against her; and she would have been well aware of that. First of all, she was a female which automatically, in that culture, made her a second class person, if not worse. And added to that she was a gentile which made her unclean to Jews. Nevertheless, in she barged, saying to Jesus: “Have mercy on me Son of David, my daughter is tormented by a devil.”  And Jesus said in reply?---nothing --- nada---not a word. Ever been there? Ever poured your heart out to God in desperation and felt that you got no response? Do you have an idea how this woman might have felt? She may have expected him to be angry and perhaps shoo her away but silence? How humiliating to be ignored in such a public way. So, how was she to respond? She may have thought about how undeserving she was and slipped away quietly. Or she might have been annoyed and started pleading even louder. However, she chose neither of these options, she merely waited. The silence between her and Jesus gave the disciples a chance to put their two cents worth in and they didn’t hesitate. “Send her away,” they said, “she comes shouting after us.”  They upped the ante for this poor woman. But she hung in there. I don’t know what was happening in the silence between her and Jesus; but finally he said:  “I am only come for the lost of Israel.” Then she fell on her knees before him and. according to the King James translation, she worshipped him saying simply, “Lord help me.”  His reply: “Let the children be fed first, it is not fair to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs. Now, some say that Jesus is testing her faith here. Others suggest that Jesus himself is learning in this experience that his mission is not just to the people of Israel but to everyone.  I leave that for you to decide for yourselves.  For now let’s leave the theology behind and focus on the woman.  I love her reply! “True, Sir,” she answers,” And yet the dogs eat the scraps that fall from their masters’ table.” This lady had a remarkable wit and wasn’t afraid to use it. You notice she didn’t try to make herself sound more deserving. Nor did she whine and plead that Jesus help the poor dogs. She humbly and firmly stood her ground. Apparently Jesus liked her answer as well because he cured her daughter.  I don’t think though that he cured her daughter because she had a clever come back. He says, “Woman, what faith you have. Be it as you wish.” So in the end, she got more than crumbs; I think she got the whole loaf.

Now I think this story has a lot to tell us about prayer and faith. This woman was able to come to Jesus, a Jew, for help because of her love for her daughter and her hope for a cure. Frederick Beuchner has said that “Hope is the driving power and outermost edge of faith”. Hope stretches us beyond our limits and allows us to live at the edge of our comfort zone. Sometimes we venture forward and nothing seems to happen. God seems not to hear us or appreciate our efforts. We have no sense that we are being heard and feel ignored. What choice do we have then but to either give up or wait. Hope can enable us to wait. Waiting is hard but waiting can also teach us much. We learn patience. We learn that we are not in control. We learn humility. Miley has written another book entitled “Sitting Strong.” I love the title – this kind of waiting is not for the weak.  The book is about Job but I think the title is an apt description of the Phoenician woman. She sat strong and waited for Jesus response. I am also impressed by this woman’s humility. She bowed down and worshipped Jesus and called him Lord. She was, in effect, acknowledging her own powerlessness and surrendering to Jesus’ will. She knew that she had nothing to offer him or bribe him with. She simply asked for his help. She was also honest in that she appears to have behaved as herself. No pretensions, no masks. She stated simply that she needed help without excuses, without dissertations about what other avenues she had pursued, no list of her daughter’s needs and merits or her own.  And Jesus responded to her simplicity and persistence and, most of all, her faith; and her daughter was healed.

But it doesn’t always work out this way, even for the faithful. What about those times when the answer is no. Just coming out of the Easter season it is hard not to draw comparisons to Jesus own prayer in the Garden of Gethsemani. Jesus too prayed with great passion and honesty and humility. Matthew tells us he was overcome with grief and dismay and said to the disciples “My heart is ready to break with grief.” He was totally honest not only before God but also before his disciples. What humility to show his dismay and grief to his followers. Most leaders think they need to appear strong and in control but I think it actually takes more strength to show our true feelings especially before those we think we are supposed to be leading and teaching. Jesus was also totally honest before God. You know his prayer: “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass me by. Yet, not as I will, but as thou wilt.” Jesus was not afraid to show God his anguish and how much he didn’t want what he knew was coming. Matthew says he sweat blood. But he concluded his prayer with ‘thy will be done.’ Then he left to find the disciples sleeping. But, he went back and prayed the same prayer again. Trying perhaps to convince God to do it his way after all, or at least some other way. Again though, he concluded with Thy will be done. A second time he checked on the disciples only to return and pray yet again the same prayer. This makes him seem so human. He said thy will be done but kept going back - still hoping and asking that God change the outcome. After the third time though he finally fully accepts God’s will. And we know that he truly does because he doesn’t sit back waiting to see if maybe nothing will happen after all. Or if God’s will might turn out to be the same as his. No. He says “The hour is come.  Let us go forward.  So he actually moves forward to actively do God’s will.  That is truly coming to the edge.  The strength to do that surely came from the time spent in honest and passionate prayer in the garden. The lesson from Jesus, it seems to me, is that he remained faithful to the end regardless of the fact that God didn’t give the answer he wanted. And look at the wonderful outcome.  Resurrection, new life - a life of joy and abundance. 

Whether God says yes or no to our specific requests, I think God’s ultimate response to us is yes – Yes, I love you. Yes, there will be abundant and joyful life for you. Yes, I will always be with you.  It is so hard to remember when we are waiting or when we hear ‘no’ that God is always there with us and loving us. But it is that knowledge that gives us the strength to live at the edge.  If we can muster up the courage to be honest and humbly present ourselves as we really are before God, God will bring us again and again to ever expanding horizons and changes; but God will also be there to guide, reassure and comfort us. 

I think that God is wanting us to come, in whatever our current circumstances, to be honest about who we are and what our needs are. To come to God with our gifts and talents, our faults and failings, our sorrows and joys, our hopes and dreams. To offer to God our whole being. When we do this then we will be able to be strong and compassionate in the living of our lives.  We will be able to live life at the edge, to face the risk of change, and to know in our hearts the truth of the words of Paul to the Corinthians: “Be strong, be resolute; do not be fearful or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Pastoral Prayer by Donna Campopiano

Dear Gracious and Loving Lord,

As your children come together this Sunday morning, we do so with heavy hearts.  We ask you to embrace Pastor Dan, Libby and their families as they struggle during this time of overwhelming sorrow.  We pray that they will feel your loving shadow and that you stay by their side and walk with them as they too make that walk one step at a time.

Also hear our prayers for all those who need the sound of your guidance.  Too many days our attention has settled on ourselves.  Refocus our thoughts and behaviors so that we do not become too busy in our everyday lives that we forget the daily tokens of care for each other.   For we realize that in this old world of ours there are so many who do not have the precious gift of friendship.

You have also provided us with so much good.  The beauty of different seasons.  The warmth of sunshine and yes, the rain too!!    Be with us as we go out from this church becoming that Shepard that we too are able to make a difference in someone’s’ life.

In Jesus’ name we pray.