Blog Archives
Even if I am a dog, He’s my Master!
Even if I am a Dog,
He is MY Master
Matthew 15:21-28
† Kyrie Iesou, Eleison †
May you realize that when God is your Master, your Lord, which means He obligates Himself to showing you love, and mercy, so that you live in peace!
It’s not about tenacity; it’s about recognition
A question for you to start this message.
Does God simply answer our prayers because we are so tenacious? Did Jesus answer this lady’s prayers just because she followed them through town, or did Jesus answer her to silence the apostles who were whining about her bothering them with her begging?
Is that the way God works, that He rewards those who are persistent, who are tenacious? Who don’t give up? Do we have to workout spiritually, so that we can endure, and then receive that which is promised?
We might say, “No, that doesn’t sound right.” But when it comes to unanswered prayer, do we sometimes hear this story, or the parable of the elderly woman and the judge, and wonder; is that the key to getting a prayer answered?
Persistence, dedication to the cause, determination and good old-fashioned stubbornness?
Or is there something else…. Perhaps something like recognizing the Truth?
The truth that it is okay to be a dog; if that means that He is our Lord, that He is our Master?
That is what was revealed to her, which confirmed to her that He was her Lord!
What She Saw: Lord Son of David!
A little background helps. When the lady first starts yelling to Jesus “Kyrie Eleison” she is saying something we sang a few moments ago.
The translation phrases it, “have mercy Lord.” We sing it the Kyrie in the opposite order, but the plea is the same. Lord, love us and because of that love, care for us. That is what the word mercy means. cHesed means to have great love, care for, provide, protect, forgive and do everything in your power to care for and help those who with who you have a relationship. She demands this of him.
Pour out you love and care on us Lord, she cries, Over and over, she begs this very thing.
She goes one step further; she calls Him Lord! She acknowledges that He is her master. She lays herself at his feet, and she worships Him as her Lord.
You see, cHesed is that loving-mercy of God. It is an obligation of the Lord to His people. I’ve mentioned that word here before, this incredible word that binds a Lord, a Master to His people. He will take care of them, for He has made that commitment to them, as their Lord. He has become their Master.
That is what she wants! That is why she keeps calling Him Lord! Every time she speaks, this is how she addresses Him, as the one who is obligated to care for her.
She wants to be part of His Kingdom, His Household, to be His!
More Precise!
The first time she calls out for mercy, she adds something to it.
Have mercy Lord, Son of David!
Somehow, she knew about this promise of the Messiah. She uses one of the titles for the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed one of God! The Lord through whom salvation would come! Salvation to the Jewish people, but also to all who would call out to the Messiah.
When she cries out for mercy, she is crying out to the Messiah! She is crying out to the long-awaited Son of David! She recognizes that He is the Lord and Master; the One who would bring about what we heard from the prophet Isaiah,
“I will also bless the foreigners who commit themselves to the Lord, who serve him and love his name, who worship him!”
She knows who Jesus is, she knows the help that only He can offer! She comes and places herself in His care, begging that He would accept Her!
His response finally is heard.
You are nothing but a dog.
Surprisingly, that is what she is longing to hear!
Dogs are part of the family
Consider this quote, about John Chrysostom, one of the most-quoted preachers in history.
Chrysostom seems to recognise the shade of meaning conveyed by τὰ κυνάρια (the dogs of the household). “On the very words of the Lord she founds her plea. If I am a dog (κυνάριον), she says, I am no alien.”[i]
I belong!
She understands these “terms”; that the promises go first to the people of God, those he counts as His children. She rejoices in knowing that the promise is there for her as well. This Lord has accepted her as part of the household, part of the family of God.
Think about it! How many people refer to their dogs as their children!
She’ll take it, even as the Psalm 84 talks of a similar attitude:
A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked. Psalm 84:10 (NLT)
To be the mutt, waiting under the table for scraps, the Kingdom of God is a great place to be, knowing the love of the Master. As long as she knows the love of the Lord, as long as she is one of the people He brings home, she will be content.
She will trust in her Master; she will bask in His love…she will trust His reign over her life.
Scraps aren’t good enough!
He will at first acknowledge her faith, by providing the salvation of her daughter, freeing her from the demons that afflict her.
That is only the beginning of the fulfillment of His promises to her, and to all of us, who though not physical descendants of Abraham, are the spiritual descendants. It is just the beginning for those who trust in God as our Lord, our Master!
A blessing for those who know that our cries for His love are answered. His mercy is always the answer! He hears us and will bring us home. That woman didn’t get the scraps from the table; neither will any who trust in the promises that are made ours in Christ.
She is invited to a feast – one beyond all comparison…the wedding feast of the Lamb, the feast to celebrate the welcoming home of all the people of God.
Including this gentile woman and her daughter.
When we approach this altar, we see this feast in part. The love of God, the love of our Master, our Lord, and the mercy which makes it possible. These are not bread scraps and the last drops of wine. This is the body and blood of Jesus Christ!
This feast is the answer of a God, who would provide for all of His children, for all who will call upon His name.
Yes, I am your Lord. Come and feast with me!
Yes, dear friends, Jesus says I will be your Lord, your Messiah, I will care for you. I will provide. That was what the cross was about, not just saving us from our sins, but opening up a relationship for all people with God the Father. He says, “You are my people, come and know my peace!” For this, this peace of God, is promised, which passes all understanding, and in which our hearts and minds are kept safe, by our Lord.
AMEN!
[i] Chase, F. H. (1887). Chrysostom: A Study in the History of Biblical Interpretation (p. 130). Cambridge; London: Deighton Bell and Co.; George Bell and Sons.
Will we trust what God has revealed? Or must we explain (and know) more than that?
Devotional and Discussion thought off day…
25 And I have been made a servant of the church by God, who gave me this task to perform for your good. It is the task of fully proclaiming his message, 26 which is the secret he hid through all past ages from all human beings but has now revealed to his people. 27 God’s plan is to make known his secret to his people, this rich and glorious secret which he has for all peoples. And the secret is that Christ is in you, which means that you will share in the glory of God. Colossians 1:25-27 (TEV)
Let us not try to reduce the greatness of God to our own poor ideas and human explanations. Let us try to understand that this mystery, for all its darkness, is a light to guide men’s lives. As Saint John Chrysostom said: “We see that Jesus has come from us, from our human substance, and has been born of a virgin mother; but we don’t know how this wonder came about. Let us not waste our energies trying to understand it; rather, accept humbly what God has revealed to us. Don’t try to probe what God has kept hidden.”5 If we have this reverence, we will be able to understand and to love. The mystery will be a splendid lesson for us, much more convincing than any human reasoning. (1)
Thirty years ago this fall I started studying Theology seriously, well as much as an 18year old dual major in Bible (exegetical theology) and Homiletics can be “serious”. During that time I have seen a lot labelled theology which is at best that which is called, “speculation”. The speculators are sincere, have great intentions, and are often brilliant. Their brains work like super computers, and they can store and analyze so much, that to be honest, I often find myself in awe when I am in their presence. Until they move from knowledge that is scriptural into the realms of speculation. Some of those who speculate (and which of us haven’t) aren’t so bright, and indeed, we make some of the most challenging errors.
Examples abound these days, and indeed throughout history. The movement known as Higher Criticism, which combines historical and linguistic knowledge of scripture and its environs, but then turns to specualtion when it makes the data subservient to the observations and logic of the scholars examining it. Another example is those who will wax eloquent on the relationship of justification and santification, or those who debate on the nature of the Eucharist – with such speculation as to when it becomes, to the radii at which the Words of Institution are effective. These all take that which God hasn’t revealed – and make it not only necessarily to meditate on such things – but to come up with the categories and prove their “logic. Another mystery is the Incarnation and the two natures of Christ. And the list grows and grows, including eschatology, pneumatology, baconatology (why can good things happen to bad people) etc.
English: The Lord’s Supper. Christ standing at an Orthodox altar, giving the Eucharist to the Twelve Apostles. Frescoes in the upper church of Spaso-Preobrazhenski cathedral. Valaam Monastery Русский: Алтарная апсида верхнего храма Спасо-Преображенского собора Валаамского монастыря. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Why can’t we leave what God left hidden, or left a mystery, hidden and a mystery? Why can’t we simply accept that we will not be omniscient in this life – and continue to explore the height and depth, width and breadth of the love of God, revealed to us in Christ Jesus?
Ultimately, why can’t we trust God?
We have more than enough to work with – as Colossians informs us – we have the very glory of God, into which we are drawn, to examine. We have the relationship – not of the divine and human attributes of Chirst, but the relationship between us and Christ to meditate upon. Christ in us, the very gift of our baptism, the very thing we celebrate in the Lord’s supper, the assurance of our absolution leading to our being welcome in the presence of a Holy and Righteous God. How is that someone that can be laid aside, in order to determine who was more accurate in their speculation about sanctification?
If we leave what God left as mystery, if instead we dwell on the incredible things He has revealed – will that not lead to a great appreciation of His role in our lives? Will it not lead to wonder when we see a baptism and know the promises are for us? Will it not lead to a reverent but absolutely joyous celebration of the Lord’s Supper? Will it not lead to….worship and a desire to spend more time in communion with God?
Or do we grasp all that God has revealed all ready and full applied it within our lives?
I haven’t…
So let us rejoice we have a God who is so big -that we cannot understand all that He has created and planned, but we can rely on His faithfulness and His revelation…
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). Christ is Passing By (Kindle Locations 667-674). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Related articles
- It’s Not About Calling the Qualified, or Even Qualifying the Called… it’s about revealing Christ. (justifiedandsinner.com)
- “My own faith?” … not so much! (justifiedandsinner.com)
- Weary of Praying? (justifiedandsinner.com)
