The following sermon was delivered at our Grand Opening of our church on August 14, 2005
“Grand Opening” Matthew 15:22-31
MORNING’S WELCOME
A few weeks ago Lakewood Church had its Grand Opening. There were traffic jams for hours and the pastor and his wife were interviewed on national networks as the largest church in the United States. Yesterday I heard about a church in L.A. that bought the Forum, where the Lakers used to play basketball. Our opening is certainly not on that scale…but for us it is nonetheless, Grand.
We are delighted that you have chosen to be a part of our Grand Opening. Yesterday we were blessed to open our doors for an Open House/Open church and Bob Fluke, the architect who donated his time and talents to design this space came and brought his wife AND his mother to see what God has done. One of our original Task Force members, Clete Booher and his wife came by to see the church also as did Bob Jones and his wife Ginger.
To the Concert with Jazz in the Morning at night Last night, Melinda Lacy the chairperson of the original Task Force that began moving towards starting a Presbyterian Church in this area came with her husband Phil who was also on the Task Force. Randy and Beth Croix, original Task force members were here last night and are with us this morning as are John and Johanna Schweers. Jim and Mac Bost the only members of the original Task Force who weren’t able to come to a part of this Grand Opening Weekend, sent a card expressing their regrets that they couldn’t be with us.
With us this morning are members of our current Steering Committee, Folks who have signed on to become charter members when we arrive at 100 of them on the list on the wall in the hall. Also with us are members of the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce who will be a part of the Ribbon Cutting ceremony following the service. Also with us this morning is our Mayor, Tom Reid, and our special guests the Rev. Wendy Bailey and the Rev. Mike Cole. Also with us is every one of you. Especially with us is our Lord Jesus Christ, who promised that wherever 2 or 3 are gathered together in his name he will be in our midst. Wherever Jesus is, the gathering is, no matter how large or small, Grand. Welcome to our Grand Opening!
INTRODUCTION TO MATTHEW 15:21-28
Wanna get away? Have you seen those Southwest Airline commercials where someone has really messed up and the tag line question comes on, “Wanna get away?” This morning’s gospel lesson is a story about Jesus’ quest to get away. Jesus wanted to get away, but not because he had done something wrong or gotten into a mess he needed to get out of. Ever since Jesus heard that John the Baptist had been beheaded Jesus has been trying to get away for some quiet time to regroup and recoup from the crowds. He got in a boat and tried to get away but the crowds followed him and he wound up catering a crowd of thousands with one happy meal. Then he sent the crowds away and sent his disciples back across the lake on a boat but when a storm came up he went to them walking on the water. and Peter tried to do the same. But when Peter actually looked at where he was and what he was doing he began to sink. Jesus picked him up and walked him back to the boat and his words for Peter were, “O Ye of little faith, why did you doubt?”
For the first time in his ministry Jesus decides to go beyond the borders of Palestine. Since he couldn't find this privacy in Palestine, maybe he could in Gentile territory where people didn't know him, or at least would pay no attention to him. It was quite unlikely that a Canaanite would approach much less consult a Jewish rabbi. Surely there, in the land of the pagan Gentiles he can get some time alone. But as we will see, not even there can Jesus escape the pressing needs of others. As Jesus seeks to get away he encounters a woman who Jesus describes with the exact opposite of the words he said to Peter. To her he says, “O ye of great faith.” Hear the gospel of our Lord from Matthew 15:21-28.
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Tombstone Pizza. Now there was a clever marketing campaign. You don’t ask someone if they want pizza without asking what they want on it, so their campaign was to ask, “What do you want on your Tombstone?” Now I don’t know which came first, the campaign or the name of the Pizza, but I suspect the idea for the campaign question came first and then they decided to name the brand of Pizza “Tombstone.”
One of my favorites is a tombstone that says, “I told you I was sick.” I can think of a 3 word epitaph I’d like to put on a tombstone if it could be found. It would be “Jesus was here.” (even if it was only for a weekend.) or maybe “He is risen.” What epitaph do you want on your tombstone?
This woman who pursued Jesus on behalf of her daughter was not a Jew. She was a Canaanite woman who came from the country to the north of Palestine, a country hostile to the Jews. She had at least one child; but that’s all we know about her. We don't know whether she was a good woman or a bad woman. We don’t know her name. All we know of her is that in this single encounter with Jesus he spoke to her this four-word epitaph, “Great is your faith.”
On no occasion that we know did Jesus ever say of Peter, James, and John, “Great is your faith.” More often the words he spoke to them, O ye of little faith.” In fact, on only one other occasion did Jesus praise a person for his faith, and that was another Gentile, a Roman soldier stationed in Capernaum who said that he believed that Jesus could just say the word and his servant would be healed.
The FIRST thing we can say about this woman is that she was willing to cross barriers. This Canaanite woman was well aware of this great gulf between the Jews and her people. Yet, she had a desperate need; her daughter was deathly ill. She was therefore willing to cross over and turn to Jesus for help.
It seems clear that when this lady turned to Jesus for help she knew little of him. She first addressed him by simply saying, Sir. Then, unsure if she had given the proper title, she added, Son of David. It’s kind of like some folks I meet who want to know how I should be addressed-- Brother Gill, Father Gill. Rev. Gill. Dr. Gill. Rev. Dr. Gill. Pastor Gill? I think the children have settled on Pastor Jim.
Undoubtedly she had heard of the great powers of Jesus and she was willing to put down her pride and cry out for help: "Have pity on me.” There was no great exercise of intellect involved. She didn’t know any dogmas or creed. Her faith simply existed in the fact that she came to Jesus for help in a situation where she had exhausted all of her own resources.
The SECOND thing we can say about this woman is that she refused to be put off. There were at least three intimidating factors that could have made her give up. FIRST there was the silence of Jesus. The scriptures tell us that to her cry of help and outstretched hand Jesus replied not a word. There is no reaction harder to bear than silence. A flat “No” at least acknowledges your presence and tells you where you stand. But when there is silence you don't know what the person is thinking or even if they have acknowledged you.
There is no sterner test of faith than the silence of God. It was that way for Job. He could have stood all of his endless suffering if only the Almighty had not seemingly gone into hiding and cut off all communication. Again and again he shook his fist at heaven and challenged God to come out. It’s like talking to someone on a cell phone and you suddenly realize that the other person’s cell has cut out and you’ve been talking to yourself for the last 5 minutes. Silence can be deafening. That's how this Canaanite woman might have felt. She told Jesus that her daughter was sick and needed help and what she got in reply was silence. Surprisingly, this did not intimidate her. She perceived what very few people have the faith to perceive--that the silence of God does not mean the indifference of God. This woman did not lose heart in the face of silence.
Another intimidating factor was that this woman received no help from the disciples. Indeed, they regarded her pleas for help as merely a nuisance. They urged Jesus: “Send her away; see how she comes shouting after us." Too often this has been the church's response to human suffering. Send them away--to prisons, to welfare agencies, to ghettos. The disciples, sadly like the church today, sometimes becomes fatigued under the constant pressure of the demands made upon them. Part of this woman's faith, however, was that she would not be put off by the indifference of people.
But the disciples did not seem to be the only ones putting this woman off. When Jesus finally did break his silence he said to her, “I have been sent to the House of Israel and to them alone." But even then she refused to be put off. In spite of what Jesus said she fell at his feet and cried out, “Sir, help me.”
To this woman's plea for help Jesus makes another statement that we have difficulty in understanding. He said to her: It is not right to take children's bread and throw it to the dogs." That sounds like a contemptuous insult. Even today the term dog is used for something particularly despicable, -“You dirty dog.” (unless of course you’re a rapper. then it’s “dog” this and “dog” that.)
The actual word that Jesus used was not dog but puppy. He was referring to a household pet and not the kind of wild dogs that roamed the streets at that time. Like a puppy who never gives up she came back with “It is true sir. I admit that I am a dog. I realize that I have no claim upon you but Sir, even the dogs eat the scraps from the master's table.” She was saying in effect: Sir, I admit that I have no claim upon you, but there must be some extra grace that you have that I would be deserving of. I’ll settle for crumbs. I don’t need a whole loaf or even a whole slice. One crumb will be more than enough. Jesus replied to her: Woman, what great faith you have. Be it as you wish. From that moment her daughter was restored to health.
It was a long shot, but she went for it. It was the smallest of openings, but for her, it turned into a Grand Opening. Her daughter was healed! She was glad Jesus wanted to get away. She came away with the crumb she needed.
We are here this morning because of our faith. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” We are here because a handful of people were convinced that saw the smallest of openings and went for it. They saw a part of the world in which a Presbyterian Church needed to be even though there was nothing to be seen. They were assured in their spirits that their hope for such a thing could be realized. They saw the smallest of openings and went for it. That’s why I’m here. I heard God calling me to buy into their dream and today we stand in this place as a testimony to their great faith. O Ye of Great Faith!
Along the way, some of you have bought into that hope and have given of your time and talents and your finances to see this day come to pass. Some of you have prayed for this church. Some of you have just now heard about it and have come to see what the Lord has been up to. Some of you like what you see and are even this morning hearing God’s call to join us in this effort.
Peace is about crossing barriers. My prayer is that race will not be a barrier in this church. My prayer is that outsiders can become insiders who will turn and go outside with us. My prayer is that the Lord will raise up folks to turn up and go up to others and share the love of God and the peace of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit with them. My prayer is that there won’t be barriers to coming and finding what God has planned for this community through Peace.
My prayer is that like this Canaanite woman, we will be persistent. My prayer is that we won’t be put off even when there’s silence. That we won’t give up in the face of what seems like rejection…that we will continue to seek the Lord for the people God wants to touch and heal through Peace.
Finally, my prayer is that we will turn crumbs into a church that will be a blessing to this community. It is only through God’s grace that we can approach God. It is only through Jesus’ compassion that we can be healed and made whole. It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that we can be adopted and made into a family that has room for Gentiles and Jews. My prayer is that there can be peace on earth, and peace in the hearts of men and women and boys and girls. This is a great beginning. In fact, we begin between a Learning Center called My Great Beginnings and a Dry Cleaners called Silverline. As we all know every cloud has a silver lining. Our Great Beginning has a silver lining, for even though, compared to some church openings ours is small, for us it is a “Grand Opening.”
Let’s pray. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you for this Grand Opening. Thank you for everyone who has been a part of this weekend,…a part of everything that has led up to this weekend… and will be a part of everything that takes place from this weekend on.
We thank you for this precious example of faith in this woman who cared more for her daughter’s healing than she did about the barriers that could have kept her away. We pray that we will not put up barriers between us and those you call us to touch through Peace.
We pray that we will experience your peace as we go from this Grand Opening, and that your peace, the peace that goes beyond understanding or explaining will rule our hearts and minds. This we pray in the name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Amen.
