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The Second Sunday in Lent.
The
Collect.
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LMIGHTY God,
who seest that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves; Keep us both
outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls; that we may be defended
from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts
which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
And due to the rubric, the Collect for the Day is
followed by the Collect for Ash Wednesday, which is found on Page 124:
The first day of Lent, commonly called
Ash Wednesday.
Ash Wednesday.
The
Collect.
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LMIGHTY and
everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the
sins of all those who are penitent; Create and make in us new and contrite
hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our
wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and
forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
¶ This Collect is to be said every day in Lent, after the
Collect appointed for the day, until Palm Sunday.
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ESUS went thence, and departed
into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of
the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son
of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not
a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she
crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not
sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and
worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it
to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which
fall from their masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou
wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. (Gospel of St. Matthew 15:21-28
)
Verse 21: The Stage is set
Christ is journeying
outside the limits of Israel. He has gone for a rest from the great turmoil
stirred up by his ministry in Israel. He seeks seclusion. But more importantly,
He has an appointment with a Syro-Phoenician woman along the coast of Tyre and
Sidon. The Lord never went anyplace without a firm reason.
Look at the 7th chapter of the
Gospel of St. Mark beginning at the 24th verse:
24 And
from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre an Sidon, and entered
into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid. 25 For a certain
woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and
fell at his feet:
The distance from Genneserat (where the Lord began the journey) was a distance
of about 35 miles by foot. He was already tired and weary, yet He made the trip
for the sake of a woman whose heart was breaking for her little daughter.
The woman who came out
from Canaan was not a member of the Jewish religion. Today, she would not be
considered a church member. She was plainly an 'outsider' seeking the benefits
of Christ. She was a gentile woman who would soon become a member of the household
of Israel.
Notice her approach to
Jesus: "O Lord, thou Son of David" This is an
acknowledgement of WHO Christ is. She did not approach Him as the rich young
ruler in Mark:
And when he was gone forth into the way, there
came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, GOOD MASTER, what shall I
do that I may inherit eternal life. (Mark 10:17)
This woman calls Jesus
LORD and "Son of David". She obviously did not learn this through
religious education, but by inspiration. She was a woman of wisdom who sought
good for her daughter.
You will notice that she
did not demand anything or ask for a right to be granted. She asked only for
Mercy!
She was a good mother and
had a burning desire to help her daughter. How many daughters are disobedient
today to God, and yet their mother's do not bring the issue to Christ in
prayer?
How many sons are
associating with unsavory persons, yet their parents care not?
How many young people are
living together out of wedlock or some other shameful lifestyle, yet the
parents are silent before God – or worse, even assist them to do evil?
This was no such woman.
She was a lady of character and insight. She knew only one resolution for the
problem of her daughter – and that was Christ!
It is the duty of parents
to pray for their children, and to be earnest in prayer for them, especially
for their souls. Have you a son, a daughter, grievously vexed with a proud
devil, an unclean devil, a malicious devil, led captive by him at his will?
This is a case more deplorable than that of bodily possession, and you must
bring
them by faith and prayer to Christ, who alone is able to heal them.
Christ answered not a word
to the woman. Have you ever prayed diligently and received no answer right
away. Did you give up asking? Not this woman. Christ was testing this woman's
faith as a testimony, not only to his present disciples, but to us today.
He knew already the woman would persist because He looks upon the heart and not
the outward appearance.
Notice how those close to
Christ attempted to keep the woman from appealing to Christ? Just like blind
Bartimaeus:
46 And they came to
Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of
people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. 47 And when he
heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou
son of David, have mercy on me.
48 And many
charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal,
Thou son of David, have mercy on me. (Mark 10:46-48)
The disciples, those close
to Jesus, those who are IN the church, try to prevent the blind Bartimaeus, the
little children, and now this woman, from making appeal directly to Christ.
Why? Pride. Maybe greed. Often it is those who are in the Church whose selfish
deeds and lifestyles keep others from coming to Christ.
They think themselves more
privileged than others. This was demonstrated also in Matthew:
13 Then
were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on
them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children,
and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
(Matthew 19:13)
When Jesus told the woman
that he was sent only to the "lost of the House of Israel,"
the woman pressed on with her petition. She came closer even and worshipped him.
(Mark 7:24)
Jesus told the woman: “It is not good to take the bread of the children, and to
cast it to the dogs.” This is not a harsh comment, but a
gentle one. The Greek word here for ‘dogs’ is ‘puppies.’ How does the
woman respond? Her response sealed her petition’s grant as well as her
salvation, as she became a full-fledged member of Israel and a daughter of
Abraham – though a lost gentile previously. “Know ye therefore that they
which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the
scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith,
preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be
blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.”
(Gal 3:7-9).
“But she said: Yea,
Lord; for the whelps also eat of the crumbs that fall from the table of their masters.”
Even a bread crumb is still bread, is it not?
How could Jesus send one
of so great a faith away empty? He would not!
Because of her great
humility AND persistence, Jesus paused long enough for the situation to be
absorbed by the disciples. And because of her great faith, He knew that He
would grant her prayer.
When Christ answers
prayers, He grants us a total remedy – not partial.
Jesus noted the great faith
of this woman who was foreign to the Jewish faith. She was not a church member,
but her faith was great. Jesus said: “O
woman, great is thy faith.”
Jesus granted her the
desire of her heart: "be it done to thee
as thou wilt: and her daughter was cured from that hour."
How great is your faith?
Do you pray for your sons and daughters? Do you demand an answer, or do you ask
only for mercy depending upon the great love and compassion of God? The
Canaanite woman ask only for mercy.
"Go thou and do likewise."
