Reflection National Lockdown Wednesday 05 August 2020

Jeremiah 31:1-7            Psalm 121          Matthew 15:21-28

Good day dear friends, 

God assures his people that he will again take them into the covenant relation to himself from which they were cut due to their sins and seeking after false gods. The faithful and trustworthy may appeal to God to liberate them from Babylon as He did with their forefathers from Egypt and God will receive them unto Himself as His people. The people in the wilderness, lost, forgotten and in a strange land will find grace in God’s sight and He will honour them as His own, deliver them and bestow His favour on them as of old. God will reshape them to be His people again and give them a settlement to enjoy as theirs without the threat of the foreign nations. They will enjoy a time of peace and security with no wars to be fought and they will be able to focus only on the rebuilding of their land, identity and name. The labourers will toil and work and enjoy the fruits of their labour without the threat of war and occupation by foreign forces. God’s people will have the freedom to worship the one and only God in line with the expectations of His commandments and ordinances. Former enemies of the people will be converted into followers of God and leaders in worship amongst God’s chosen and called.  Neighbouring nations will notice the restoration of Jacob and will be glad for the people of God, rather than being envious and engaging them in strive and war. The benefits of peace, stability and growth will be extended to other nations as well and all will live in peace and harmony. It should be noted that this is a call for the restoration of the stature of Israel amongst the nations and a reclaiming of the respect and positive reputation they formerly enjoyed, not just for the people here and now, but for future generations to come. These predictions undoubtedly make reference to a future assembly of the Israelites from all over of the globe as a demonstration of God’s power.

In our difficulties and struggles it will serve us well to note that the church has been there before and that God has raised it to new heights of growth, commitment and worship from the depths of despair. In praising God for what He has done, we must seek God’s favour upon our future endeavours and needs so that we may experience deliverance from our bondage and captivity brought about by the current health threat to our world. 

The psalm for today can be safely titled “the security of the faithful believer” with the author warning the hearer not to depend on the help of mortal man, but to put their trust in God from where their help comes.  The psalmist uses his own experience in relationship with the divine to encourage the hearer to seek after peace and safety in God and not just in times of danger or when challenges are visited upon them, but always as a secure means of living. He also warns them that God will act in His own time and will provide for what is needed in His own ways as He, God may see fit. God is not to be manipulated or abused as a safety net, when the hearer experiences danger and difficulties. It is immense wisdom that plans and serious power that works the safety of those that put themselves under God’s guidance and protection. We are then given a character description of the divine as an ever-present, all powerful and all-knowing force. God is a wakeful, watchful keeper, who does not grow weary or suffer the human need to rest or sleep. These words of assurance and delight is offered, borne out of deep personal experience as the shade that would cover God’s people. No hurt and or suffering shall befall them as long as they perform their duty as believers through their worship of God. Good living, success and having all things needed is a direct result of  Gods, preference for and love towards His people and He, God will take care of  them and will prevent their fall at the hands of the enemy.

It is God, the Lord who will avert the evil feared and purify, eradicate or relieve the evil suffered by His people. More than this, He will reserve the soul not to be corrupted by sin, distressed by disorder or from eternal condemnation. God is in control over life and death and not just for a while, but for ever and so whether the believer finds him/herself out in the world at work or at rest at home, they will enjoy God’s protection, love and mercy. Not God alone, but through the assistance of the Holy Spirit as preserver and comforter.

We need to perform our duties to God with faithfulness and trust in His ability to give us the blessings promised in this psalm for time and eternity. 

Jesus the one who started the Syro-Phoenicean mission to the Gentiles is less than eager to help this woman, explaining that his mission is first to the house of Israel. It is however, Jesus who has left the Jewish territory and invaded the gentile world where the Canaanite, unclean woman lived as an outcast. It was this woman who demonstrated a better grasp of Jesus’s identity as redeemer and liberator than was the case amongst the inner circle of the disciples at this particular point in the narrative. This encounter with the Canaanite woman unsettled boundaries and called into question the definitions of clean and unclean and what is permissible and what not.

The word of what Jesus was capable of has spread through the region and the woman greeted Jesus instantly in a familiar fashion as the ultimate healer and worker of salvation.  She greeted Jesus as the “Son of David”, pleaded mercy from Him and implores his power over a demon that has relentlessly possessed her daughter.  As an “unclean” “outsider” and an enemy of the Jewish people, she showed more insight into Jesus’s identity and power than his disciples did. At first Jesus ignored the woman and it was only as a result of her persistence that he engaged in conversation with her, communicating His preference for and towards the lost sheep of the household of Israel, not just once, but twice.

The disciples kept telling Jesus to send the woman away as they tried to protect their privilege and access to the Messiah and it her confidence grew with Jesus ignoring them. The woman then as may only be fit to do towards a king, did something meaningful by kneeling before Jesus in recognition of His power over evil as she pleaded her case for the healing of her daughter.

Jesus responded to this act of humility by reiterating his stance on His mission as being primarily to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel” and likens her status as a Gentile to the status of the small, pet dogs who long to be fed from the table. She was not deterred by this and claimed her access to mercy and grace, not as one entitled, but as one in need and with the status of a dog wanting to access leftovers. She just wants a crumb, recognizing that even a crumb is powerful enough to defeat the demon that has possessed her daughter.

Jesus praises her faith in His power, sufficient enough for Israel and everyone else, outside the fold, in need. Hers is a cry that the boundaries between the Israelite nation and the gentile people should be reconsidered if not abolished out rightly for all to have access to salvation and redemption. This serves as reminder to us the twenty-first century church that God is constantly entering new territory and breaking boundaries. God as represented in Christ Jesus is in the upsetting business of meeting outcasts and granting them not just a crumb, but a place at the table. 

Let us pray:

Merciful God, we confess that, just like Jesus’ disciples, we too sometimes lose patience with people who need our help and support.

Like the disciples, we find ourselves wishing that they would just go away and leave us in peace.

In Your mercy, forgive us.

Remind us again of the deep love you showed toward us when we were still in need, a love so deep that it sent you willingly to the cross on our behalf.

Show us how to love others as you have loved us.

Teach us your compassion, so that we may be your hands and feet to those in need.

In Jesus’ name, we pray.        Amen.