READINGS FROM HOLY SCRIPTURE:
Genesis 32:22-32
1 Thessalonians 4:1-7
- St. Matthew 15:21-28
May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of
God and of Jesus our Lord. (2 Pet 1)
Who speaks today, saying:
Christ is king and we hear this Word from Him in order that we see shame. Shame is a powerful teacher God uses to reveal our sin to us and to show us our Savior. For though we are ashamed in our sin, our Lord Christ was not ashamed to even mount His fatal cross on behalf of His shame-filled creatures. We should be thankful for God’s shame and for His raising us out of our shame, in Christ.
As we encounter the difficult scene of Jesus, apparently, calling a woman a dog, I want us to ponder these words from Dr. Luther:
“Hence let us be warned by the example before us and learn this: the longer God puts up with idolatry and other sins, and the longer He pays no attention to them, the more intolerable will His wrath reveal itself to be later on. Therefore, we ought to consider it a great kindness if He does not permit our sins to go unpunished for a long time.
Ps. 30:5 exhorts the church to give thanks because the wrath of the Lord is "for a moment" and because He loves life. It says: "Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning"; and Ps. 89:30, 32: "If his children forsake My Law and do not walk according to My ordinances, I will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with scourges."
This is a wrath of grace, when the punishment comes quickly and calls us back from sin.” (AE 2:222-223)
The wrath of grace. What a funny word, but there you have it. Better to be ashamed for a short while, in this life, than for eternity in the next. Better to know right now that we are in the wrong, headed in the wrong direction, and are in doubt and unbelief.
Is this Canaanite woman sinless? Is she the victim of hate speech? Does Jesus not know what’s in her heart? Canaan has been cursed since the book of Genesis, not because they look, act, and speak differently, but because they hate the things of God and worship other gods. This woman was raised in this shame. Isn’t it more loving to tell her this so that she might repent and live?
In our 6th petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “lead us not into temptation”, we pray that God would guard and keep us from the great shame of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature. But shame is hard for us to understand, because we live in a shameless world. Without shame, we do not feel the need to adhere to cultural norms, follow laws, or behave in a way that allows us to exist as social beings. Heck, there’s even a TV series named “Shameless”.
It is as you would think. A modern, inner-city family in poverty, having to deal with every gross, human sin from divorce, to sexual deviancy, to drug abuse. The overall point is, they may be shameless, but they are just trying to live. Since they cannot avoid shame, they will embrace it as their lifestyle and this will see them through. So we should feel sorry and let them continue, as is.
This may be fiction, but it is a reflection of our world. Those who are judgmental of such deviancy, don’t understand the hardships of life and therefore are wrong. I may be shameless, but I am who I am and that is what made me who I am today. And there is no shame in that.
And yet there is. Especially since shame is uncomfortable and labelled as a harmful psychosis. Therefore we need to just play nice. When someone parades their immorality in front of us, we better be sure not to make them feel bad or uncomfortable. When someone challenges our values, we better not offend them in our response. When our children just want to be “who they are”, we better let them make difficult and mature decisions without our input.
Without shame, we believe we are in the right. God has not yet struck me down, so He must favor me. Jeremiah 6:15 says, “Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time that I visit them, they shall be cast down, says Yahweh.”
“I'm alright; Nobody worry 'bout me”. If God didn’t want me to do this, He would stop me. Thus, we continue headlong in our sin, until…God “comes down”.
“then God”, continues Dr. Luther, “Who previously [appeared to be] nowhere, is everywhere. Then He Who earlier appeared to be asleep hears and sees everything; and His wrath burns, rages, and kills like fire.
These are expressions of Holy Scripture to which one must become accustomed. God "comes down,"…[and] He ceases to take no notice, He ceases to be long-suffering, and begins to reveal, punish, and convict sin. Therefore the smug people who used to think that He was far away now see that He is present, and they begin to tremble.
All this is intended to frighten us, that we may learn to beware of sin. For God will not ignore it forever; but just as by His arrival He finally frightened and killed Adam, Cain, and the entire world in the Flood, so at some time He will destroy us also if we do not forestall Him through repentance.” (AE 2:222-223)
Repent. We live in the midst of shame that we have become desensitized to. We don’t know how to blush. We don’t know how to remain honorable, moral, or proper. If we were ashamed or shamed, then we would learn. Then we would not be shocked, but thankful to be called dogs, in our sin, in order to amend ourselves.
How can one hope in such a thing? We look to 2 Samuel for this answer. In it we find that Saul has died and David is king. Saul’s son, Jonathan has also died. He was David’s best friend and David wished to show the Lord’s kindness to Jonathan’s family and household.
The last person David encounters is one of Jonathan’s sons who is crippled in both feet. The son says to David, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?” (2 Sam. 9:8). And David commences to restore all the lands of his grandfather to this boy and commands that he regularly eat at the king’s table.
And another place which says, “But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.” (Eccl. 9:4)
In the suffering and death of the Lion of Judah, Jesus claims mastery. He does this by assigning Himself the position beneath the dog, that of worm (Psalm 22). Are we bowed down to the dust? Christ is down in the dust, eating it. Are we severely oppressed by demons? Christ has taken them all upon Himself and judged them. Are we beggars in front of God? Christ was judged and found guilty by God, all having forsaken Him.
In Christ Crucified, now we see quite clearly, that the first is last and the last is first.
The woman is not the dog. Jesus is talking about Himself. Jesus is the man Who would rather be a doorkeeper in the House of His God than dwell in the tents of the wicked (Ps. 84:10) and Who will give His Body and Blood to redeem the wicked.
Jesus has come down to exalt the sinners bowed down in the dust. Sinners that have been killed beneath the weight of their shame are now lifted up to the status of sons. Jesus returns to the vomit that is shame-filled creation and produces a lavish banquet at the King’s table, baptizing us into His invitation to eat and drink our fill.
Christ’s sacrifice upon the cross, being made a dog on your behalf, purifies all shame. When He wrestled with Jacob, He did not beat him down to prove a point, but lifted him out of his sins. In dealing with the crippled prince and the Canaanite woman, Jesus elevates them to union with His Body.
Now we can answer that boy’s cry, from 2 Samuel: What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I? In the Resurrection of Jesus, The Lord has revealed to you that you shall be king, my son. In the Blood of Christ you shall inherit a kingdom prepared for you before the foundation of the world (Matt. 25:32). In the sacrifice of the only begotten Son of God, you will be high and lifted up (Isa. 57:15) discarding dust, ashes, and shame for flesh, blood, and a crown.
In the Kingdom of Christ the Crucified, the dogs never had it so good, because their Lord became like them in every way except without sin (Heb. 2:17, 4:15). There is no High Priest or Friend greater or more sympathetic, because He has been there and done what you have been through. He has suffered, He has been betrayed, and He has died.
But even the dog that takes on the sins of the whole world, eats at the master’s table. Even the Lamb Who was slain from the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8), lives and reigns to all eternity. And because of His suffering and death on the cross, this woman need not be ashamed that she is called a dog, for she is a child of God.
“Don’t be afraid;” says Isaiah 54:4, “for you shall not be ashamed: neither be confounded; for you shall not be disappointed: for you shall forget the shame of your youth;” “For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, ‘I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.’” (Heb 2:11-12).
Do not be afraid of shame, it is the Lord’s discipline to keep you and teach you. If you are wrong and remain in sin, you should gladly accept instruction to better yourself. Shame prevents us from being dishonorable, immoral, or improper, because these things matter.
Do not be afraid of the shame of your Savior. He is the Servant God Who takes the Last Seat as well as the First, for you. In the cross of Jesus’s shame, you now find life eternal in His Name. Your nakedness is only revealed for a moment, in order that you be clothed with Christ the King, to Whom no shame shall ever come again.
Who speaks today, saying:
“Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall
from their masters' table.”
Christ is king and we hear this Word from Him in order that we see shame. Shame is a powerful teacher God uses to reveal our sin to us and to show us our Savior. For though we are ashamed in our sin, our Lord Christ was not ashamed to even mount His fatal cross on behalf of His shame-filled creatures. We should be thankful for God’s shame and for His raising us out of our shame, in Christ.
As we encounter the difficult scene of Jesus, apparently, calling a woman a dog, I want us to ponder these words from Dr. Luther:
“Hence let us be warned by the example before us and learn this: the longer God puts up with idolatry and other sins, and the longer He pays no attention to them, the more intolerable will His wrath reveal itself to be later on. Therefore, we ought to consider it a great kindness if He does not permit our sins to go unpunished for a long time.
Ps. 30:5 exhorts the church to give thanks because the wrath of the Lord is "for a moment" and because He loves life. It says: "Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning"; and Ps. 89:30, 32: "If his children forsake My Law and do not walk according to My ordinances, I will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with scourges."
This is a wrath of grace, when the punishment comes quickly and calls us back from sin.” (AE 2:222-223)
The wrath of grace. What a funny word, but there you have it. Better to be ashamed for a short while, in this life, than for eternity in the next. Better to know right now that we are in the wrong, headed in the wrong direction, and are in doubt and unbelief.
Is this Canaanite woman sinless? Is she the victim of hate speech? Does Jesus not know what’s in her heart? Canaan has been cursed since the book of Genesis, not because they look, act, and speak differently, but because they hate the things of God and worship other gods. This woman was raised in this shame. Isn’t it more loving to tell her this so that she might repent and live?
In our 6th petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “lead us not into temptation”, we pray that God would guard and keep us from the great shame of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature. But shame is hard for us to understand, because we live in a shameless world. Without shame, we do not feel the need to adhere to cultural norms, follow laws, or behave in a way that allows us to exist as social beings. Heck, there’s even a TV series named “Shameless”.
It is as you would think. A modern, inner-city family in poverty, having to deal with every gross, human sin from divorce, to sexual deviancy, to drug abuse. The overall point is, they may be shameless, but they are just trying to live. Since they cannot avoid shame, they will embrace it as their lifestyle and this will see them through. So we should feel sorry and let them continue, as is.
This may be fiction, but it is a reflection of our world. Those who are judgmental of such deviancy, don’t understand the hardships of life and therefore are wrong. I may be shameless, but I am who I am and that is what made me who I am today. And there is no shame in that.
And yet there is. Especially since shame is uncomfortable and labelled as a harmful psychosis. Therefore we need to just play nice. When someone parades their immorality in front of us, we better be sure not to make them feel bad or uncomfortable. When someone challenges our values, we better not offend them in our response. When our children just want to be “who they are”, we better let them make difficult and mature decisions without our input.
Without shame, we believe we are in the right. God has not yet struck me down, so He must favor me. Jeremiah 6:15 says, “Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time that I visit them, they shall be cast down, says Yahweh.”
“I'm alright; Nobody worry 'bout me”. If God didn’t want me to do this, He would stop me. Thus, we continue headlong in our sin, until…God “comes down”.
“then God”, continues Dr. Luther, “Who previously [appeared to be] nowhere, is everywhere. Then He Who earlier appeared to be asleep hears and sees everything; and His wrath burns, rages, and kills like fire.
These are expressions of Holy Scripture to which one must become accustomed. God "comes down,"…[and] He ceases to take no notice, He ceases to be long-suffering, and begins to reveal, punish, and convict sin. Therefore the smug people who used to think that He was far away now see that He is present, and they begin to tremble.
All this is intended to frighten us, that we may learn to beware of sin. For God will not ignore it forever; but just as by His arrival He finally frightened and killed Adam, Cain, and the entire world in the Flood, so at some time He will destroy us also if we do not forestall Him through repentance.” (AE 2:222-223)
Repent. We live in the midst of shame that we have become desensitized to. We don’t know how to blush. We don’t know how to remain honorable, moral, or proper. If we were ashamed or shamed, then we would learn. Then we would not be shocked, but thankful to be called dogs, in our sin, in order to amend ourselves.
How can one hope in such a thing? We look to 2 Samuel for this answer. In it we find that Saul has died and David is king. Saul’s son, Jonathan has also died. He was David’s best friend and David wished to show the Lord’s kindness to Jonathan’s family and household.
The last person David encounters is one of Jonathan’s sons who is crippled in both feet. The son says to David, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?” (2 Sam. 9:8). And David commences to restore all the lands of his grandfather to this boy and commands that he regularly eat at the king’s table.
And another place which says, “But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.” (Eccl. 9:4)
In the suffering and death of the Lion of Judah, Jesus claims mastery. He does this by assigning Himself the position beneath the dog, that of worm (Psalm 22). Are we bowed down to the dust? Christ is down in the dust, eating it. Are we severely oppressed by demons? Christ has taken them all upon Himself and judged them. Are we beggars in front of God? Christ was judged and found guilty by God, all having forsaken Him.
In Christ Crucified, now we see quite clearly, that the first is last and the last is first.
The woman is not the dog. Jesus is talking about Himself. Jesus is the man Who would rather be a doorkeeper in the House of His God than dwell in the tents of the wicked (Ps. 84:10) and Who will give His Body and Blood to redeem the wicked.
Jesus has come down to exalt the sinners bowed down in the dust. Sinners that have been killed beneath the weight of their shame are now lifted up to the status of sons. Jesus returns to the vomit that is shame-filled creation and produces a lavish banquet at the King’s table, baptizing us into His invitation to eat and drink our fill.
Christ’s sacrifice upon the cross, being made a dog on your behalf, purifies all shame. When He wrestled with Jacob, He did not beat him down to prove a point, but lifted him out of his sins. In dealing with the crippled prince and the Canaanite woman, Jesus elevates them to union with His Body.
Now we can answer that boy’s cry, from 2 Samuel: What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I? In the Resurrection of Jesus, The Lord has revealed to you that you shall be king, my son. In the Blood of Christ you shall inherit a kingdom prepared for you before the foundation of the world (Matt. 25:32). In the sacrifice of the only begotten Son of God, you will be high and lifted up (Isa. 57:15) discarding dust, ashes, and shame for flesh, blood, and a crown.
In the Kingdom of Christ the Crucified, the dogs never had it so good, because their Lord became like them in every way except without sin (Heb. 2:17, 4:15). There is no High Priest or Friend greater or more sympathetic, because He has been there and done what you have been through. He has suffered, He has been betrayed, and He has died.
But even the dog that takes on the sins of the whole world, eats at the master’s table. Even the Lamb Who was slain from the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8), lives and reigns to all eternity. And because of His suffering and death on the cross, this woman need not be ashamed that she is called a dog, for she is a child of God.
“Don’t be afraid;” says Isaiah 54:4, “for you shall not be ashamed: neither be confounded; for you shall not be disappointed: for you shall forget the shame of your youth;” “For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, ‘I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.’” (Heb 2:11-12).
Do not be afraid of shame, it is the Lord’s discipline to keep you and teach you. If you are wrong and remain in sin, you should gladly accept instruction to better yourself. Shame prevents us from being dishonorable, immoral, or improper, because these things matter.
Do not be afraid of the shame of your Savior. He is the Servant God Who takes the Last Seat as well as the First, for you. In the cross of Jesus’s shame, you now find life eternal in His Name. Your nakedness is only revealed for a moment, in order that you be clothed with Christ the King, to Whom no shame shall ever come again.
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