As much fun as I would have had preaching both the metaphor and Canaanite woman from Matthew’s Gospel today, I had to remind myself that my job is to help us grow in faith, particularly during the green season after Pentecost. That being said, if you are new to the parish and have never heard me preach on the metaphor, let me remind you that the metaphor is incredibly graphic. The closest we have to this in English is “diarrhea of the mouth,” though I suspect few of us actually think it through. Those listening to Jesus could not help but be reminded that the skubala coming out of their mouths was nasty. Of course, the sins that Jesus names are nasty, too, so it is an apt metaphor, especially for a group that largely used to be fishermen!
The Canaanite woman serves as an antidote to the idea that God is misogynistic. Advent women know they are created by God in His image, so we do not struggle too much with that claim about God. Understand that there are men and women who self-identify as Christians around us in Middle Tennessee, who are fed that nonsense that Eve is responsible for sin and men have the right to rule the woman.
If you get really bored with my sermon today, I would encourage you to turn to page 337 in the BCP in front of you and read the Prayer of Humble Access. 8 o’clockers get a healthy dose of this prayer week in and week out. We do not at 10:30am because the SCLM, in its wisdom, decided to remove the prayer from the new Eucharist in 1979. The woman’s banter with Jesus, and her understanding about the purposes of God, is captured in that prayer. We are never trusting in our righteousness when we go to receive the Sacrament; we are always trusting in God’s manifold and great mercies when we approach to receive the nourishment of God. Better still, her banter recognizes that Jesus did come to the House of Israel in completion of the promise made to Abraham. But the House of Israel was charged with the responsibility of carrying that understanding of God’s mercy and grace into the world around them, that all the nations might turn to and trust God.
Part of my discernment about preaching on Isaiah today was the fact that about three months ago, I had Candida include the entirety of the passage. Often, our lectionary editors have us skip verses, and Candida has me decide a couple months in advance whether to add the omitted verses. Obviously, as you can see from the Orders of Worship, I had. Part of the draw this week, I think, is the fact that we spend most of our time in Isaiah thinking messianically. There’s nothing wrong in that, to be sure, and it makes sense given our focus on Isaiah during Advent and into the season of the Incarnation. But there is more to Isaiah than Jesus, a lot more!
For our purposes today, I am treating Isaiah as if it is divided into three major parts. There are other ways to read the prophet, but I have a particular lesson in mind today. The first 39 chapters deal with God’s correct accusations that Israel is faithless and hard-hearted. In fact, the book begins with God pointing out to the heavens and earth that the ox knows its master and the donkey knows its crib, but Israel forgets that it is the Lord God who redeemed Israel, planted Israel, defended Israel, and blessed Israel. Basically, anything we would not want to hear God saying about us, He says in the first 39 chapters of Isaiah.
Chapters 40-55, however, has God reminding His people that He will not abandon them despite their failures and their hearts. This section begins with that wonderful Advent reading we read and sometime sing “Comfort, comfort O My people.” From that point on, God is promising His people that He will not abandon or divorce them, that He will restore them to Himself despite their sin. We know the solution is Jesus, and so that is why we focus on those passages during Advent.
Chapters 56 and on deal with the tension. If God’s people are truly faithless and hard-hearted and God is serious about restoring them to Him, what does that mean for today? How does God’s people live knowing sins and God’s right judgment of them and His promise of restoration? Much as Carola taught you during the interim period before I came here, there is this incredible tension between the already and not yet. Good I see some surprise and nods. Carola will be happy you remember!
God begins this section on the tension with two well known truths and an amazing promise. The first truth is that eunuchs were forbidden from entering the Temple and worshipping God. On that, everyone can agree. Deuteronomy certainly spells it out, and I would not be shocked if it was written in Leviticus. Where the fight is in that discussion is over the why. Why were eunuchs excluded from worship in the OT? Some experts like to argue that physical appearance was tied to spiritual purity. One could not be physically altered and be spiritually poor. For some, physical deformity was a sign of some sin. Another reason offered by experts is that eunuchs often serve idolatrous purposes or served those who engaged in the worship of idols. In some parts of the ANE, eunuchs served as temple prostitutes. In other parts of the ANE, they served as functionaries, making the worship of the idol possible. In the torah, God was giving Israel strict instructions to prevent Israel from slipping back into idolatry. In other ANE cultures, though, eunuchs were used as administrative functionaries. Think of the Ethiopian Eunuch. The thought among rulers was that if the servants had no families, there would be no temptation to squirrel away choice appointments or embezzle money for the family. As a eunuch had no possibility of family, they were thought to care less about securing a future for their families. Everybody with me so far? Good. Does it mostly make sense? Good. As I said, these are serious discussions in academia, and these are just a couple highlights.
The other person mentioned as forbidden in the Temple is the foreigner. Foreigners were not allowed past the Court of the Gentiles under pain of death. In fact, by the time Rome has conquered Israel in the days of Jesus, the warning was written repeatedly in Latin, in Greek, and in Hebrew. Those who pay close attention to the Book of Acts will remember that Paul famously is accused of leading a foreigner into the inner courts of the Temple. The false accusation nearly causes a riot.
Now we know why Isaiah has God saying, “Do not let the foreigner joined to the Lord say, ‘The Lord will surely separate me from His people’ and do not let the eunuch say, ‘I am just a dry tree’” in verse 3. The Israelites were often fastidious in the observance of some of the torah even as they were lax in other areas, much like those of us who call ourselves “Christian.” Who is allowed in the Temple was one of those areas that guarded, pun intended, with all seriousness. You could be a Godfearer, but you still were not really an Israelite. And lest anyone get all anti-semitic on me, we Christians do the same thing. We are quick to draw our boundaries of who is in and who is out of the kingdom of God, who is truly “saved.” And far more often than many would ever notice, we Christians love to do God’s judging for Him, since He’s so busy.
Way back around 700 years before Christ walked the earth, God had Isaiah prophesy to the eunuch and foreigner, reminding Israel of their responsibility as an adopted people of God. To the eunuchs who claim the Lord, the Lord promises a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; to the foreigners who claim the Lord, the Lord promises to bring them to the holy mountain, to make them joyful in His house f prayer, and to accept their burnt-offerings and sacrifices on His altar. Those of us who pay close attention to Scripture should be reminded of God’s covenant with Abraham way back in Genesis 12. God calls Abraham into an intimate relationship with Him and declares that through the seed of Abraham, the world will be drawn into an intimate relationship with God. The Israelites were given the torah as a description of holy living and as a way of drawing the foreigner into right relationship with God.
Perhaps unsurprising to some of us, when Israel did a good job of keeping their end of the covenant, others flocked to them. Sometimes their best witness was in their suffering or cutoffness of exile. People would wonder how they could trust that their God had not been defeated in the cosmic battles of the heavens, and the Israelites would tell of God’s redemptive activity and provision. Sometimes, say under the reign of Solomon, Israel was seen as materially blessed. Again, people wanted what they had. Wise Israelites could point out the promises of God to those who feared and obeyed the Lord.
Of course, there is a big difference in inviting a foreigner into one’s community in the cities of the Assyrian or Babylonian or even Roman empire and inviting a foreigner into one’s community in Jerusalem. We understand that. But that is not what God commands of His people. He reminds them over and over that nations who do not know them, and nations they do not know, will one day come to the great city to dwell with the Lord. All who wish to dwell with Him will come, and He will accept them. Even those considered outcasts by His people.
The best example of this understanding, and the consequences of God’s people telling others they are excluded, happened a couple weeks ago. If you have heard the story of the ice cream, now is a good time to turn to the Prayer of Humble Access on page 337 of your BCP. The conversations drive me nuts and feed me. I had a woman who called about the pantry one afternoon since I returned from vacation. She needed food, was ashamed to admit her need, but she was desperate for her kids. She wanted to know if the pantry was real, as she had heard about it from other people. Then she wanted to know what she needed to get food. Again, that’s a common expectation. Churches are called to declare to people that there will be food purchased in God’s kingdom with no price and no money, but many of us love to create hurdles for those oppressed by hunger. Oh, we rationalize by telling ourselves we are teaching them to be wise with their funds, but wisdom goes only so far when one is oppressed by poverty.
When we got to the hours of the pantry, the woman had that forlorn tone in her voice. She sounded in my ears as if I had painted this wonderful picture of protein, kids’ snacks, fresh produce, and whatever else I had said we had. I had told her the only requirement was that she take what she and her kids would eat and leave the other stuff for other moms and kids who loved those things. And then our schedule did not align. I asked her when she could get here, expecting to tell her she could come Monday evenings or other times when groups use our buildings, but she answered between 4 and 4:30, depending on traffic. I told her I had work to do and would meet her when she got here.
She came that afternoon. She shared her story. In some ways it was like everyone else’s story. Rent, gasoline, groceries, and back to school supplies were killing her. She did not make enough to cover everything. And some lady had told her about these nice church people who feed you with no questions asked. So she had called. I assured her we do. She did not have to convert to receive food. The things that we limit, I told her, we do so that we can reach more families. She wanted to take a lot of chicken and beef because those are so expensive and can be kept in the freezer, and I reminded her that we try to feed as many people as we can. I understood her need, but I told her God would have more for us to give her next time she came.
As she shopped, she shared her story and her gratitude. Then she spoke of her wonder. Why do we do this? I answered her questions. She did not know the Bible well, so there was no understanding that we will one day buy food without price or money or that God calls us to the Wedding Feast. She knew she was not invited because of her condition. Christians had explained to her time and time again that struggles were the sign that God was not saving them. I apologized for those lies and reminded her that the book of Job, besides lots of other stories in the Bible, were instructions against that understanding. She wished it were true, but she knew better.
She finished shopping and I asked her if she wanted ice cream for the kids. She made that face of “you have got to be kidding me” or “my ears are not working right.” Volunteers can tell you all kinds of stories like this. When we get to something that is unique to the individual and offer it to them, they are blown away. I remind them, and I remind our volunteers to remind them, that God knew they would come and wanted to make sure you knew His love for you. At various times during her shopping, she had teared up. But giving ice cream to the kids clearly meant a lot to them and to her.
She thanked me repeatedly for that amazing gift and apologized for keeping me late. I told her I had offered, so she did not make me do anything. But we were not done. She asked what I meant and I took her into the little kitchen freezer and asked what kind of ice cream momma needed. Hilary and Nancy had filled that little freezer with Hagen-Daz and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. She looked at me like I was nuts. She asked if I had any idea how expensive those ice creams were. I pointed to my belly and asked her if I looked like a guy who did not know the price and value of ice cream. She laughed and covered her mouth. Then she expressed that she couldn’t, those little ice creams cost $6, $7, and $8 each; besides, I had given her a half gallon for the kids.
I told her I knew the cost and the value. I was not offering that ice cream to children who did not understand it. I was offering it to parents who did, who needed that special treat from their Father in heaven, to remind them of His love of them. She was shocked at the choice. We had two shelves full of those pints. I asked her what her favorite was. She said she just loved chocolate. The more chocolate the better! I laughed and went digging for her. I did find a white chocolate one quickly and commented it was hard not to toss it. She asked why. I told her white chocolate was not chocolate and that I was not sure if was going to be at the dessert buffet at the Marriage Feast. She started giggling, but she offered to eat it if I wanted to stop looking.
Eventually I found some Ben & Jerry’s chocolate brownie batter with chocolate syrup in chocolate ice cream pint. That had enough chocolate for her. I handed it to her and reminded her that God had this in the freezer for her. He had given her ice cream to make the kids happy, but the pint was for her. She uttered one of those phrases that drives me nuts, that she wished more Christians were like us. I shared my agreement and frustration.
She thanked me for everything as we carried her groceries out to her car. She quadruple-checked to make sure she could really come back when she ran out of food. But then she asked if I thought it true that everyone could go to that Wedding Feast. I told her absolutely, and to be clear, if anyone can make white chocolate taste good, it was God. She laughed and asked if even white chocolate lovers would be let in. I told her that yes, even those with bad taste would be let in.
You and I are reminded intentionally this day, the twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, in the middle of the growing season, of God’s mercy and desire to draw everyone to Himself. We spent two weeks reminding ourselves that the judgement of eternal salvation is for Jesus and the angels. Jesus does not need our help with that. Jesus does ask us, however, those who claim Him as Lord of their lives, to be heralds of mercy and inviters. To us has been given invitations to the great Wedding Feast. Our only instruction is to invite others in His Name. We are reminded intentionally that everyone is created in His image, are bearers of His breathed characteristics, and that they can learn from us the love and value with which He sees them. Those things that we use to distinguish ourselves from others do not matter to God. He created everyone, descendants of Abraham and citizens of Nineveh. And He desires nothing less than all might turn to His saving embrace. We should know this better than the world around us and those denominations who are so quick to judge the salvific state of others even as they are blinded to their own by the log in their. We remind ourselves as Adventers that His love for each human being was such that Jesus made intimacy with God possible again, that He loved each one of us as He hung dying on that Cross, and that He promised to accept all who come to Him in Christ’s Name. Our job, having been reminded of that in our readings and nourished through His Body and Blood, is to go back out into that world and share that message of hope, of mercy, and of promise to all whom we encounter in our daily lives. That has been the call of God on His people since the Garden, the Flood, on Abraham & Sarah, and all who proclaim Him as Lord. May we all be reminded of that call this day, and every day, until His return or He calls us home!
In His mercy and promise,
Brian+
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