But she came and knelt before Jesus, saying, “Lord, help me.” And Jesus answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in Him it is always Yes. For all the promises of God find their Yes in Him. [2 Cor. 1:18-20]
No.
“No,” is one of the first words we spoke.
“No,” is one of the first words we hear children speak and one of the most common words we hear parents say to children.
“No,” is one of our first expressions before we can even talk and “no,” will likely be one of our last expressions when words might fail us.
“No,” is not always bad. Indeed, God says “no” to us about a number of things. But God’s “no,” is always for our good and the good of those around us. God’s “no,” is out of love.
Too, often, our “no,” is out of selfishness.
Last week, we heard the fall into sin by Adam and Eve. God had surrounded them with His “yes’s.”
“Yes, I love you.”
“Yes, you I am with you to bless you.”
“Yes, I give you the gift of each other, husband and wife, and the gift of the animals, and the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the earth, and all the trees in the gardens with their wonderful fruits except “no,” you can’t have that one.”
They respond by saying “Yes,” to themselves and “No,” to God.
By sinful nature since then, we respond the same. We don’t like God’s “no,” if it doesn’t like up with our, “Yes.”
The Church gives us an important text today about a woman who says, Yes, Lord even to being called a dog – that is as long as Jesus is her Master.
26And Jesus answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
There’s lots of things that God says “no,” to, out of love. But one thing we consider today from this text is that “yes, we should keep praying.”
This Cannanite woman teaches us that.
It seems like Jesus keeps telling this woman no.
“No,” not just to her requests, but to her person. To who she is. It seems like Jesus is not just rejecting her petitions, but rejecting her.
He didn’t answer her a word.
When He does, He says, I was sent only for the lost sheep of the House of Israel.
St. Mark tells us that she had to follow Jesus into a house to ask Him for help.
But she presses on in prayer. Because she is convinced that Jesus will not reject her.
She had come to Jesus with the title, Lord, Son of David, and in that name is boat load of promises not only for ethnic and racial Israel, for which she not a part of, for also for the whole world, of which she knew she was a part of.
She had heard these promises. She had believed these promises. She had placed in her faith in that title, Son of David, and believed that in this man and His name was an acceptance to her and her daughter.
She had heard who this Jesus was, and what He was doing, and she knew that in Jesus, God was saying some “yes’s,” to the world.
Yes, I forgive you.
Yes, I have mercy on you.
Yes, I sent my Son into the world, not to say “no,” to the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.
And so Yes, I love you and you are mine.
And it is this promise of “yes,” that drives this woman to Jesus to pray to Him
and ask Him to help her daughter
and to help her
and to not ignore her
and if she’s going to be a dog to Jesus then that’s enough of a “yes” to receive crumbs from the Master’s Table for His crumbs are bread for the life of world.
For the bread He gives is His flesh for the life of the world.
His flesh is true food and His blood is true drink.
At this Table, you hear again a “yes,” from God.
You find
“Yes,” He dines with sinners.
“Yes,” He wants to be with you. He loves you and He likes you.
“Yes,” He gave up His body and blood because of all the “no’s” you have said to Him, and all those rebellious “no’s” deserve punishment – they in fact deserve His “no,” to you now and eternally.
But His Word is not “no,” and not even “maybe,” or a “yes,” sometimes, and a “no” sometimes,
But His death for you on the cross and His resurrection for you on the third day and His Word for you today is this:
the Son of God, Jesus Christ, proclaims “Yes,” to you. In Christ, it is always “yes.” For all the promise of God find their Yes in Him.
All of the promises about God in the flesh, dwelling among us, loving us, having mercy on us and our whole family and forgiving us and reminding us we are His –
not His dogs. But children of God, and if children then heirs.
And about those “no’s” we still too often say to God.
Well, “yes,” He gives us His Holy Spirit to create in us a new heart that begins again to start saying, “no,” to our own will and the worlds ways and “yes,” to God in His will and walk in His ways.
This is the will of God, your sanctification (1 Thess. 4:3)
That is, a life of “yes’s” to God.
Sanctification is agreeing to God. If God says “no,” we say “no,” because we know His “no,” is out of love for us.
If God says “yes,” we say “yes,” because we know His “yes,” is out of love for us.
And His answer to us about who we are as His children, righteous and holy and blameless in Christ –
His answer about whether His Son died for us and promises us access to God and life everlasting – that’s not Yes and No, but always yes in Christ. Always. Always.
So, perhaps for today, for one very simple thing, “no you shouldn’t give up praying,”
“Yes,” you should keep seeking your God for help and strength..
Because, well, our Collect of the day, says it better than I could.
O God, You see that of ourselves we have no strength. By Your mighty power defend us from all adversities that may happen to the body and from all evil thoughts that may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ,