Second Sunday in Lent
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
435 Come to Calvary’s Holy Mountain
1 Come to Calv’ry’s holy mountain,
Sinners, ruined by the fall;
Here a pure and healing fountain
Flows for you, for me, for all,
In a full, perpetual tide,
Opened when our Savior died.
2 Come in poverty and meanness,
Come defiled, without, within;
From infection and uncleanness,
From the leprosy of sin,
Wash your robes and make them white;
Ye shall walk with God in light.
3 Come in sorrow and contrition,
Wounded, impotent, and blind;
Here the guilty, free remission,
Here the troubled, peace may find.
Health this fountain will restore;
They that drink shall thirst no more.
4 They that drink shall live forever;
’Tis a soul-renewing flood.
God is faithful; God will never
Break His covenant of blood,
Signed when our Redeemer died,
Sealed when He was glorified.
Text: Public domain
Psalm 121
1I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
2My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
3He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
4Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
6The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
8The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.
Collect of the Day
P Let us pray.
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, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Epistle Romans 5:1–5
1Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Holy Gospel Matthew 15:21–28
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the fifteenth chapter.
C Glory be to Thee, O Lord.
21Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” 23But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26And he 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.” 28Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C Praise be to Thee, O Christ.
Apostles’ Creed
Sermon
In the Gospel reading this morning, Jesus says to the mother of a very sick child, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly (Matthew 15:28).
These past couple of days, with slightly warmer weather, I’ve been able to take the dog for a walk on the trail again. He’s slowed down noticeably over the winter. On the last stretch home, he’s huffing and puffing, limping a little to keep up. Clearly that old dog needs more exercise. And yes, I suppose, I do to.
Exercise is good for the body. There is an exercise that’s good for the soul. It’s called testing or tribulation. And we are blessed when the Lord brings it to us.
The thing about my dog, Moses, is that he loves the exercise. He is visibly overjoyed when I put on his leash and we head outdoors. But we humans, on the other hand, usually react with grumbling and complaining when we have stress applied to our lives. “Why?” we moan. Why does the Lord allow such difficult times as these? When will this pandemic be brought to an end? We’re getting sick of it. Why is He so slow to fix these present troubles? Why does it have to be so frustrating to get anything done, especially with the restrictions placed on us?”
And then after this present plague, what’s going to come next? We seem to be surrounded on all sides by people and influencers proposing all sorts of weird ideas that go straight against the order God created: blurring distinctions between male and female; despising marriage and family; discouraging wholesome work and enterprise; stirring up tensions between people because of skin color or language. Why can’t God restore sanity and common sense?
I’m sure each of you have your own individual frustrations and pains you could add to this.
The dog won’t get stronger or healthier just lying in his kennel. Athlete won’t improve their game sitting on the couch. Why should we think that there’s something wrong when we’re called on to put our faith to the test.
A woman came to Jesus and pleaded to Jesus for help with her daughter. Crying, she said, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” And Matthew 15:23 says, “But he did not answer her a word.” Wouldn’t that be discouraging? You pray to the Lord and nothing. Not a word. Have you ever had that? God doesn’t answer. It couldn’t be that God isn’t even listening, could it?
In Psalm 121 it says, “Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” Well, the Canaanite woman counted on this. So she persisted. She wrestled with him verbally, like Jacob wrestled with the Lord all night long.
Faith is an enduring, persistent thing. It clings to what has been promised and does not give up, even when everything you see indicates you should give up -- even if your human reason and mind says, it’s no use -- and even if the world says it’s foolish -- faith endures.
The disciples begged Jesus, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” The lesson Jesus was teaching was for the disciples too and for all of us. When you see someone who believes in Jesus, and is having what looks like a horrible time in life, great misfortune, great anguish, don’t try to look the other way. And don’t pity them. Trust God, that he gives such things to test and strengthen character and faith.
This conversation, this lesson, apparently lasted only a few minutes. And Jesus answered her plea, and gave her a blessing we all should hope to hear, “O woman, great is your faith!”
She got her answer, Her daughter was healed instantly. The purpose behind it all was revealed. This horrible affliction was for the growth and strengthening of her faith. As our faith is tested, it grows. It grows in understanding and it grows in trust. You can’t really appreciate how good it is that Jesus loves you until you know how much you need him. And it takes hardship to learn how weak you really are. Jesus loves me this I know. Little ones to him belong, they are weak but he is strong.
We can’t know if this woman realized it or not, but the purpose behind her troubles and testing was for the good of others. This ordeal gave her the opportunity to make such a strong example and confession of faith. That was a lesson for the disciples, for her whole community, for us. We can learn from her how to suffer, how to be tested. Or as the Lord calls it “bearing your cross”.
There’s the way to think of your troubles and your sorrows: Bear your cross. With that phrase, you can endure with Jesus. You can share with him and his troubles and sorrows. Don’t be reluctant or timid to consider yourself at that level, sharing in the suffering of Jesus. It’s he that says you do. Rejoice that you share in his suffering, because you will also share in His glory.
That’s his gracious invitation to sinners beaten down by life and life’s troubles. You may feel like you can’t even get a dog’s share of the scraps. Your Lord compassionately invites you, “Follow me. Follow me through suffering, even to death. I have blessings in store for you. Not scraps on the floor. But a feast at my table. I know suffering. I endured. With me you will too. I will be with you all through it,” says the Lord. “And I will be there at the conclusion. And you will be with me, forever and ever. Amen.”
Prayer of the Church
P Lord God, heavenly Father, we implore You by Your Holy Spirit to strengthen our hearts and confirm our faith and hope in Your grace and mercy, so that although we have reason to fear because of our conscience, our sin and our unworthiness, we may nevertheless, with the woman of Canaan, hold fast to Your grace, and in every trial and temptation find You a present help and refuge; Lord, in your mercy,
C Hear our prayer.
P Bestow your grace on all nations of the earth. Bless especially our country and its inhabitants and all who are in authority. Let your glory dwell in our land that mercy and truth, righteousness and peace may everywhere abound. We commend to you the care of all our schools and ask you to grant that our children may grow in useful knowledge and Christian virtue and bring forth wholesome fruits of life. Lord, in your mercy,
C Hear our prayer.
P Bestow your grace on all nations of the earth. Bless especially our country and its inhabitants and all who are in authority. Let your glory dwell in our land that mercy and truth, righteousness and peace may everywhere abound. We commend to you the care of all our schools and ask you to grant that our children may grow in useful knowledge and Christian virtue and bring forth wholesome fruits of life. Lord, in your mercy,
C Hear our prayer.
P Graciously defend us from all calamity by fire and water, from war and pestilence, from scarcity and famine, and from every other evil. Protect and prosper everyone in their rightful calling, and let all useful arts flourish among us. Be the God and Father of the widow and the fatherless, the helper of the sick and needy, and the comforter of the forsaken and distressed. Lord, in your mercy,
C Hear our prayer.
P As we are strangers and pilgrims on earth, help us by true faith and a godly life to prepare for the world to come, doing the work you have given us to do while it is day, before the night comes when no one can work. And when our last hour comes, support us by your power, and receive us into your heavenly kingdom; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Lord’s Prayer
Benedicamus
A Bless we the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Benediction
P The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you.
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and T give you peace.
C Amen.
Acknowledgments
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2021 Concordia Publishing House.
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