Welcome to Sunday worship in Leesfield Parish. This morning we have a Parish Eucharist, 11 am at St Thomas' Church, and no service at St Agnes'. If you are watching the World Cup final live, and are looking for a church service at a convenient time, St John the Baptist Church, Hey have a family service at 9.30 am.
If you're unable to be with us in person, you can find today's Gospel, a reflection, and prayers below.
Our first hymn this morning is "Morning Has Broken"
Today's Gospel
Matthew 15: (10-20), 21-28
Jesus called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.” But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” Then he said, “Are you also still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”]
Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food 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, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
Reflection
For those of you who are fortunate enough to be able to attend the Tuesday Morning service at St. Thomas’ church, you will no doubt be aware if the words spoken by the Canaanite woman, because they are the opening lines from the Prayer for Humble Access:
“We do not presume, to come to this thy table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy table.”
The story of the Canaanite woman seems at first glance to be unsettling and you might argue does not seem like the Jesus we know and love. His initial attitude appears to be dismissive. In fact He does not even acknowledge her, He just carries on in silence and indifference.
Then when the woman persists, Jesus answers her , “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” That, too sounds very standoffish – sort of, ‘can’t you see I’ve got better things to do’? Moreover, it is also a bit of a put down – as good as saying, but you’re not worthy. But still she persists, and is again rebuffed, even insulted. The disciples too seem annoyed perhaps because of Jesus’ reaction and are now urging Him to send her away.
Let us consider for a moment how the woman treats Jesus. She addresses Him three times: “Have mercy on me, Lord”, , “Lord, help me.”, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Despite being an outsider and deemed by some to be unclean, she is one of the first people to truly recognise this stranger as The Lord. In fact, she recognises Jesus as Lord before Peter. It is not until the disciples have moved on to Caesarea Phillipa, that Peter recognises Jesus as Christ, the Son of God.
So here we have a story of an insignificant woman, (she isn’t even named), an outsider and deemed unworthy. However, at that moment, she has the strongest faith of all of them. She is the only person that Jesus describes as having great faith. Rather than being ignorant, I believe Jesus knew how strong her faith was all along and allowed the scenario to play out so that we could all get the message: Jesus is totally merciful. He has so much mercy that even the crumbs of His mercy are more than enough to meet all of our needs.
We too need Jesus in our lives. We need to be persistent in knowing that we need Him and not get disheartened if He doesn’t appear to respond to our prayers immediately. It is not a question of our worthiness, we just need to have faith in Jesus. Paul
Our Prayers
Holy Lord, we pray that we may have the faith to believe and trust in you,
