God’s great grace, His magnificent mercy, and His powerful peace are yours, now and always, from God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In Christ Jesus,

Today’s sermon is about the frustration of faith AND it is about the importance of being persistent in your faith, even though you are sometimes frustrated in it.

THE FRUSTRATION OF FAITH. YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED IT, AND SO HAVE I!

You have a need, a want, and a desire.

You pray to God about it.

You ask God to deal with it.

You implore God to handle it.

But then, nothing happens! Apparently God has turned a deaf ear to your praying,

your pleading, and your imploring. THAT’S THE FRUSTRATION OF FAITH!

You’re sick and you call out to God for help—because you believe God can

and will do something to help you…and nothing happens to make you

better…and you remain sick! THAT’S THE FRUSTRATION OF FAITH!

You lose your job and you call out to God for help---because you believe God

can and will do something to help you find a job--- and nothing

happens…and you remain unemployed! THAT’S THE FRUSTRATION

OF FAITH!

You are having marital problems, and you call out to God for help---because

you believe God can and will do something to make your marriage

problems go away …and nothing happens… your marriage problems

continue! THAT’S THE FRUSTRATION OF FAITH!

That’s what happened in the Holy Gospel account for today. A mother comes to Jesus on behalf of her daughter---a girl who is possessed by a demon-- and looks what happens! She calls out to Jesus: “SON OF DAVID! HAVE MERCY ON ME! MY DAUGHTER HAS A DEMON AND IS IN A TERRIBLE CONDITION! And Jesus ignores her! He doesn’t even say a word to her…one way or the other…whether He will help her or not. He just totally ignores her.

Is this the gentle Jesus we know?

Is this the loving Jesus we have always heard about?

Is this the tender Jesus we love to sing of?

Not at first reading, it isn’t!

And then--- to add insult to injury, the disciples come to Jesus and beg Jesus to send her away because she keeps following them.

She keeps calling out to Jesus.

She keeps making all kinds of noise…and they wanted to get rid of her! This woman was experiencing what you and I sometimes experience…..THE FRUSTRATION OF FAITH!

What do you make of this Gospel lesson? It is unlike most of the others we always read and hear from God’s Word. The other Gospel accounts we read and hear every Sunday are about a Jesus Who

heals the sick,

gives sight to the blind,

feeds the hungry…and even

raises the dead to life.

But today a mother cries out to Jesus to heal her daughter, and Jesus ignores her! He does even say a word to her. And His disciples try to get rid of her.

This is unsettling, to say the least! If we’re going to have faith in God, then we expect that God to be an Almighty God and do something when we ask Him. But here, He doesn’t do a thing!

There isn’t a greater frustration than having the only One Who is able to do something for you turn a deaf ear to you. And here Jesus turns a deaf ear to this desperate mother!

But…….. this is not the end of the story. Not by a long shot! For this mother is not silenced! She is willing to be persistent in her pleading. She falls at Jesus’ feet. “Help me Sir!” “Help me!” she cries.

Finally Jesus notices her.

Finally Jesus pays attention to her.

Finally Jesus says something to her. But even what He says now is shocking

at first reading: “IT ISN’T RIGHT TO TAKE THE CHILDREN’S FOOD

AND THROW IT TO THE DOGS.

Most of us would have given up by now.

Most of us would have been defeated by now.

Most of us would have walked away or run away in anger or rejection by now.

First she is ignored.

Then she is asked to leave.

And finally there is this comparison to a dog.

But this woman does not give up.

And things really get interesting now because this mother is willing to argue with the very Son of God in order to have her daughter healed!

“That’s true, sir,” she says, “ but even the dogs eat the leftovers that fall from their masters’ tables.”

Wow! What a faith! She is willing to take even the crumbs…the crumbs of mercy that fall from the Almighty’s hand because even the crumbs from God’s hands are treasures to those who would receive them! Even the crumbs from God’s hands are treasures to those who would receive them. And her persistence and her faith pay off.

Because…..finally….finally… Jesus responds “YOU ARE A WOMAN OF GREAT FAITH!” He says to her. WHAT YOU WANT WILL BE DONE FOR YOU!” And at that very moment, God’s Word tells us, her daughter was healed!

Now…it’s important for us to know that…

Jesus did not see this woman as a pest.

Jesus did not see her as an outsider.

Jesus certainly didn’t see her as a dog.

He saw her as a woman of great personal faith, and His reaction to her and His conversation with her was intended to test that faith. And instead of leaving us in doubt about the words and actions of Jesus toward this woman, the Holy Gospel can lead us to a better understanding of what it means to have a persistent faith.

Because there are some people, who, because of the frustration of faith, will not be persistent in their pleading with God. They will give up on God when God doesn’t answer their prayers immediately in the way they want them answered!

Some people become convinced that there is nothing to this thing called faith, after all. It’s just a bunch of non-sense! It’s a ruse…a gimmick.

What good is it to believe in a God Who will not do for you what you ask Him to do?

Some people will say that…..

Faith does not provide comfort.

Faith is not a source of strength.

Faith offers no power. AND THEY WALK AWAY FROM GOD!

What good is it to believe in a God Who will not do for you what you ask Him to do?

Other people turn away from God convinced that God did not answer prayers because….

There was something wrong with their faith.

There was something wrong with their life.

There was something wrong with their prayer.

Oh…they say: “I know God can do it…answer my prayers…but I’m not good enough. I haven’t lived right. I haven’t pleased Him enough. And now this is my punishment.” That’s what they say.

I have heard such logic from people and so have you!

I’ve heard it when people come into my office to tell me about a problem they are experiencing.

I’ve heard it about financial reverses and about marital problems.

I’ve heard even about the death of a loved one!

“God doesn’t listen to me because I don’t deserve Him to listen to me, and that is why I am getting the cold shoulder from Him.”

AND THEY STOP PRAYING TO GOD!

So what should we do…when God is silent?

What should we do when God doesn’t give us an answer?

What should we do when God doesn’t respond to our prayers and cries? for help?

What should we do when God seemingly ignores us?

Should we become convinced that there is nothing to this thing called faith?

after all? It’s just a bunch of non-sense! Some of us do that!

Should we say, “What good is to believe in a God Who will not do for you what

You ask Him to do?” Some of us do that!

Should we walk away from God and forget all about Him? Some of us do that!

Or should we think it is or fault?

Convinced that there is something wrong with our faith?

Convinced that there is something wrong with our life?

Convinced that here is something wrong with our prayer?

Should we say: “I know God can do it.

God can answer my prayers…

God can solve my problems…

God can make me well again…. but

I’m not good enough. I haven’t lived right, and now this is my punishment?”

NO! NO! NO! We should do what this woman…this desperate mother… does in the Holy Gospel for today! She comes to Jesus knowing Who He is, to be sure, but she also comes knowing who she is!

She doesn’t deserve to be in His presence! This woman was not one of the chosen ones of Israel. She knew that!

She was a Canaanite, a descendant of one of those tribes God had originally

told the Israelites to clean out of the land. She knew that!

She had no claim on either on His time or His ability. She knew that!

But she comes to Him anyway because she knew Who He was and what He could do for her!

Likewise with us!

We do not come to Jesus Christ, on the basis on who we are, but on the basis of Who He is.

We do not make our plea to Him on the basis of what we have done, but on the basis of what He has already done for us.

We do not come to Jesus Christ on the basis of what we deserve, but on the basis of what He is willing to give us!

And who He is…this Jesus…is the very Son of God, Who is not silent to our cries for help…Who does not turn a deaf ear to us…Who will not ignore us.

And what He has done for us…this Jesus…is to die on the Cross for us for the forgiveness of all our sins and for the right to come before Him and make our prayers known to Him

And what He gives us…this Jesus…is not what we deserve—everlasting damnation----but what He is willing to give us----is eternal life in His presence forever!

This is the plea of this mother: Asking for mercy—totally undeserved mercy. Asking not for riches, but only for the crumbs. Mercy--- knowing that even the crumbs from the hand of Jesus Christ are treasures for those who receive them!

May that be our prayer also: May we ask, in the words of that old hymn:

Oh, for a faith that will not shrink Tho’ pressed by many a foe;

That will not tremble on the brink Of poverty or woe;

A faith that shines more bright and clear When tempests rage without

That, when in danger, knows no fear, In darkness feels no doubt.

Lord, give us such a faith as this; And then, whate’er may come,

We’ll taste e’en now the hallowed bliss Of an eternal home.

God grant such a faith to you and me. Amen.