Musings for August 14

Sunday, August 14, 2011
Lectionary 20
Proper 15
Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

Midweek Musings

Reflection by Ken Klassen

INTRODUCTION
In Isaiah we hear that God's house shall be a house of prayer for all people and that God will gather the outcasts of Israel. The Canaanite woman in today's gospel is a Gentile, an outsider, who is unflinching in her request that Jesus heal her daughter. As Jesus commends her bold faith, how might our church extend its mission to those on the margins of society? In our gathering around word and meal we receive strength to be signs of comfort, healing, and justice for those in need.

Maximilian Kolbe, died 1941; Kaj Munk, died 1944; martyrs
Father Kolbe was a Franciscan priest arrested by the Nazis and confined in Auschwitz. Kolbe gave generously of his meager resources, and finally volunteered to be starved to death in place of another man. A Danish Lutheran pastor and playwright, Munk strongly denounced the Nazis who occupied Denmark in the Second World War. His sermons and articles helped to show the anti-Christian nature of the movement.

Prayer of the Day (ELW)

God of all peoples, your arms reach out to embrace all those who call upon you.
Teach us as disciples of your Son to love the world with compassion and constancy,
that your name may be known throughout the earth, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

First Reading

Isaiah 56:1, 6–8

The prophet calls upon Israel to do justice in view of God's imminent intervention to save. Righteousness and obedience define who belongs to the Israelite community—not race, nationality, or any other category.

Thus says the LORD:
Maintain justice, and do what is right,
for soon my salvation will come,
and my deliverance be revealed.
⁶And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,
to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD,
and to be his servants,
all who keep the sabbath, and do not profane it,
and hold fast my covenant —
⁷these I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.
⁸Thus says the Lord GOD,
who gathers the outcasts of Israel,
I will gather others to them
besides those already gathered.

Psalm 67

Let all the peoples praise you, O God. (Ps. 67:3)

¹May God be merciful to ^| us and bless us;

may the light of God's face ^| shine upon us.

²Let your way be known ^| upon earth,

your saving health a- ^| mong all nations.

³Let the peoples praise ^| you, O God;

let all the ^| peoples praise you.

⁴Let the nations be glad and ^| sing for joy,

for you judge the peoples with equity

and guide all the na- ^| tions on earth. R

⁵Let the peoples praise ^| you, O God;

let all the ^| peoples praise you.

⁶The earth has brought ^| forth its increase;

God, our own ^| God, has blessed us.

⁷May God ^| give us blessing,

and may all the ends of the earth ^| stand in awe. R

Second reading Romans 11:1–2a, 29–32

God has not rejected Israel. Rather, the call and gifts of God are irrevocable, so that while all have been disobedient, God has mercy upon all.

I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. ²God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. ²⁹for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. ³⁰Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, ³¹so they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. ³²For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.

Gospel

Matthew 15:[10–20] 21–28

Jesus teaches his disciples that true purity is a matter of the heart rather than outward religious observances. Almost immediately, this teaching is tested when a woman considered to be pagan and unclean approaches him for help.

¹⁰Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, "Listen and understand: ¹¹it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles." ¹²Then the disciples approached and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?" ¹³He answered, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. ¹⁴Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit." ¹⁵But Peter said to him, "Explain this parable to us." ¹⁶Then he said, "Are you also still without understanding? ¹⁷Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? ¹⁸But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. ¹⁹For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. ²⁰These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile."
²¹Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. ²²Just 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." ²³But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, "Send her away, for she keeps shouting 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." ²⁶He answered, "It is not fair to take the children's food 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, "Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed instantly.

Reflection

My brother sent me the address of a YouTube video and asked me what I thought of it. It is by a fellow named Carl Medearis and is titled, "How to read the Bible". I've never heard of the guy, but he makes some compelling points that I've applied to this week's gospel reading. I share it with you so that you can see and hear my source material for this reflection. http://www.youtube.com/carlmedearis#p/a/u/1/ldKn_gBx1yk

Carl says that reading the Bible is more of a conversation with God than a constitution (a rule book on how to live) from God. His summary is "try reading the scriptures again … think of it as a conversation between you and God. Imagine yourself sitting down and having God speak to you."

So as I re-read verses 17 to 20 of this week's gospel, I see that these verses can be thought of as rules on how to live. It says literally that it's not what enters the mouth that defiles us, but rather what comes out of it. God has my attention; let's talk. So watching violence on TV or the movies does not defile us, but rather it is the acting out of this violence in our lives that defiles us. (pause) Were going to have a long and perhaps heated discussion on whether or not watching violence makes people violent or whether violent people already have an inner craving for violence that leads to the behavior of watching such things on TV or the movies. As my conversation with God continues, I yield that outcomes are important. But the more we view violent behavior, the more we think that it is an acceptable course of action. So does violence only occur if a person has an inner craving for violence? I'm not sure because I haven't yet finished my conversation with God.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we pray for wisdom and patience to understand your scriptures. Help us to separate the metaphor from the literal. Help us to listen to your voice. We ask that your protecting hand will be on all of those who serve our country and work for peace. Teach us compassion for the sick, the suffering, and those in need.