Reminiscere

The saints of old were accustomed to the idea of wresting with God, but this concept is foreign to our modern ears. Why should I wrestle with God? Doesn’t He already want to give me every good thing? It’s easy enough to think of Lent as a time of wrestling against the desires of the flesh. But why, on the Second Sunday of Lent, is the theme of the day one of wresting, not against sin and the devil, but with God Himself? In the Old Testament reading, Jacob wrestles physically with God all night long. And the Gospel from Matthew 15, a Canaanite woman wrestles verbally with Jesus until He finally says, “Let it be done to you as you desire” (Mt 15:28).

Wrestling with God is somewhat akin to praying. So if you’re confused about why we would need to wrestle with God, you’re likely to be confused by prayer as well. If God already loves us and wants to give us every blessing—and He does—then what’s the point of asking for these things? Why should we pray? Why should we wrestle with God? The Canaanite woman is an example to us of why and how to pray. And it this kind of prayer that God loves to hear and loves to answer.

But at first Jesus does not answer her at all. “Well, that’s not nice.” Too bad. Jesus doesn’t care. He doesn’t care about being nice to you. He cares about saving you, which, in the end, is also pretty nice. In the first round of the wrestling match, God doesn’t answer. If you’ve prayed, I’m sure you have experienced this at times. No answer from God. You had a big problem. You asked God to solve it. And guess what? You still have a big problem. No answer. I suppose many people give up at this point. “Prayer doesn’t work. I asked God to help and nothing happened.” Dear Christians, this is only the first round. If God hasn’t given you what you want, it’s because He has something better in mind. Don’t let go. Keep wrestling!

Round Two. The woman makes such a nuisance of herself pestering Jesus that the disciples run out of patience. “Lord, make her stop. Send her away.” When your children or grand-children pester you, you might lose your cool. You might even give them whatever they want—twelve packs of Snickers—so they’ll shut up. But not Jesus. He never loses His patience when you pray, and He only gives you what will be for your eternal good. Jesus doesn’t give in. He doesn’t give up. This is only Round Two, and the night is young, Jacob. Lets’ wrestle. Jesus answers, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Mt 15:24).

Imagine that you called tech support. And after waiting two hours, a man got on the line and said, “I’m only here to help Guatemalans.” You’d be pretty upset—unless, you happened to be a Guatemalan. Jesus told the Canaanite woman, “I’m only here for lost Israelites.” It’s seems like Jesus is excluding her. But that’s not what she heard. She heard Jesus saying, “I’m here for you.” How? “Well, I’m lost. I’m a sinner. I need a Savior. And an Israelite? Doesn’t the Bible say that the true children of Abraham are believers in Christ? The Bible’s talking about me again. When it says that Jesus saves sinners, it’s talking about me. When it says that He came for the lost, it means He came for me.” Many people would have given up by now. Not this woman. She heard Jesus’ words as an invitation. “You’re sent only to the lost sheep of Israel? Perfect!” She knelt at His feet, “Lord, help me!”

Round Three. Now the gloves come off, to mix our metaphors. What Jesus says next is so utterly offensive, if He said it today His own Church would excommunicate Him. I’ve actually heard one priestess try to apologize for Jesus’ words, which she claimed were hateful and racist. Jesus looks down at the woman who is even now at His feet worshipping, and He says to her, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs” (Mt 15:26). Remember, this is before the days of fur babies. The Bible never has anything good to say about dogs. They were not beloved pets or members of the family. They were mangy curs that ate dead bodies and scavenged from the dung heap. “It is not right to take bread away from the children and throw it to dogs.”

Surely this is too much! Many life-long Lutherans have stormed out of council meetings for less. If the woman were looking for a reason to believe that God was against her, surely she had it. Here is proof that Jesus wanted to punish this women and abandon her to the demon that possessed her daughter. Surely these words showed that God could not be trusted to keep His word!

But that’s not what this woman heard. She was not fazed. She was not insulted. She believed that Jesus would have mercy on her, and nothing could shake her from this faith. She answered every accusation of the Law with the promise of the Gospel. “You’re a loser!” “That’s true, and it means I’m one of the lost sheep that Jesus finds.” “You’re a sinner.” “Yes, I am. That means Jesus died for me! “You’re unworthy!” “True again, and Jesus promises mercy to the underserving!” “You’re a dog!” “I know, and that means I’m going to get some crumbs!”

Round Four. No, there is no Round Four. Jesus taps out. The woman had pinned Jesus to the mat with His own promises. You know what this is called? It’s called faith. Faith holds on to the promises of Jesus. Faith refuses to let go. Faith refuses to believe anything else. God has bound Himself to His Word and it cannot be broken. He has promised to forgive your sins. He has promised you eternal life. He has promised that He will never turn away a sinner who comes to Him for mercy. Faith holds to these promises and refuses to hear or believe anything else.

From the beginning Jesus had always intended to be merciful to the Canaanite woman. So why did He go three rounds with her first? To draw out that faith that He had placed into her heart. You might ask the same question about your own life. God has promised you eternal life and every blessing. If this is true—and it is—then why are you beset by troubles on every side? Why must you deal with heartbreak, and sickness, and every other evil in this world? Why does it so often appear as though God won’t answer your prayers, or that He is angry with you?

Follow this woman’s example and keep wrestling, that is, hang on to the promises that God made to you in you baptism. He promised to provide for you. Never let Him forget. He promised to protect you from every evil and, when your last hour comes, lead you from this vale of tears to Himself in heaven. Never stop reminding Him.

This day of the Church year is called Reminiscere. It’s from the first word of the Introit, which, in English, is “remember.” “Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from old” (Ps 25:6). All through the history of the Church, God’s people have reminded Him of His promises. Why? Because He forgets? No. Because we forget. Because our sinful, doubting hearts lead us away from God. But even as we remind God of His mercy, which is an expression of saving faith, God is drawing our hearts closer to Him. Consider the woman. She starts out far from Jesus, trailing along behind Him as the wrestling starts. But before the end, she is kneeling before Him, worshipping at His feet. True worship of God is to remind Him of His promises, and this is the faith that pleases God.

This is why Jesus wrestles with you: to force the faith He has given you to grow stronger even as He draws you unto Himself. Jesus has no problem offending you in order to give you salvation. He may appear to ignore your prayers at first. And when He does speak, that is, when you hear His Word, the Law may sound harsh and threatening. Many people will say, “What do you mean calling me a poor, miserable, sinner?” But not you. Armed with the same faith as this Canaanite woman, these words are simply proof that Jesus will have mercy upon you. Sinners get forgiveness just as surely as dogs gets crumbs, and even one crumb from our Lord’s table is more than enough. You were once far off, just like the Canaanite woman, but the wrestling with Jesus leads you to kneel once again at His altar seeking forgiveness and mercy. Hear His words as they are spoken to you today, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” Amen.