Pentecost 13 (2)

Introduction: Jesus commends the faith of the Canaanite Woman. “Woman, you have great faith.”

At some funerals a eulogy is spoken about the deceased. It is not a practice in our church because our focus is on the Lord and what he had done in a person’s life and how he comforts us in our sorrow and gives us hope even in the midst of death. Nevertheless, you may at times be at a funeral in which a eulogy is given. What is a eulogy? The word is from the Greek which means “to speak well of”. It is an opportunity to say good things about the person who has passed away and to remember them for what good they had done and the positive things in their lives.

Examples of famous lines from the eulogies of celebrities.

Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice for his fellow human beings, and he died because of that effort. — Robert F. Kennedy

Robert F. Kennedy by his brother Edward Kennedy

Our future may lie beyond our vision, but it is not completely beyond our control. It is the shaping impulse of America that neither fate nor nature nor the irresistible tides of history, but the work of our own hands, matched to reason and principle, that will determine our destiny. There is pride in that, even arrogance, but there is also experience and truth. In any event, it is the only way we can live.This is the way he lived. My brother need not be idealized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life, to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it.

Mickey Mantle

And more than that, he was a presence in our lives-a fragile hero to whom we had an emotional attachment so strong and lasting that it defied logic. Mickey often said he didn’t understand it, this enduring connection and affection-the men now in their 40s and 50s, otherwise perfectly sensible, who went dry in the mouth and stammered like schoolboys in the presence of Mickey Mantle.Maybe Mick was uncomfortable with it, not just because of his basic shyness, but because he was always too honest to regard himself as some kind of deity. But that was never really the point. In a very different time than today, the first baseball commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis said, “Every boy builds a shrine to some baseball hero, and before that shrine, a candle always burns.”For a huge portion of my generation, Mickey Mantle was that baseball hero. And for reasons that no statistics, no dry recitation of the facts can possibly capture, he was the most compelling baseball hero of our lifetime. And he was our symbol of baseball at a time when the game meant something to us that perhaps it no longer does.Mickey Mantle had those dual qualities so seldom seen-exuding dynamism and excitement, but at the same time touching your heart-flawed, wounded. We knew there was something poignant about Mickey Mantle before we know what Poignant meant. We didn’t just root for him, we felt for him.

— Bob Costas

As those who are humble, we may feel uncomfortable when people commend us for what we have done. We are more prone to follow the command of St. Paul (we do not commend ourselves

2 Corinthians 10:16–18 (NIV)

2 Corinthians 10:16–18 NIV

so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want to boast about work already done in someone else’s territory. But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.

16 so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want to boast about work already done in someone else’s territory. 17 But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” 18 For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.

And the instruction of Jesus who says, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled.”

and the instruction of Jesus who says, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled.”

It may surprise us; therefore, to recall that at times our God would commend people for what they had done or positives in their character.

Job

Job 1:8 NIV

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”

David

David

1 Kings 9:4–5 NIV

“As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’

The parable of the Sheep and the Goats

The parable of the Sheep and the Goats

Jesus concerning John the Baptist.

Our text today is one such example of how Jesus commended something about an unlikely person.

What does Jesus find commendable about us?

How can we live in such a way as to be commended?

This event takes place in one of the few times when Jesus left his normal sphere of influence. Most of his ministry took place in Galilee and Judea with most of it occurring in Galilee. On this occasion he crossed the border into Tyre and Sidon. Although he was not from around there, news of his activity had spread. How? (aside on the importance of going and telling about Jesus).

And so this foreigner to Jesus approached him with an important request.

(Passages and examples of how we “take it to the Lord in prayer”.)

We know how important it is to come to the Lord in prayer for ourselves and for others. Certainly, the throne of God has been flooded with prayers for those affected by Hurricane Harvey this past week.

How did Jesus respond? Uncharacteristically. He normally responded quickly and effectively. But here “Jesus did not answer a word.”

(It may seem to us that at times our God is not listening.)

She seems to have not given up and was beginning to annoy Jesus’ disciples so they pleaded with him to send her away.

How does Jesus respond? What does he mean?

Undaunted, the woman repeated her request. Again. How does Jesus respond and what does he mean?

She understands but still believes that Jesus can and will help her.

It is here that Jesus commends her faith (define). We may also recall how Jesus commended the faith of the centurion who asked for his servant to be healed at a distance. (others?)

Hebrews 11:4–6 NIV

By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead. By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Luke 7:6–9 NIV

So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.”

Application At a eulogy the eulogist may point to any number of accomplishments that the deceased had made or certain exemplary character strengths they had. Or these may be listed in a person’s obituary.

Application At a eulogy the eulogist may point to any number of accomplishments that the deceased had made or certain exemplary character strengths they had. Or these may be listed in a person’s obituary.

He was an active participant of the Special Olympics, and a member ARC of Dodge County. Steven was a friend to everyone, he was a very kind, loving, and caring person who put others needs before his own.

Iona was a member of First Ev. Lutheran Church in Beaver Dam, where she also served in the Ladies Aid group. She was great at cooking, gardening, canning food, and sewing clothes. She touched the hearts of the staff at the Charleston House with her sense of humor. Iona didn't let age hold her back, she learned how to swim at the age of 63, and then loved to swim laps. Her favorite meal was McDonald's coffee and a hamburger.

Iona was a member of First Ev. Lutheran Church in Beaver Dam, where she also served in the Ladies Aid group. She was great at cooking, gardening, canning food, and sewing clothes. She touched the hearts of the staff at the Charleston House with her sense of humor. Iona didn't let age hold her back, she learned how to swim at the age of 63, and then loved to swim laps. Her favorite meal was McDonald's coffee and a hamburger.

Nathan liked to go camping and skateboarding. He was on the Mother Ship, of the Deadliest Catch TV show in the Bering Sea. He had great attention to detail, such as white shoes with black socks. Nathan enjoyed playing Xbox with his son. But the thing Nathan loved the most was being a great dad to his son, Adrian.

She was an active member of the Alto Reformed Church for most of her life, singing with the Choir, teaching Sunday school, Bible class and, for many years making sure there were fresh flowers in the Sanctuary for Sunday services.

She was a longtime and active member of the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Waupun, Wisconsin, where she was a member of the Rebecca Circle. Among her special interests she enjoyed spending time with her family, cooking, sewing and quilt-making, playing cards, watching Packer and Badger games, reading and doing arts and crafts.

I read one in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Wednesday that we one of the most eloquent I have ever read.

But honestly, what are we like by nature? We confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean and that we have sinned against God in our thoughts, words, and actions. We certainly don’t want someone to stand up at our funeral and publicly reveal our private sins. Note how shameful it is when people die committed a sin and it becomes public (David Carradine comes to mind)

But does that mean that nothing good can be said about us at our funeral? Or during our lives? How much should the pastor say about us in the funeral sermon? Or should he just give a law/gospel sermon that would fit almost any person at any time?

I believe that if Jesus could publicly commend someone for their faith, we do well to publicly commend the humble, faithful actions of those who trusted in Jesus as their Savior and to humbly point to the evidence of that by their lives. It isn’t bragging. It isn’t saying they went to heaven because of what they did. But it is acknowledge publicly the hope that they had in Jesus and how God commends those who have been faithful even unto death.

(NIV)

2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. 3 I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. 4 My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.