SETTING THE CONTEXT

We are about to read the Shema or Great Commandment. This teaching was central to the life and faith of the Jewish people. As Biblical scholar Patrick Miller says, “The Shema was the touchstone for Israel’s faith and life, the plumb line by which their relationship to the Lord of history was constantly being measured. For this reason later Judaism set these words to be recited by every Jew each morning and evening.”^[i] When Jesus sums up the law and the prophets he recites this passage, the Shema.  He also adds a thought from Leviticus, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Read Deuteronomy 6:4-6

At the time of Jesus, Jewish people saw the world divided into 2 classes of people. There were the Jews and then there was everyone else. The “everyone else” was foreigners or Gentiles. Sometimes they were referred to as “dogs.” The foreigners were considered spiritually lost and morally unclean because they worshipped other gods. The separation between the Jewish people and the Canaanites goes way back into their history when the Hebrew tribe conquered the Promised Land, which was the land of the Canaanites. It became even more ingrained when the Jewish survivors returned from the Exile in Babylon. The returned exiles began marrying Canaanite women and letting their children marry foreigners. The threat was that the Canaanites would lead the Jewish people away from worshipping the God of Israel to worship their multiple gods. This would of course be an abomination against God so the priest, Ezra, had everyone give up their foreign spouses and children to isolate the Jewish people and protect their loyalty to God. So the hostility between the Jews and the Canaanites was deeply ingrained. The cities of Tyre and Sidon are well north of Galilee in the land of Syria and Phoenicia. This is a land of Gentiles.

Read Matthew 15:21-28

THE SERMON
Abraham was afraid he would have no child of his own to carry on his legacy. Moses was afraid he didn’t have what it would take to lead the Hebrew people out of their enslavement. Joshua was afraid before the battles he fought to conquer the Promised Land for the Jews. King David was afraid as he battled the nations trying to overthrow him. Joseph was afraid of scandal as he considered what to do with his pregnant fiancé. Mary was afraid of an angelic messenger who would turn her life upside. Each of these Biblical people heard a message from God, “do not be afraid;” that phrase is repeated over and over again in the Scripture. David sums up the source of his courage in Psalm 56, a psalm he wrote when he was seized by his enemies, the Philistines in Gath. “O Most High, when I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I am not afraid; what can flesh do to me?” (Psalm 56:2-4) An outsider, a Canaanite woman overcame her fear to approach the only one who could heal her child.

The Shema or Great Commandment that we read out of Deuteronomy says” to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” As we’ve shared before this Shema is the inspiration for Jesus’ new summation of the Great Commandment many generations later. Jesus said to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”  To follow this commandment is going to take courage.

Over the last three weeks, we have been considering Dorothy’s companions on the journey to Oz. Each companion represents for us a part of the Great Commandment that Jesus gave: first we considered loving God with all your mind as we focused on the Scarecrow. Then we considered loving God with all your heart as we looked at the Tin Man. Today we’re going to consider loving God will all your strength as we reflect on the Lion. When we first meet the Lion he definitely lacks courage. Let’s watch.

SHOW FILM CLIP: Lion Afraid^[ii]

The Lion tried to hide his cowardice behind a false bravado. Have any of you ever known someone like that? Have any of you ever done that? Over the course of the journey, the lion very reluctantly gains courage.

SHOW FILM CLIP: Lion Courageous^[iii]

The character traits we seek, such as courage don’t always come easily. We have to practice them, regroup and practice some more. It is so helpful to have companions on the journey who remind us of what we are seeking, who en-courage us. (The prefix “en” literally means “to wrap in” so to en-courage means to wrap someone in courage.” When the Lion finally appears before the Wizard, the Wizard tells him that “he is under the delusion that running away from danger means you have no courage. You’re confusing courage with wisdom.” Sometimes retreating or running away is the wisest thing to do and it takes courage to risk appearing a coward in order to do what is right. Courage is not the lack of fear; fear can be a very appropriate feeling. Courage is overcoming fear to do what is right. Courage is trusting God when it would be easier to give up. I hope you have been using your Serenity Prayer card. I pray it regularly. There is one line in the prayer that took me a long time to memorize. I think I kept dropping it because it is so hard. The line is, “Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will.”^[iv] When the alligators are up to your neck or when something really precious to you is on the line, it takes real courage to trust that He will make all things right.

The Canaanite woman showed incredible courage. She had no right to approach Jesus. She was an outsider, yet even as an outsider she had faith in Jesus and in his power to heal. The names she called Jesus, Lord, Son of David show that she understands who he is.^[v] Even when rebuffed by Jesus and I will admit I have not discovered any satisfactory explanation for his harsh statement. The woman won’t take no for an answer. She has the courage to keep after him and it revealed her great faith as well as her great courage. She is one of two Gentiles who come to Jesus for healing in the Gospel story. They both have faith in his power and he heals both of their loved ones. The faith of this hated outsider is a sharp contrast to the lack of faith of the Pharisees who are opposing Jesus. Her courage, her persistence, her faith remind me of a bracelet I’ve seen. It’s says P.U.S.H. and that stands for “Pray Until Something Happens.” Sometimes we have to have the courage to “push” Jesus for our deepest desires, for the change we pray will happen.

If we are going to truly live the character and lifestyle that Jesus calls us to, we are going to have to have courage, courage to love the Lord with all our might, to be committed to the Lord no matter what. The Christian life is a difficult life because it is not “me-centered” just as Jesus’ life was not “me-centered”. It is very natural for us to worry about what I want and what I need, but as a Christian our language and our focus have to change. It has to become “God-centered.” We have to start asking “what does God want,” “what does God require” and believe me that will often be difficult that’s why Jesus talks about taking up your cross and following him. Remember all those people I referred to at the beginning of the sermon? Every one of them was afraid, but they had the courage, they had the commitment to do what God wanted of them, “trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will.”^[vi] Each of them played a key role in God’s story because they did have the courage to trust and to follow him. We have the same calling that they had, “to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” May we who are companions on this road, en-courage each other as we seek to live this great commandment. May we each have the courage to live this self-sacrificing Christian life. Amen.

Sermon delived by Rev. Nancy Cushman on August 17, 2008.