The Prayer Book is Un-American

The Prayer Book is Un-American

Second in Lent

Collect of the Day: Almighty God, who seest that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves; Keep us both outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls; that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Gospel: Matthew 15:21-28 (BCP, p.154)

Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshiped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

The Book of Common Prayer is un-American. Think about some of the things it makes us say. Last Wednesday at Evening Prayer, we called ourselves “miserable offenders.” Before we receive Holy Communion we are required confess our sins:

We acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness, Which we, from time to time, most grievously have committed, By thought, word, and deed, Against thy Divine Majesty, Provoking most justly thy wrath and indignation against us. We do earnestly repent, And are heartily sorry for these our misdoings; The remembrance of them is grievous unto us; The burden of them is intolerable.”

Before I consecrate that bread and wine, I am required to kneel and pray on behalf of us all:

We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table.

But, as un-American is the Prayer Book is, Jesus is even more so. Did you hear in the Gospel what he said to that poor woman asking mercy for her daughter? “It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.”

Story. Jesus temporarily left Galilee, the northern part of the territory of ancient Israel, and traveled up the Mediterranean coast, to the region of the cities of Tyre and Sidon, in Phoenicia. There he was confronted by a Canaanite woman, a non-Jewish pagan. Her daughter was afflicted with a devil - not the devil, but a demon. We don’t know what the demon did too the girl, but we know the girl was grievously oppressed and the mother was deeply distressed. This demon oppression was not a primitive way of explaining physical or mental disease. It was real, for when Jesus was working out our salvation, the devil threw everything he had at Jesus.

This woman pled with Jesus, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David.” We don’t know how much she knew and believed about Jesus, but she had heard about some of his miracles, and she believed that he could deliver her daughter from oppression by the demon. However, Jesus did not say a word. He didn’t acknowledge her. He ignored her. You know that sometimes it would be less hurtful for someone to say something mean to you than to ignore you. But Jesus just kept on walking.

Jesus lack of response did not cause the woman to go away. Desperation can make people persistent and bold. The woman kept following Jesus and crying out for mercy. Jesus’s disciples did not think that that Jesus should give the woman his attention. Rather, they were irritated, and perhaps embarrassed that the woman kept following and pleading for mercy. So they said to Jesus, “Send her away.” The woman was making a scene, and they wanted Jesus to put a stop to it.

Jesus did not respond to his disciples, but he said something to the woman about his mission: “ I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” What Jesus said was true. For two thousand years God had been working out his plan of salvation through the Jews. They were God’s people from the time of Abraham. They were the only people who knew the one true living God. They were the people God delivered from 400 years of slavery in Egypt. They were the people to whom God sent his prophets. When Jesus came, as the St. John says, “He came unto his own” - to his own people. Jesus priority was to present himself to Israel as the promised Messiah in whom all of the Old Testament was fulfilled. He proclaimed that in him the Kingdom of God had come and the day of salvation had arrived. He called on all Israel to believe in him.

The woman did not disagree, but she got down on her knees and said the most basic prayer anyone can pray, “Lord, help me.” Did Jesus then turn to her in mercy? No, he said something that sounds very harsh: “It is not right to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.” The children are the Jews. The dogs are Gentiles. Jews often referred to them insultingly as “Gentile dogs” as people sometimes say to someone they disdain, “You lowdown, dirty dog.” It’s just not right to take food meant for children and give it to the dogs.

Then the woman said something that was not only very clever, but also full of faith: “Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” While people did not treat dogs the way Susan treats our dog, Murphy, some did keep dogs, and, when the kids dropped crumbs while they were eating, fathers did not stop the dogs from eating up the crumbs under the table. As, this woman sees it, if she can just get some crumbs of mercy for herself and her daughter that will be enough.  

This is where Jesus was leading the woman - to the expression of true faith. He responded, “O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt.” By humble, dependent faith, this woman laid hold of Jesus’s mercy. Instantly her daughter was healed.

Significance. What are we to make of this story from the life of Jesus?

The reason the Prayer Book is un-American is because it says what the Bible says. The Bible is un-American. Jesus is un-American.

What do I mean by saying that? There are several things about the way contemporary American culture teaches us to think that are contrary to the way the Bible teaches us to think.

First, we are taught the importance of a positive self-image. It is unhealthy to think of ourselves as anything except basically good people. Parents and teachers must avoid saying or doing anything that would hurt the self-image of children. If a person goes to a psychologist and says, “I am a bad person,” the psychologist might explore why the person thinks that way about himself, but the psychologist’s goal will be to find a way to give the person a more healthy self-image.

But then in church we confess that we are miserable offenders, that the remembrance of our sins is grievous to us, that the burden of our sins is intolerable. We read St. Paul saying, “There is none righteous, no, not one...All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and, “The wages of sin is death.” We read Psalms such as this morning’s 32. We sing, “Amazing grace! how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.” We find Jesus bringing this woman to admit she is a dog. We don’t just saunter up to Communion, but first say we are not worthy to pick up the crumbs from under the Lord’s Table.

The Prayer Book and Bible run counter to the whole positive self-image outlook.

Second, we live in an age of entitlement, rights, and demands. We feel we have certain rights and entitlements and ought to demand that our rights be honored and our entitlements given. We demand rights and benefits from the government. We have the right and are entitled to be treated in certain ways by other people. If they don’t treat us as we believe the should, we set boundaries for them or cut off contact altogether. And, if people believe in God, they feel that they have rights God must honor and entitlements that God must give. One of our rights and entitlements from God is happiness. God owes it to us to provide what we need for our happiness and not to do anything that would make us unhappy. We demand what we are entitled to from government, church, other people, and God. If we feel any need of mercy - and we really shouldn’t because this is not good for our self image - we don’t ask for mercy, we demand it. We are like the father in the movie, “Life with Father,” who when his wife is sick, is persuaded by the Episcopal priest to get down on his knees and pray, but prays, “Have mercy, I tell you! Have mercy!” Why, if you need some kind of mercy, you have a right and entitlement to it and you demand it from God.

The Prayer Book and Bible contradict the whole rights, entitlement, and demand approach to God.

Am I telling you that God wants you to live with a lousy self-image? No. But I am telling the Prayer Book and Bible approach. You don’t begin with self-image. You begin with acknowledging the truth. You are a sinner and miserable offender. The only thing God owes you is justice, and justice means condemnation. What you need from God is forgiveness and a way to be accepted by God. This is what God has provided in Christ. It is not because he owes it to you, but because he is gracious and merciful. Christ died for your sins. Christ lived the life you cannot live and  provides the righteousness you need before God. In Christ God sees you as forgiven and righteous. All your sins - the worst of them, not only the sins you committed before you were a Christian but the sins you committed yesterday, not just the sins of yesterday but the sins you committed before you came to church, the sins you will commit this afternoon, and the sins you will commit tomorrow - all of them are forgiven. And God sees you as righteous as his Son, Jesus Christ.  And

That is how you can have a positive self-image - it is not that you are a good and wonderful person, but that in Christ God loves you, forgives you, counts you righteous, accepts you, and gives you eternal life.

How do you get the mercy you need? As this woman did. By asking - humbly, persistently, and with the boldness that comes from knowing you are unworthy but desperately need mercy.

It’s all pictured and experienced at this Table. You come saying you are not worthy of crumbs. But you won’t go away hungry. Eat and drink with faith, and God will fill you and satisfy you with the feast of grace provided by his Son.