10 October 2010
Psalm 146, 147; Micah 6:1-8; 1 Cor. 4:9-16; Matt. 15:21-28

In modern parlance, the Lord, through the prophet, is saying, “Bring it!” He is offering to hear their complaint and their case against Him for the judgment He is bringing against them. His case is that He is sovereign, faithful and gracious, He chose them and saved them, bringing them out of Egypt and giving them the land. What we see in verses 6 and 7 is that they have decided religious practices have become superstition rather than worship. They have offered sacrifice in order to placate the Lord rather than in worship and offering for sin is no substitute for righteous living, choosing to submit to His lordship. Three simple things are asked, do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God. Nothing has changed.

The Syro-Phoenician woman will not take either being ignored or rebuffed as a final answer to her plea. She is desperate on behalf of her child and will not rest until her case is heard and it is based in the belief in the goodness and loving-kindness of Jesus. His answer to her is offensive in that she and her people are compared with dogs (Ken Bailey says that this retort was to shock the disciples in re their attitudes towards foreigners) and yet she is not dissuaded from continuing to ask and believe. Her response is amazing in that she is not offended but uses the metaphor to her advantage, I am willing to accept my position and yet even the dogs get the crumbs. In our worship we have the Prayer of Humble Access which says, in part, “We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under your table, but you are the same Lord whose property is always to have mercy.” We know that we are children of God but at the same time we don’t presume on the relationship, we walk humbly before our God as this woman has done while at the same time asking for justice and extending kindness in His Name.

Paul’s injunction to the Corinthian church is that be imitators of him. I can’t imagine saying that to anyone, I am more likely to say that you should do as I say, not as I do, but that says more about my own failure to follow Christ closely enough than it does about any arrogance on Paul’s part. He has decided truly to follow Jesus, he has made it a point to obey all that Jesus has commanded. Paul’s life as a Pharisee was one characterized by obedience to the law, for religious reasons, it had become a way of life to him to live under the lordship of the law. In Christ, we see a different Paul who understood what it meant not to be respected and honored but instead to be the rubbish of the world, the dregs of all things and to count that as Godly living. He is seeking not his own honor but the honor of his Lord by his life and is living into the command of the Lord through Micah.

Praise the Lord!
How good it is to sing praises to our God;
for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting.
Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
his understanding is beyond measure.