Love by itself is a vague word that can mean many different things from
sexual attraction to self-sacrificial mercy. The readings teach us that God
wants more than a formal relationship with us. God wants a passionate, powerful
risk-taking love that is passionate, intimate and forgives. Mercy, when God or
we forgive, and give the other another chance, is the highest form of love.
This is why God pushes us so hard in life that we often rebel, run away, get
into trouble and then have to humble ourselves and depend on God's mercy. This
is how our love and spiritual life grows.
1. Jesus shows us how God’s love and mercy never gives up
Jesus had righteous anger (the good kind) at the Pharisees for
developing new teachings that deliberately miss-interpreted God’s Commandments.
They focused on the outward details of food and washing, rather than what goes
on in the heart. They reduced love of God, self and neighbour to self-serving
rituals. Jesus warns His followers to avoid “false teachers” that try to
introduce teachings that contradict Scripture:
·
We are to “Leave them; they are blind guides” (v14).
·
Instead of what goes into our mouths (the physical) we
are to focus on 'what come out of a man’s mouth” (the spiritual) (Matthew
15.11).
·
What we say and do indicates what is really in our
heart.
·
The test is when things go wrong - are we really
loving, or do we explode in anger?
·
Jesus challenges us to examine ourselves more closely,
to root out any lingering anger, bitterness, jealousy or fear; and bring this
to Confession and Forgiveness at the Cross
·
God's mercy is unending - no matter how much we have
done to separate ourselves from God; Gods’ love and mercy never gives up!
2. Jesus was really testing the love of the Canaanite Woman
He really insulted her. Most people would have left. But she persisted.
She was really desperate for her daughter. Her love for her daughter was
greater than her pride. She is willing to fight with Jesus for His attention.
This is exactly the kind of passionate love relationship God wants with us. God
does not want “cold love”. God wants hot, passionate love - the kind of love
that would drive an uneducated woman to challenge a respected rabbi and the
established teachings of the Pharisees in public.
- She tells Jesus (and the
Pharisee in all of us), that His idea of God is too small, too unloving.
- This does not offend
Jesus. He is testing her, pushing her
- Jesus delights in the
challenge. He knows she is right and the established teachings wrong.
- He commends her passionate
love of God and her faith to us.
- God tests all of us with
adversity, sickness, losses
- God allows Satan to tempt
us and deceive us so we all need
mercy
- God reaches out and shakes us up - not to hurt us, but
to force us to grow in love as
we realize His mercy is without limit
3. Jacob could easily have given up on his brothers
They had treated him very badly. They had ruined his life by selling him
into slavery. Jacob, like many of us, could easily have become bitter. He could
have spent the rest of his life brooding over his situation. He could have
allowed himself to be eaten up with anger, bitterness and un-forgiveness. The
number of people Lucille and I have helped get out of bondage to un-forgiveness
is amazing!
·
Joseph chose to have mercy on his brothers
·
In jail he had mercy and helped the other prisoners.
·
As ruler of Egypt he had mercy on Pharaoh and the
people of Egypt
·
Having already forgiven his brothers, he had mercy on
them
·
God is trying to teach us all to have mercy on ourselves and others
So What?
My homiletics Professor taught me to always ask this question when
preparing a homily. So we need to apply this teaching on mercy to our own
lives. All of us at some time have felt abandoned by God or that God did not
love us. This is of course Satan’s lie.
- Good news is that when we
think we are abandoned or hated, it is a sign that we are being tested.
- Our love of God is being tested.
- Our love of our self is being tested
- Our love of our neighbour is being tested
- What comes out of our
mouth?
- Is it anger, bitterness
and un-forgiveness?
- Is it love in the form of
mercy?
There was a Cananite woman.
She was not included in the Covenant of Moses. She was not educated. But she
was desperate to save her daughter from a demon. What came out of her mouth was
a passionate love that publicly challenged religious teaching and God
himself.
What
came out of her mouth was love in its highest form - mercy.
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