First Lesson: Esther 7: 1-6, 9-10; 9: 20-22
Responsive Reading: Psalm 124
Second Lesson: James 5: 13-20
Gospel Lesson: Mark 9: 38-50

Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

I want to tell you the story today of the Queen, who grew up an orphan.  I want to tell you the story of a queen who rose to the throne in a land other than her own.  I want to tell you the story of a queen whose exploits were such that she became a national hero who her people celebrate over 2000 years after her death.  This morning, I want to tell you the story of Queen Esther.

Esther’s story begins about a century before she was born.  The Jewish people strayed from worshiping the one true God against the warnings of men like Jeremiah.  The Babylonians had conquered and seized the land of the Jewish people.  Many Jews had been forced from their homes for generations and forced to migrant to the Kingdom of Babylon.  But like all great empires, the Babylonians soon fell to a more powerful army of the Persians.  The Persians soon controlled all Babylonian land.  Living in the capital of these Persian lands was Esther along with her cousin Mordecai that raised her after the death of both of Esther’s parents. 

How did Esther become a queen?  Our story begins with a great royal banquet.

King Artaxerxes was the most powerful man in the world as the ruler of the Persian Empire.  Artaxerxes decided to hold a banquet of triumph for all the dignitaries and inhabitants of the capital city.  At this banquet, Artaxerxes wanted to parade his Queen before the people.  The Queen refused to appear.  At this sign of great disrespect, Artaxerxes decided to begin a search for a new queen.  Artaxerxes decided to hold a beauty contest for women from all 127 provinces of the Persian Empire.  Artaxerxes was going to choose the best looking woman from the Middle East to India to be his queen.  Esther was a beauty.  Older folks might imagine Sophia Loren, younger folks might imagine Jessica Alba when they picture Esther.  Esther was chosen to be the new Queen of Persia. 

Esther had a secret though that she wasn’t going to tell.  Esther was a Jew.  The Persians didn’t know what to make of the Jews and their religious ceremonies.  If word got out that Esther was a Jewish queen, there would be trouble for not only Esther, but it would cause a weakened standing for Artaxerxes in the eyes of his people. 

If Esther is the hero of our story, then the story needs a great villain.  Haman is a great villain.  Haman was an official of King Artaxerxes.  Haman wasn’t satisfied.  Haman had a big ego.  Haman thought that he should be king so that all the people would bow before him.  Haman’s life was one continual power trip because of this.   One day, Haman encounters Esther’s foster father Mordecai, who refuses to bow down before Haman.  Haman snapped!  Haman decided that he wanted revenge not only against Mordecai but all Jews. 

Haman decides to throw dice or “pur” as a way of determining the extermination date for the Jews.  A favorable roll for the Jewish people takes place as Haman’s plan was going through in eleven months time.  King Artaxerxes gives Haman’s plan his blessing.  The threat was so serious that 375 tons of silver were set aside to enlist soldiers to carry out the extermination[1].  It was the custom of the Persians that not even the King himself could withdraw such an order.  Esther, Mordecai, and all the Jews in the Persian Empire had eleven months to live. God’s people would soon be no more!

Mordecai heard about Haman and Artaxerxes’ plan and was frightened.  Mordecai began to weep in sackcloth and ashes.  Mordecai figured that there was only one person in all of Persia that could save his people in Esther.  Mordecai goes to Esther imploring her to take action.  Esther was closer to Mordecai then anybody else in the world.

Esther initially was afraid of acting upon Mordecai’s request.  Esther did not know what might happen to her once her secret became known.  Esther’s secret was a source of terror for her. 

Mordecai though says to Esther the most important thing in her story “For this time Esther you have been born, God has put you in this place to save his people[2]?”

Mordecai reminded Esther that she did not become queen by accident.  Esther was queen because God wanted her to appear before the King.  Esther knew that approaching Artaxerxes was going to be risky.  The King did not know that Esther was Jewish.  Esther asked that Mordecai ask her people to pray for her for three straight days.

Where Esther did not know how to approach the King, Esther had a trump card, though.  Esther’s trump card has caused plenty of men to do stupid things for women over the years.  Esther knew that Artaxerxes would not be able to resist her beauty.  Esther gets invited to a feast with Haman and Artaxerxes.  At this banquet, Haman sees Mordecai outside once again.  Haman’s obsession was getting Mordecai to bow down before him.  Mordecai still refuses.  Haman snaps he orders that gallows be built “seventy feet high” to hang Mordecai.  King Artaxerxes also saw Mordecai on that day remembering him from before.  Mordecai harbored no ill-will towards the King.  Mordecai, in fact, a while back had saved Artaxerxes’ life by warning him of a plot that had planned by a couple of his officials. 

Artaxerxes, in fact, couldn’t sleep that night as he remembers his failure to honor Mordecai for his previous service.  So Artaxerxes decides to do something for Mordecai.  Artaxerxes asks Haman “How can you honor a man who served the king with a great reward?”  Haman is feeling pretty good about himself at this point.  Haman figures the King is talking about him.  Haman sticks his chest out, begins to walk around the palace with a strut.  Haman is soon shocked though to learn that the King wishes to honor Mordecai. Mordecai! Really! Haman thought Mordecai was the last person to honor.  To Haman, this would seem like Barack Obama wishing to give a presidential medal to Donald Trump.  The King wanted to put his own robe on Mordecai and parade him all over the capital city.  Haman was ordered to lead the King’s horse and Mordecai in this process.  Haman was humiliated.  Haman figured though his blood-thirst for Mordecai would soon be satisfied.

Esther requests a second banquet take place.  Esther wants Haman present at this second banquet.  Esther was finally going to reveal her secret to the world. 

“For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated[3].”

Esther revealing her faith would have been a huge political scandal.  Think of Esther like you would Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky, Thomas Jefferson-Sally Hemmings in 5th Century BC Persia.  Jaws would have hit the floor upon this revelation.  The Persian King married to a Jewish woman!  This would have seemed like a story straight out of the National Enquirer.

The evening drama though was just beginning as Esther pointed out how Haman was behind a plot to exterminate her people.  Artaxerxes was furious! Artaxerxes stormed out of the room!  Haman for the first time in the last number of months no longer obsesses with Mordecai but rather protecting his own life.  Haman begins to grovel to Esther pleading for her to save his life.  Right at this moment though comes bad news in Artaxerxes returning to the banquet room and thinking that Esther is being assaulted by Haman.  Never touch another man’s wife!  Haman is sentenced to death by immediate hanging.  Haman suffers the death that he had spent months plotting for Mordecai.

There was still one little problem, though.  The King could not rescind his decree to exterminate the Jewish people.  Royal decrees always being honored was the law of the Persians.  The King does allow the Jewish people though the right to defend themselves.  Soon Haman’s sons and their allies had been defeated at the hands of their Jewish enemies. 

Esther and Mordecai’s story has a happy ending.  Esther sends a letter to the Jewish people advocating to create a holiday which would celebrate the day of the Jewish people’s redemption in Purim.  Esther would receive all of Haman’s land, and Mordecai would receive Haman’s position.  All the Jews enemies in Persia were defeated.  Esther had saved her people!

So what is the meaning of Esther’s story for our lives?  Martin Luther did not like the Book of Esther.  Esther is a unique book along with Song of Solomon in that it never mentions God within its pages.  Esther is rather a story about God’s chosen people.  Esther brings up the common Biblical theme of enemies of the faith seeking to destroy it. 

What the story reminds us of is that God lurks in the shadows even when we can’t necessarily see him[4].  God’s people had been assigned a death sentence, yet God rises up the orphan Esther to be a queen.  Esther is a story of coincidences that end with a remarkable conclusion.

Mordecai was now the prime minister of Persia where as Esther was the queen. 

Esther above all else is a story of death and resurrection.  When Esther initially appraised the situation of trying to save her people it seemed to be hopeless.  Mordecai reminded Esther thought that God will not abandon his people even when times seem to be at their bleakest.

Esther then went forth to her place of judgment in the presence of the king with the utmost of confidence.  The key line in the entire book is Esther saying “If I must die, I will die[5]”.   Esther reminds us that the grave is not the scariest thing that we might encounter; instead what is scarier is that no one promises to die alongside us. 

Esther’s story is a tale of hope for us as Christian people.  God does not and will not fail his people.  Our evidence of this is the cross.  The Cross serves as the definitive proof that there is not one place where God will not go for our salvation.  God will save his people through the Queen of Persia, God will save his people through a burning bush, God will his save people in a Lions’ den, and God will save us in spite of our best proofs at a given moment that salvation is currently taking place.  In Esther’s story God’s plan took place over the course of eleven months, in our story, God’s plan of salvation might take a lifetime. 

Esther’s story reminds us of the famous words of the 46th Psalm: “Be still, and know that I am God[6].”

No matter how mighty of foes we might be facing on this day, God’s faithfulness towards his people will ultimately win out in the end.   Amen


[1] Markquart, Ed. “Ester”. Sermons from Seattle. Web. Sept.17.2015.
[2] Esther 4:14
[3] Esther 7:4
[4] Smith, Vaughn. “The Sovereign in the Shadows”. Lectionary.Org sermons- Esther 7. 2009. Web. Sept.17.2015
[5] Esther 4:16
[6] Psalm 46:10

First Lesson: Proverbs 1: 20-33
Responsive Reading: Psalm 19
Second Lesson: James 3: 1-12
Gospel Lesson: Mark 8: 27-38

Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

I have one lesson during confirmation class that gets kids to listen to like no other lesson.  All our confirmation kids can probably explain the summary of this lesson quite well.  The lesson is on the second commandment “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.”  The lesson deals with the differences between cussing, swearing and cursing?  Now many people hear the words cussing, swearing, and cursing to assume that they only have to do with naughty words.  The comedian George Carlin in 1972 did a monolog on the seven dirty words that you can’t say on television.  So many Christians assume that the seven words that Carlin named are the only words that we shouldn’t say.

What we must always remember is that the scriptural warnings regarding our tongues go beyond these words.  So what is the difference between cussing, swearing, and cursing?  Cusses are bad words that I dare not say in a sermon and most parents dare not say in front of their impressionable young children.  Cusses aren’t the worst mistakes with a person’s tongue.  Swears are a failure to maintain a promise; swearing builds all sorts of distrust and brokenness within the body of Christ.  Cursing though is worse then even swearing or cussing.  Cursing involves calling down the name of the Lord to bring harm to others.  Cursing is taking the Lord’s name in vain by assigning death, destruction, and mayhem to God’s wishes.  Cursing is a direct violation of the second commandment. 

As I think of this famous confirmation lesson, the reason that it is so effective is that kids know first hand that the tongue is the most powerful part of the human body.  You ask people about the most painful moments of their childhood they will remember the words that made them feel miserable about themselves, words that made them feel weak and ultimately powerless.  I can remember first hand these things growing up with a speech impediment being on the receiving end of taunts.  For other children, it might be their weight, their glasses, lack of style, beauty or talent.  Words do hurt!

The power of the tongue is one of the first lessons that a child learns in life.  When 7th graders sit in the school cafeteria and try to sneak in as many bad words into the conversation as they can without getting caught.  They do this because they instinctively know that the tongue has power.

Tales from the school cafeteria leads us to our lesson for today from James 3 regarding the power of the human tongue.  What you maybe haven’t considered before this morning is what kind of emphasis that the scriptures place on the tongue.

Two of the Ten Commandments have to do with the human tongue.  The second commandment, that I mentioned earlier, along with the eight commandment regarding bearing false witness against one’s neighbor.

John Jewell tells the following story[1].  There once was a man in Scotland.  This man didn’t care for his neighbor.  One day he hears a rumor about his neighbor.  The Man tells his friends this rumor.  The man’s friends tell their friends.  Pretty soon nearly everyone in this small village had heard the rumor about the Neighbor; the rumor destroyed this man’s relationship and reputation with the community.  The Neighbor had to leave town as an emotional and physical wreck because of the rumor’s toll.

The Man soon finds out something disturbing about the rumor.  The rumor was false!  One man’s careless tongue had destroyed another man’s life.  The Man’s guilt begins to consume him to the point that he goes to visit the local priest.  The Man asks, “If I can be forgiven for my sin?”

The Priest looks at him and tells him that one can not easily fix such sins.  The Priest had a potential solution, though.  He instructed the man to go round up a bag of feathers and place one in every yard in the village.  The Man thought this request to be strange, but he followed the Priest’s request.  The Man finally goes back to the Priest asking if he could now be granted forgiveness.

The Priest replied “not until you pick up every feather that you have placed in people’s yards[2].”  Hours had passed as the Scottish winds blew through the countryside.  The Man quickly realized the Priest’s point that you can never take back what you say.  Feathers will always blow away before you have a chance to retrieve them.

This story helps illustrate the power of the human tongue that our lesson reflects on.

James 3:5 “Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.”

What was the point of this lesson that James was seeking to give the earliest Christians.  James was attempting to acknowledge a reality that Christian people will have conflict.  What Christians need to know is “The first instinct that we have is often the worst instinct”.  Someone will say something that we don’t like, so feeling the need to win the argument; we try to say something harsher and more relentless back in return.  Pretty soon the tongue leaves nothing but destruction in its wake. 

James realizes this!  When James wrote his letter, he wanted Christians to think differently about how to use the tongue.  James realizes that how one used their tongue is often the difference between peace and discord.

I was talking to a guy from the community a while back at an event at the school.  This guy starts giving me a laundry list of everything that was wrong with his wife.  She tended to be overly emotional blah, blah.  As I’m hearing this guy talk, my concern wasn’t with whether what he was saying was true.  This guy’s criticisms probably were true on some level.   My concern was rather two-fold: 1. Why do I need to know all this?  The guy couldn’t have possibly expected me to change his wife’s natural personality after years of marriage.  2. If this is how you talk about your wife in my presence, how do you build her up when you are in her presence?

James 3:8 “But no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison”.

If people doubt that the tongue is mighty, think of family members that you might have that have used one sentence to isolate forever themselves from someone they previously claim to hold dear. 

Ed Markquart says it best “People will remember three harsh words, more than a thousand words of praise[3] .”

Think of the worst tongue lashing that you ever received in your life and how warm you feel about it.  The person could have been a school-teacher, I’ve told the story about my 8th grade English teacher Mr.Chrun and Me before.  Your worst tongue lashing could be an old or current boss.  Your worst tongue lashing could even be as a result of a brother or sister.  Now think how you feel towards the person that harshly used their tongue at you even till this day.      

If anyone of you here doubts that the human tongue has unlimited power, consider that the serpent deceived Adam and Eve merely with his tongue. 

Rabbi Joseph Telushkin travels around the country speaking to audiences about the power of the human tongue[4].  Telushkin asks audiences the following question “if they can go for twenty-four hours without saying any unkind words about, or to, anybody.” The audience will inevitably have a few hands go up, many others laugh, whereas the majority shouts out “no.” 

But abusing the tongue is no laughing matter.  If someone can’t survive twenty-four without nicotine then they have a smoking problem, if someone can’t make it twenty-four hours without drinking then they have an alcohol problem, whereas if someone can’t tame their tongue think of how much more damage the tongue can cause then just an individual beer or cigarette[5].

The whole of James’ passage today centers around our understanding of the golden rule.  “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you[6].”  People can easily dismiss the tongue, by claiming it’s not a matter of salvation.  What we must remember is that the tongue has everything to do with salvation. 

Now some of you are probably out there thinking that this all sounds pretty good so far.  But the Old Adam within all of us really wants to cling to exceptions.  You might say what about my neighbor Bill who is the biggest jerk.  What about the lady whose religion or politics that I can’t stand.  These are precisely the types of people around whom we need to be mindful of our tongue.  How we live out grace is how we treat those who have nothing to give us back in return.  Some of the wisest words that I ever heard in Seminary were “Forgiveness needs to come before you can except anyone to change.”  Jesus did not go to go forth to the cross, once he believed that the people of Judea were truly sorry for what they had done.  Jesus knew that a sinful people needed grace and mercy anyways!

I want to close this morning with a couple different stories about the power of the human tongue.  The first story is about a guy named Swanny.  Swanny was a life-long bachelor who lived next to the Tom Thumb in Lindstrom.  Swanny every day would go up to the Lindstrom Post Office.  One day, Swanny is at the post office talking like Swanny would speak and none of the words were church appropriate.  Into the room walks Reverend Blackford, who was the Methodist preacher in town.  What My Grandma would always say about Reverend Blackford is that he got really mad when a bowling alley came to the Lindstrom because they served booze.  Reverend Blackford met the definition of uptight minister, whereas Swanny met the definition of crass, slovenly bachelor.  Reverend Blackford and Swanny would seem to be as opposite as people could be.  So Reverend Blackford hears Swanny’s careless tongue and decides to confront him.  Reverend Blackford said, “Sir, your language offends me.”  Swanny stops dead in his tracks, even Swanny knew the power of the human tongue.  Swanny begins to apologize profusely to Reverend Blackford for his language.  Interestingly enough, Swanny did not avoid Reverend Blackford after this.  Swanny and Reverend Blackford became good friends because Reverend Blackford was able to proclaim grace to Swanny when he needed to hear it the most.  Reverend Blackford ended up preaching at Swanny’s funeral.

Final story from Luke 7[7], Jesus encounters a woman who the text describes as a “sinful woman”.  Each and everyone here could probably guess her exact sin.  The Pharisees are shocked that this woman would stand in Jesus’ presence.  Jesus could have given one of two words to this woman.  Jesus could have condemned this woman to hell.  Plenty of people had probably used her tongue to do the same thing.  Jesus instead chooses to give this sinful woman a different type of word by declaring “Your sins are forgiven”.  The crowd that gathered around Jesus was shocked that he would use his tongue in such a bold and counter-cultural fashion.  As Jesus words’ reminds us the human tongue has unlimited power for both good and evil. 

So the point that James seeks to address about our words is the following: “Do our words forgive or condemn?” “Do our words bring hope or despair?”  “Do our words tear down or build up?”  Do we in the words of Galatians 6[8] actually “Bear each other’s burdens?” when we choose to exercise our tongue.  Do we use our tongues in the words of Romans 10[9] “To preach to those who do not believe”?  Consider the meaning of the human tongue this morning as it truly is the most powerful part of the human body.  Amen


[1] Jewell, John. “The Power of Words”. Lectionarysermons.com. 17.Sept.2000. Web. Sept.9.2015. 

[2] Jewell, John. “The Power of Words.”

[3] Markquart, Ed. “James the Tongue: Series B Pentecost 15:James 3:1-12”. Sermons from Seattle.com. Web. Sept.9.2015. 

[4] Telushkin, Rabbi Joseph. “Words That Hurt, Words That Heal: How to Choose Words Wisely and Well”. Imprimis Hillsdale College. Volume 25. No 1. Jan.1996. Web. Sept.9.2015

[5] Teleushkin, Rabbi Joseph. “Words That Hurt, Words That Heal: How to Choose Words Wisely and Well.”

[6] Matthew 7:12

[7] Luke 7:36-50

[8] Galatians 6:2

[9] Romans 10:14

First Lesson: Proverbs 22: 1-2, 8-9, 22-23
Responsive Reading: Psalm 125
Second Lesson: James 2: 1-10, (11-13), 14-17
Gospel Lesson: Mark 7: 24-37

Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,    

The following is a modern retelling of Jesus’ encounter with a Syro- Phoenician woman from Mark 7.  The following story takes place in a town such as this one.   

I want to tell you the story of a woman named Sarah, who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks[1].  Growing up Sarah’s Dad was an alcoholic on whom she could never count.  Sarah’s Mom abandoned the family when Sarah was but four years old.  Sarah was left to fend for herself as a child.  Sarah didn’t have much exposure to religion growing up; she was occasionally dropped off at Sunday school when Dad was sober enough to drive.  Sarah’s life was beginning to unravel by the time that she started to reach confirmation age. Sarah was smoking cigarettes by 11, drinking by 12, smoking weed by 13, and injecting meth by 16.  Sarah got pregnant for the first time at 16.  Sarah got pregnant again at 18 by a different guy.  Sarah finally thought at 20 that she had met the love of her life, only for him to abandon her once the third baby came.  Sarah seemed to be imperfect in all aspects of her life.  Sarah had a quick temper and had spent nights in jail because of it.  Sarah’s work history was checkered.  Sarah worked hard, but her lack of education and responsibilities at home never led her to get anything beyond a minimum wage job that she couldn’t hold down for very long.  People who didn’t like Sarah claimed that she slept with every guy on the south side of town and that it was a miracle that she had only had three kids.  Truth be told that Sarah would have had more children except she scrounged up enough money for a couple of abortions out of her financial desperation.  Sarah’s boyfriends had been a series of losers: abusers, users, cheaters and flat-out deadbeats.  Sarah had been called a “dog” more than once in her life.  Sarah often felt like a stray mutt just drifting through life hoping to hear someone tell her that she had value for something other than her body. 

One day Sarah finally snapped.  One more guy had failed to come through for Sarah in the end.  Sarah thought her life would never escape screaming children and pinching every penny.  Sarah had to get away for a morning.  Sarah dropped her kids off with a friend.  Sarah drove to a part of town where she had never been.  Sarah figured that she should do something rather than just drive around.  Sarah saw a church that looked like the most beautiful building that she had ever seen.  Trinity Church looked like a scene out of a Norman Rockwell painting.  The parking lot at Trinity Church was filled with SUV’s and luxury sedans.  The service seemed to be in progress, but this wasn’t going to stop Sarah from going in.  Sarah was the definition of a religious outsider once she stepped into Trinity Church.  Sarah prayed occasionally, never got the answers that she wanted.  Sarah was a stranger in a strange land, gathering amongst strange people in the hope of answers.   

Sarah walks in late, and every eye in the sanctuary turns to Sarah.  Sarah was pretty, but she wasn’t their kind of pretty.  Sarah’s jeans were torn, her shirt failed to cover her entire stomach, her hair was dyed a cheap, jet black.  The people inside Trinity Church looked at Sarah like they would a stray dog that was running down their street.  Sarah stood out like a sore thumb amongst the lovely dresses and pressed suits.  The people that Sarah saw looked like the most religious people that Sarah had ever seen.  Trinity Church’s membership was ideal with engineers, school teachers, nurses, and business owners where as the best-paying job that Sarah ever had been cleaning septic systems.  Trinity Church wanted to be a very particular kind of church: they wanted their type of music sung, they wanted their minister to project a certain type of image in the community, they wanted their favorite treats served at coffee hour and they wanted the minister to bless and affirm their comfortable upper-middle-class lifestyle.  Sarah didn’t fit the image.  Sarah was just hoping not to say a cuss by accident during the passing of the peace. 

There was one man in the crowd at Trinity Church that day that was a little bit different.  Everyone at Trinity Church liked Jesse.  Jesse stood out for his long hair and a full beard.  Jesse always dressed in Hawaiian shirts plus shorts and sandals.  Everyone at Trinity Church liked Jesse though because of the sincerity with which he lived out his convictions.  Jesse would give the occasional what people thought was kind of nutty sermon about the kingdom of God, but Jesse practiced what he preached.  Jesse was the only one in the building who lived with any sort of conviction.

Jesse notices Sarah standing alone after the service.  Jesse goes over to greet Sarah.  Sarah snaps at Jesse.  Sarah probably wouldn’t have snapped most other days.  This Sunday morning though Sarah was in a particularly bad mood as it brought her to church in the first place.  Sarah said, “no one here would want anything to do with a person like me.” 

These were the people whose kids made fun of Sarah’s children for their ratty clothes.  Sarah finally confessed “I know about sin, I’ve done every sin in the book, more than once, I’ve enjoyed them too.”  Sarah cried out “If there’s a hell then I’m probably on the top of their waiting list”.  Most of the other people steered clear of Sarah at this moment.  Jesse would not move from the presence of Sarah. 

Sarah then looked at Jesse’s eyes then began blurting out all the problems with her life.  Her oldest child was nearly ten years old, and couldn’t read.  Her second oldest son was emotionally and behaviorally disturbed and Sarah didn’t know how to take care of him.  Sarah’s youngest child was bullied nearly every day at school, by the so-called “good Christians” kids. 

Jesse did not answer her initial venting.  Jesse could have made a polite excuse to leave Sarah.  Jesse probably had what others would deem more important people to talk to on that day[2].  Sarah wasn’t going to bring much money to the church if they ever saw her again.  A few of Jesse’s friends tried to come up with an excuse for why Jesse had to leave Sarah’s presence, but Jesse blew them off.

The truth about Sarah is that she was nothing more than an annoyance to the many of the people at Trinity Church.  Sarah did not even come close to meeting the definition of prim or proper that many would except within the church crowd. 

Finally, Sarah shouted out “I some days feel like I’m lower than a dog[3].”  Jesse did not answer.  Sarah began to cry. 

Jesse knew he needed to say something “Woman, great is your faith[4].”  Sarah was confused, how could her faith be great.  Sarah was a lousy Christian sticking out like a sore thumb among so many good Christians.  The Christians at Trinity Church knew their Bible verses and could pray long beautiful prayers[5].   You see Sarah’s faith was great because she did not own it.  Sarah’s faith was great because it was sustained by the occasional sunlight of God’s word when she encountered it.  Sarah’s faith could not be taken from her, even as the world around her might give her every reason to abandon it. 

Jesse said to Sarah “I will pray for your healing.”  Sarah was as healthy as a 26-year-old woman who had lived hard like Sarah could be.  Sarah didn’t need physical healing.  Sarah needed spiritual healing.  Sarah needed to know that her sins of being an imperfect parent with a temper were forgiven.  Sarah had many things that she needed to be forgiven everything from spending many nights passed out on the floor to guilt of her abortions.  Forgiveness of her sins was the healing that Sarah required.  Jesse on that day assured Sarah that no matter how defeated that she possibly felt that everything could be alright.  Jesse had fully proclaimed the Gospel in Sarah’s presence.  Sarah was no dog in the eyes of God. 

The thing about Sarah is that she embraced the forgiveness that many of the people within Trinity Church didn’t believe could be for them.  Sarah though did believe in the promise of Jesse’s words regarding her own forgiveness. 

After the service, Sarah finally went back towards the other side of the tracks.  Sarah picked up the kids.  Sarah entered the single-wide where they were living.  Sarah’s approach was going to be different.  Sarah’s life certainly wasn’t going to be easy.  Sarah was going to go through it not as an angry sinner but rather as a forgiven being who held out hope for the possibility that someday someone outside this world would call Sarah a saint.  Sarah’s life was not going to be the same.  Sarah’s life was not going to be what it was before.  Life was still going to knock Sarah down, more times than a person could probably count.  Sarah was going to be persistently though because she had been assured of God’s promises of grace, hope and resurrection. 

God on that day at Trinity Church had said “yes” to Sarah[6].  God had opened up the heavens in Sarah’s presence and declared “you are my child”.  The thing about our God is that he’s not afraid of the rough edges that other people might be.  When others shout out nasty names, God responds with compassion.  Sarah was not a stranger in a strange land when it came to entering into God’s presence.  The fact was this wasn’t going to matter when it came to receiving God’s abundant generosity.  Sarah was not going to receive merely a crumb of God’s grace as she begged for it.  Sarah was going to receive a whole meal[7]. 

Amen


[1] Karoline Lewis’s commentary at Working Preacher entitled “God Said Yes to Me”. Web. Aug.30.2015 provided the motivation for this re-telling of Mark 7 tale with Sarah playing the part of the outsider Syrophoenican woman. 

[2] Jesse would be the one voice of grace that Sarah would encounter. 

[3] This is a play on Mark 7:28 where the woman talks about how even dogs receive crumbs from the master’s table

[4] Matthew 15:28 (Matthew 15 is a different telling of the Mark 7 story)

[5] The story of Sarah versus the membership of Trinity Church is trying to invoke Jesus’ previous encounter with the Pharisees in Mark 7 on the meaning of defilement.

[6] Lewis. “God Said Yes to Me.”

[7] Today’s sermon text was Mark 7:24-30.