Service by Mr Greville Mills
Local Somerset Methodist Preacher
Opening Prayers
Loving God, we come from far and wide to be in your presence… but not within the walls of our ancient buildings, but out of necessity, from our homes. But we come as a community with a purpose; to worship you.
We come to be amazed, to discover and learn new things; new ways of being your followers; your disciples. We come because we believe in you and your greatness; your generosity, love and compassion and the hope that you give us in these difficult days. So, open our ears and our hearts.
Help us to use our mouths to speak only truth and goodness. Be with us and inspire us as we listen for your voice, speaking to us through the words of the hymns and the readings... And let us just be still for a few moments as we wait to feel your presence where we are right now… for we ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen
Hymn 364 (STF) O for a thousand tongues to sing - written by Rev. Charles Wesley.
- Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer’s praise,
The glories of my God and king,
The triumphs of His grace! - My gracious Master and my God,
Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad,
The honors of Thy name. - Jesus! the name that charms our fears,
That bids our sorrows cease—
’Tis music in the sinner’s ears,
’Tis life, and health, and peace. - He breaks the pow’r of canceled sin,
He sets the pris’ner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean,
His blood availed for me. - He speaks, and, list’ning to His voice,
New life the dead receive,
The mournful, broken hearts rejoice,
The humble poor believe. - Glory to God, and praise and love
Be ever, ever giv’n
By saints below and saints above,
The church in earth and heav’n.
Readings #1 - Isaiah 56:1, 6-8, #2 – Matthew 15:10-28
Sermon
I don’t know if you’ve been following the recent court case of Johnny Depp who has been suing The Sun for libel after the paper claimed in a 2018 story that Depp was an abusive husband. Depp and his ex-wife, Amber Heard, have been in court accusing each other of various drug and alcohol-fuelled fights and spiteful accusations in an effort to win/defend the case. The expression of ‘washing your dirty linen in public’ could never have been more apt than this case, as the press seem to love the scandal such a case with high profile celebrity attracts.
It's so sad to think that lips that will have spoken of love and devotion at one time, resort to spite and hurt at another. And of course, it can happen to anyone, not just the rich and famous, but when it does, it brings out the ‘vultures’ who feast on the chaos that is the breakdown of human relationships…
But it so amply demonstrates the point that Jesus was making (Matthew 15:19), about the outpourings from the heart – when people have been hurt, it seems that all the vileness; the hurtful words, many of which are probably untrue, come out; said, as much in anger, and mainly to deflect criticism away from one’s own shortcomings…
I suspect that we can all identify with this in some small way, either from personal experience, or from seeing friends going through (e.g.) an acrimonious divorce, although, hopefully, not as public as that of the Depps.
In this passage, Jesus is defending the actions of his disciples, who, earlier in the chapter (2-9) are accused by the Pharisees and scribes of not following the hygiene laws of handwashing before eating, and thus are defiled; ‘unclean’. Jesus accuses them of hypocrisy and goes on to speak about what really defiles a person; that which comes out of their mouths (v11).
Jesus knew his scripture, and there are so many references to ‘guarding your tongue’. There’s so much wisdom in the Psalms and Proverbs; on a quick search (thank you, Google) I noticed about 12 references in the Psalms and 17 in Proverbs.
Interestingly in the Gospels there is only one reference and it’s here in Matthew where we find this story. But these elements of wisdom were not lost on the Epistle writers, as there are about 13 references, and of these, James seems to have the most to say…
In 3:5-6, 8-10, James speaks of the ‘Untameable tongue’ thus
5” … 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. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
…8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing.”
The Bible is full of advice on many subjects, but despite all these warnings we seldom take note, and from bitter experience we know that the tongue has incredible power. The saying "sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me" is simply not true. This is surely ‘bravado’ that we used as children to pretend that ‘we didn’t care’, as we spat this phrase back at our tormentor with tearful eyes…
Our ‘untameable tongue’ can let us down and leave us with great regret if we use our words carelessly or deliberately to hurt, and you know the worst thing about this is that once those words are out, we can’t take them back. We can apologize, but those words have already done their work; those nasty, hurtful, spiteful words are stuck in the heart and mind of the person at the receiving end. The damage is done, and it may take a long time for this to heal… and sometimes it never does… and I’m sure we’ve all seen examples of this.
Social media is a great example of our time, and we hear devastating stories of young people taking their own lives because of the damage done by the tongue (or in this context, the text).
So, I find it really intriguing that in our reading we get this advice from Jesus about not ‘defiling ourselves’ through what comes out of our mouths… (v18-20)
And then he goes on to the next part of the story of this encounter with a Canaanite woman. First he ignores her plea for help, and then, because she’s not Jewish… (v24)
“I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” - he says he can’t help her…
And then…(v26)
“It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
He insults her; he refers to her as a ‘dog’ – a derogatory term used by Jews about Gentiles.
Do you not find this an intriguing story? Is Jesus not heeding his own advice here? Did Jesus really say that… or is there more to it?
The thing about the written word is that you get no intonation; you don’t get the body language in the exchange; we don’t see the way their eyes meet, so we can all fall foul of misinterpreting the words… and hence the meaning.
So, you can take Jesus’ response in one of two ways…
Either that he is being insulting; meaning to shut her up and move on. But, from what we know about Jesus, this behaviour is out of character. Jesus doesn’t generally turn people away when they come to him for help.
Or something else is going on that we’re not aware of.
It’s more likely he was saying this to provoke a response… one of the reasons he told parables…and he gets one; one which surprises him, when she says (v27) “Yes it is, Lord… even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
This is an inciteful response…This woman is so desperate that she’s prepared to accept anything; rebuff, criticism, taunts and insults, even approaching a Jewish preacher… so long as she gets what she wants – a cure for her child…. Isn’t this something any mother (or father) would do to help their child?
She clearly knows who he is and believes in him in the way she addresses him… (v22) “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Jesus sees all this in her; recognises her faith; acknowledges it and rewards it with a healing…
But there’s more to this story… it seems that the two separate stories are linked with a theme of food… (the disciples eating with unwashed hands, and the metaphorical ‘feeding’ of the Jews, but not the Gentiles). But it’s not about food… it’s about inclusion; belonging.
When Jesus accused the Pharisees of hypocrisy (v8), he quotes from Isaiah 29:13 and says “the people honour me with their lips while their hearts are far from me”.. He is clearly demonstrating to the disciples what is more important… to belong to God completely, not just giving ‘lip service’.
And with the woman who has clearly demonstrated her faith, it’s about welcoming her to the family.
Yes, Jesus came as the Messiah, the Saviour for the Jews… but it’s more than this. God’s plan was for the rescue of all people; the gathering in of the lost sheep; the sheep from many flocks.
And this is spelled out in the passage from these few verses from Isaiah 56, where the people are suffering under the exile. This piece is to do with keeping the Sabbath, and surprisingly God extends inclusion to ‘all who observe it’, whether they are Jewish or Gentile.
Initially Jesus is reluctant to help this Canaanite woman, but because of her faith, he can see that she trusts God… She believes in Him and his healing abilities… She calls him ‘Lord’ and ‘Son of David’. Who told her?
So, why should she not be included as one of those ‘to be gathered up’ into the new Kingdom?
When I read this passage from Matthew it reminded me of another story about Jesus from Luke’s Gospel – the one about ‘The great Feast’ (Luke 14:15-24), where someone was to hold a great feast and sent out invitations to the great and the good. Later, he sent out his servant to let those invited know that everything was ready, but one-by-one they all found excuses why they couldn’t go. Well the food was all prepared, so the host sent the servant out again to gather in those they found in the street, the poor, crippled, blind and the lame but still the hall was not full. So he sent out again to compel people to come so that it would be full. The host called anyone and everyone… the invitation was not exclusive. This is a story about God as the host, calling us all to his banquet - and it’s the same story in Matthew.
As believers, isn’t this what we have been called to do… to extend this invitation to all?
With this ‘lock-down’ I think we’ve had time to reflect on what is really important in our lives. We have really appreciated the love and care of friends, family and neighbours, and we’ve felt the warmth and love from our church family… and I think we’ve discovered that although we can’t meet in our buildings, it hasn’t prevented our drawing closer to God; in a way our buildings have become redundant, they are our incumbrance. In many ways the buildings have become our obstacle to seeing what God has in store for us, much as Peter’s attempt at denying Jesus’ obedience to his fate. The ‘church’ is not the building… it’s the people.
Jesus, showed us, by his example, what we should be doing. Gathering up those who are disillusioned and lost; those who have been injured and hurt; some by viscous tongues. If you listen to some homeless people, particularly young ones, the reason they’re on the street, is often because of a relationship breakdown – where the tongue has done its work.
This is the place where Jesus worked – on the edge of society, and it’s where I believe the church should be today. How can we show God’s love for his people if we’re stuck inside our buildings; ancient and decaying buildings which cost so much to maintain for decreasing numbers of people.? We urgently need to re-evaluate our priorities… and get them in line with God’s priorities.
God has told us that he will welcome ‘all into his House of Prayer’ and as a reminder of the Canaanite woman’s response to Jesus, we hear those familiar words from our sacrament - the ‘prayer of humble access’, when we say
‘Lord, we come to your table, trusting in your mercy and not in any goodness of our own. We are not worthy even to gather up the crumbs under your table, but it is your nature always to have mercy, and on that we depend…’
We need to be reminded that we can do nothing without God’s grace. Jesus laid down his life that we might live. Compare how we live with how those who live, or rather exist, at the edge. And then let us make the changes that God wants to see. Amen
Prayers
Confession
Loving God, I know my tongue often gets ahead of my mind and heart. I’m quick to speak and I repent of the many thoughtless things I’ve spoken. I’m sorry for words I’ve spoken in anger or in gossip. Please help me to see when I’m about to speak without thinking and to check my heart. Help me to be slow to speak. Help me to be a person full of loving words, full of your Spirit, overflowing with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self-control. Amen
Intercession
This is our time for prayer for others… we all have different concerns, so we’ll pray in the silence for these things. We might pray for the many who struggle in life for the things we take for granted… we might remember our families, friends and neighbours…
Today, as we’ve been thinking about the effect that unguarded tongues can have on the lives of those around us, we might pray for the leaders of the nations… who have the power to right many wrongs… whose own words have the power for good or evil… we might pray they use words of honesty, integrity, justice and peace… not lies, deceit, and manipulation…
Loving God be with us now as we pray… help us to guard our tongues, but not to the detriment of speaking out against injustice. Enable us to call out wrong-doing and being the voice of the voiceless, the helpless, the lost, the needy… (silence…).
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power, and the glory
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Hymn - 547 Beyond these walls of worship
Blessing (Psalm 67)
May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us—
so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.
May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you.
May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples with equity and guide the nations of the earth.
May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you.
The land yields its harvest; God, our God, blesses us.
May God bless us still, so that all the ends of the earth will fear him. Amen.