CMLC 2026-08-16 Sermon

Howdy. If you've ever tried to learn another

language, you discover pretty quickly that sometimes

the smallest change can completely change what

you've said. I'm still working on the Spanish.

Don't worry. Just give me time. I'll get there.

All right. But for a year, I was living in China

and thought I would try to learn some basic Chinese.

And there was a word that is a good example of

this, because Chinese, it's a tonal language.

The tone changes the meaning. So you could say

ma, okay? You could say ma with a first tone

and it means mother. Isn't that sweet? You could

then say ma with a second tone and it means hemp.

It's a little different. You could then say ma

with a Third tone, and it means horse. Don't

get the first and third confused. Terrible for

Mother's Day card. And then the fourth tone,

ma. That means you're scolding somebody. And

then there's even a fifth one, ma. It's actually

really short, really quick, and you put it at

the end of a sentence to turn it into a question.

And all of these things, same basic sound, different

tone, completely different meaning. There was

even one, it was this phrase, Niagamala, and

if you say it, it's meaning, what are you doing?

But if you say it louder, Niagamala, it means

like, what the heck are you doing? And it completely

changes the feeling of what you're saying. But

you see, we do it in English all the time too.

Depending on how you say something, it could

mean, I am genuinely excited for you. You could

say, that's great. I'm genuinely excited for

you. But then you could also say, that's great.

Saying, I cannot believe you just did that. You

could say, come here. Because you're thinking,

hey, I want to give you a hug. But then you say

it the wrong way, come here. We need to have

a conversation now. Both could have come from

my parents. So sometimes you don't even need

words. You just have an eyebrow that's raised

or a pause at the wrong time, eye contact, a

little too long or a little too short. And sometimes

despite our best intentions, we communicate something

we never intended. You were joking, but they

thought you were insulting them. You were trying

to encourage them, but instead it was rejection

and your face. You thought you were saying, I'm

with you, and instead it said, you made a terrible

choice. And believe me, been there. But you know,

the point is that the words themselves, they

don't always contain the whole conversation.

It's worth remembering this when we get to Matthew

15. Because Matthew, he gives us the words that

Jesus spoke to the Canaanite woman. But Matthew

doesn't give us an audio recording, okay? This

was like a few years before eight tracks. And

we don't know exactly what Jesus' face had looked

like. We don't know exactly how he said every

word. We don't know if there was a pause, an

inflection, a wink -wink and a nudge -nudge.

Was there a rhetorical edge or some other element

of communication that Matthew just didn't think

to record? It doesn't mean that we can changed

Jesus to saying whatever we want, but it means

that we need to be careful about taking one difficult

sentence and building an entire meaning all around

it. We need to listen to the whole conversation.

And Matthew tells us that a Canaanite woman comes

to Jesus crying out, have mercy on me, oh Lord,

son of David, my daughter is severely oppressed

by a demon. She's not from Israel. She is a Canaanite.

These were the people that they were supposed

to kick out originally when they came to the

promised land. She is an outsider in their eyes,

and yet she knows exactly who Jesus is. She calls

Him Lord. She calls Him Son of David. That means

Messiah, by the way. She asks Him for mercy,

and Jesus initially doesn't answer her. He just

keeps going. The disciples, they're getting irritated.

Send her away for she is crying out after us.

That one annoying person just wished that they

would just quiet down. Jesus says, I was sent

only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

I don't know if that was his tone. I kind of

wonder though. Because then she kneels before

him. Lord, help me. Clearly. She still knows

where his heart is. And then comes a sentence

that can stop us cold. It is not right to take

the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.

Oof, don't say that one at a family reunion.

If we read that sentence in isolation all by

itself, no tone, no facial expression, no context,

it sounds incredibly harsh. But listen to what

happens next. She doesn't walk away. She doesn't

say well fine if that's how you feel. I'll just

I'm done Did that go well? Thank you She answers

yes Lord yet even the dogs Eat the crumbs that

fall from their masters table. Oh a Detail worth

noticing the word that Matthew records for dogs.

It's a diminutive form. It's it's like a puppy

dog. That's like a family pet, okay? But that

doesn't necessarily mean that it's about using

an affectionate pet name. We shouldn't make the

passage out to be cute. But it does fit the picture

of Jesus having children at the table, but others

still receiving what falls from the table. But

notice what the woman does. She doesn't reject

Jesus' image. She doesn't assume all the worst.

even though it sounds pretty difficult. She finds

hope inside of it. Yes, Lord, yet even the little

dogs eat the crumbs. Not demanding the children's

bread, trusting that there is enough mercy in

the master for her, too. When was the last time

we heard something difficult and assumed the

best instead of the worst? Jesus responds, oh

woman, great is your faith. The woman came asking

for mercy, and she leaves having received mercy.

Whatever precisely was happening in the tone

and the rhetoric, we cannot understand verse

26 if we don't also look at verse 28. The whole

conversation matters. Matthew is showing us something

bigger than some argument between Jesus and a

desperate mother. He's showing us a gospel breaking

through boundaries. And to understand what is

happening, we do have to remember Isaiah, these

I will bring to my holy mountain and make them

joyful in my house of prayer. For my house shall

be called the house of prayer for all peoples,

all peoples. That's the astonishing thing. God

chose Israel, but Israel was never chosen because

Israel was somehow more worthy than somebody

else. Israel was chosen to be the vessel through

which God would reveal his salvation to the world.

Did you catch that? It was meant for the world.

Israel was the vessel, not the only recipient.

God gave Israel the covenant, the promises, the

law, the prophets, the scriptures. Through Israel

would come the Messiah, thanks be to God. But

there is a tremendous difference. Between being

the vessel through which God brings salvation

to the world versus being the people who somehow

deserve it alone Israel was not chosen because

God looked down and said oh these people they're

better than everyone else so Clearly they get

to be saved and everyone else is just out of

luck God chose Israel Because God had a purpose

for Israel The promise given to Abraham was always

bigger than Abraham's family. Even Genesis 12,

it says, in you all the families of the earth

shall be blessed. Israel was supposed to be a

beacon for the world, not a barricade to the

world. A sign pointing toward God, not a wall

keeping everyone else away. And that beacon ultimately

had a name, Jesus. Israel was not the destination.

Israel was the people through whom God would

bring the Savior. The promises were pointing

somewhere. The covenant, the sacrifices, the

prophets were pointing somewhere. They were pointing

to Christ who would come from Israel. And when

the Canaanite woman comes to Jesus, she isn't

finding a new way around God's promises to Israel.

She's coming directly to the one toward whom

those promises had always been pointing. Isaiah

makes that clear. God's house would be a house

of prayer for all peoples. The nations were always

part of the story. And that's where, frankly,

God's people can be confused. God gives us blessings

that point people toward Him, and eventually

we start treating those things as though they

belong exclusively to us, to keep everyone else

out. The covenant becomes like a security badge.

The temple, like a personal possession. The law,

a weapon against others. Traditions, a test of

who belongs and who doesn't. The things that

God has intended to proclaim, come and see who

God is, instead, they might become, you aren't

one of us. And frankly, Israel's not the only

ones who did it. The church. can do exactly the

same thing. There are times when someone says,

I am growing in my Christian faith, and then

they follow it with, I've been listening to more

Christian music. As if somehow that is now the

measure of their discipleship. Yes, we have Christian

music, Christian books, Christian television,

podcasts, schools, conferences, Bible studies,

Christian buildings and programs, vocabulary

and traditions. And all those things can be wonderful.

They can be vessels through which the gospel

is communicated. We should not despise them because

they matter, they teach us, they form us, a language

and a way of seeing God, but they are the means,

not medals to be proud of. They are gifts through

which grace is carried, not evidence that somehow

we've become worthy of grace. We have to remember

that the vessel carrying the gospel is not the

same thing as fruit produced by the gospel. A

person can sing Christian music and be bitter

in their hearts. A person can read Christian

books and be arrogant of mind. A person can know

the Bible and be cruel in their actions. A congregation

can have beautiful worship, and some can still

have prejudice in their hearts. A person can

know exactly what the pastor is supposed to say

about forgiveness, but still refuse to forgive

the person three rows away. They looked at them

funny. The question is not merely, do we have

Christian things? The question is, what is Christ

producing in us? Paul tells us what the fruit

should look like. The fruit of the Spirit is

love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness, gentleness. Self -control, I know.

You memorize them. There's nine of them. The

first three have one syllable. The next three

have two syllables. The last three have three

syllables. The math teacher does that to remember

them. I love it. But you know, the fruit, it's

not what earns us God's love. It's what begins

to grow because we've already received it. We

don't become worthy vessels of grace by becoming

good enough We become vessels of grace because

Christ has already been gracious to us and the

more deeply we understand that The more we begin

to look like the one whose grace we carry Christian

things are useful Christian practices matter

Christian traditions can be beautiful But none

of them are trophies proving that we've become

holy We don't possess grace as if it were exclusively

ours. We carry grace because it's intended for

us and for all people. And that matters when

somebody walks through the doors of the church

carrying a difficult past. Oh, not any of you.

I'm sure you're all perfect. But you see, maybe

they didn't grow up in church. Maybe they have,

maybe there were choices made that we wouldn't

have made. Maybe they don't know the Bible the

way that we do. Maybe they're still learning

what it means to follow Christ, taking one step

at a time. Maybe you were given an opportunity

to learn some of these things when you were younger,

and that is a gift. But don't turn the gift you

received into a measuring stick for somebody

who didn't receive it the same way. We have to

allow people to grow. We have to allow people

the chance to learn. We have to allow people

the chance to stumble. Because the church is

not a museum for displaying finished Christians.

It's a community of people still being formed

by Christ. And that means that there will be

broken people here. Yes. There will be difficult

people here. I know. Hard to believe. There will

be people who say things they shouldn't say,

people who have prejudices that they still need

to confront, people who are angry, people judgmental,

people who are perpetually unhappy, that frown

somehow has been formed. There will be people

who read words, not because they want to understand

the meaning, but because they're ready to attack.

We're working on them, but we're also working

on ourselves too. Believe me, I've had the strange

of experience of standing here, proclaiming something

directly from Jesus, only discover that I too

would sometimes rather defend what I've already

decided than let Jesus change me. And I've certainly

discovered there are others that do the same.

Sometimes the messenger gets caught in the crossfire,

but even then, we don't give up on people. Because

the fact that someone is struggling does not

mean that God has stopped working on them. We're

all still making our way toward Christ because

He already came to us to bring us His grace.

This is where Romans 11 becomes very important.

Everything Paul has said about Israel's unbelief,

God's chosen people, Paul asks, has God rejected

His people. And He emphatically says, by no means.

God's mercy toward the Gentiles does not mean

God has abandoned the Jewish community. He wants

them to know Christ as well. Paul warns the Gentile

Christians not to become arrogant about their

place in God's family. Why? Because they didn't

earn it either. They were brought in by grace

the same. And the Gentiles being brought in does

not mean that Israel was some failed experiment.

How many from Israel did come to know and believe

in Christ? And Israel's place in God's story

does not mean the Gentiles have to somehow become

Israel in order to receive God's mercy. God's

one gracious person, God's one gracious purpose

is already unfolding in Christ. And then Paul

gives us one of the most remarkable statements

in the passage where he says, for God has consigned

all to disobedience that he may have mercy on

all. All. Israel needs mercy. Gentiles need mercy.

The church needs mercy. The world needs mercy.

The person who has been sitting in the pews for

60 years needs mercy still. The person who just

walked in this morning needs mercy still. The

person who wandered away as well as the person

who never wandered both still need mercy. Nobody

gets to boast about deserving the table. We all

need Jesus. And that's why even our testimonies

of coming to faith, they have to be handled with

humility too. How often we hear somebody with

this proclaimed testimony and gets on a magazine

or on a TV show. I walked away from God and enjoyed

life for so many years, but I came back and now

I understand grace so much better than all those

other people. There may be something beautiful

and true in a testimony, but it doesn't mean

I was outside and now I'm better than the people

who stayed. On the other hand, someone who grew

up in the church cannot say, I have been faithful

all these years, so clearly I'm better than the

person who just wandered in. What about the person

baptized as an adult? I remember the day. I remember

my decision. I remember what I felt. But what

about the person baptized as an infant? I don't

remember that day, but I trust that God's grace

is mine in Christ Jesus. Which baptism is better?

Neither. Because baptism is not ultimately a

story about what we do for God, as if we can

do anything for Him. It's a story about what

God did for us on the cross, in which we are

buried and raised. One baptism, one Christ, one

grace, one promise. The difference isn't in the

worth of the person receiving it or how ready

they feel they are. The difference is only in

the story that God has written around the people.

because one remembers the font, the other one

does not. Well, they probably remember a little

baptismal tub because if I tried to take an adult

and try to baptize them in that little font over

there, that'd be really difficult, a little too

heavy for me, but we could try. You see, neither

has more of Jesus. God says, you are mine. We

don't possess the grace, we carry it. Because

we finally see what is happening with this Canaanite

woman. The disciples, well, they're the insiders,

and clearly she must be the outsider, right?

You're the people that we should have gotten

rid of. We were supposed to kill y 'all off a

long time ago. You don't belong here. You don't

belong with us. Be quiet. You shouldn't be here.

The disciples spent the time with Jesus. She

hasn't. They understand the Scriptures. She's

just a Canaanite. But in this moment, who demonstrates

the faith? She does. Oh woman, great is your

faith. The outsider becomes a witness to the

insiders. That's a lesson that the church needs.

Sometimes the person we think needs to be brought

into the circle is the person God is using to

remind those inside why the circle existed in

the first place. Because we're meant to bring

people in. Not to just decide who should stay

out. That's why we don't get to say, oh, those

people, they need God's grace. We need God's

grace. When somebody comes into the church with

a difficult background, we don't simply say,

clean yourself up and then we'll let you belong.

We walk with them. We teach them. We correct

them. We forgive. We help them grow. We let them

take the next step. Yes, there are times when

you see us wondering, why do you let someone

like that here in the church? Because Christ

is working on them, even as he's working on us

all. And when we encounter the angry person,

the bitter person, the judgmental one, the prejudiced

one, even if they happen to be members, we don't

write them off either. We don't approve of the

sin. Grace is not approval. Christ loves you

too much to leave you there. And sometimes God

uses another person to bring us back on track.

And maybe that's what it means to be the church.

Not a collection of people who have it figured

out, not a community that eliminated all the

difficult people, not a place where everyone

has the same history or everyone arrived at the

same level of maturity, but a people who have

received grace and are now vessels of it. Because

if we keep walking away, every time we discover

someone in our community who has failed, we're

never gonna stop running. Start another church,

find another group, change the worship style,

find different people, start over. Eventually

we discover something. The new people have problems

too. Sorry for all the visitors here. Because

the problem was never simply the old people,

nor was it the new people. The problem is we're

all human. And the Christian response isn't,

how do we find better people? The Christian response

is, how do we become better together at bringing

people we already have back to Christ? And that's

what grace does. Here's the beautiful part. The

person who comes back to Christ may have something

to teach the person who never left. But also

the person who's been in church for 60 years

may have something to teach the person who arrived

yesterday. The person who feels like an outsider,

they may be blessed by one of those so -called

insiders, but the person who thinks they have

everything figured out may discover the outsider

has something that they had forgotten. Because

we don't possess grace just for ourselves. Grace

is something that we carry for the world as well.

Sometimes God carries that grace to us through

the people who expose our own immaturity. The

Canaanite woman came to Jesus for mercy and in

the process, Jesus used her to teach his own

disciples. The outsider was the vessel of grace

to the inside and perhaps that's what the church

is supposed to be. Not a place to prove we're

better, not a place where we see anything. except

God's mercy still moving. Christ to us, us to

one another, to our neighbors. But sometimes,

through the very people we thought needed us

most, back to us. We carry that grace. And God

keeps putting broken people in our lives because

He hasn't forgotten how broken they are. And

He knows exactly the grace they need. And he

has decided to carry some of that grace through

you. Congratulations, you're a vessel. And that

doesn't mean we're the source. We're not the

answer to somebody's brokenness, but we are simply

people who receive the mercy of Christ and have

been given the privilege to carry that mercy

to someone else. For God has consigned all to

disobedience that he may have mercy. And that

mercy is yours right now, because Christ died

and rose for you. Thanks be to God.