Speaking of Life 5039 │ God Redeems our Misfortunes
This week we’re sharing a Speaking of Life message from our archive as a supplemental resource. We encourage you to use this for reflection and preparation, or small group discussion. For your worship gathering, consider how a call to worship from a local voice or contextualized introduction to the theme might serve your congregation well.
Watch video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQpwTe9nB4c
Program Transcript
Speaking Of Life 5039 │ God Redeems our Misfortunes
Heber Ticas
When James Clear was in High School, he was accidentally struck in the face by a classmate’s baseball bat. The injury was so severe that he almost died at the hospital. After his horrific injury, James had a long road to recovery.
A year after the accident, James fell behind his teammates, but during his junior year he made it on the junior varsity baseball team. The next year they put him on the varsity team, but he saw almost no playing time.
James decided to find out how he could make improvements to his game. He studied everything he could find about making small daily habits that would eventually help him to succeed.
By his junior year in college, he not only played on his varsity team, but he also became the team-captain, and was named as an Academic All-American.
James became passionate about sharing his results with others and started writing a series of articles for major publications. His writings were read by coaches of various professional sports leagues, who in turn, shared those articles with their players.
His book, Atomic Habits, became a #1 New York Times bestseller which has inspired millions. He states none of this would have been possible without the tragedy that befell him on the baseball field.1
The Bible records a similar success story of a boy who had to overcome his own tragedy. Out of jealousy, his brothers threw him into a pit and then sold him to slave merchants who sold him to Egypt.
As Joseph grew, he found favor in Pharoah’s household. He even becomes one of the most powerful individuals in the land.
Years later, during a famine, Joseph’s brothers come to Egypt for grain. When they arrive, they are brought before Joseph and don’t recognize him. Joseph recognizing his brothers, decided to play a little game with them. Ultimately, he couldn’t contain his emotions and he revealed who he is.
Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me.” And they came closer. He said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.
Genesis 45:4-5 (NRSVUE)
Despite the tragedies he went through, because of God’s intervention, Joseph was able to accomplish great things. If Joseph had just lived his life without his trials, he wouldn’t have ended up in the position to be a blessing to so many people.
Joseph recognized how God used his life circumstances to prepare him for leadership. As he gave God praise for his plan, wisdom, and graciousness. Joseph also learned to hold no bitterness towards those who were responsible for his trials.
Most of us have probably encountered events that caused us to feel helpless. Situations where we ended up thinking there can’t possibly be anything good that comes from this. However, we can look back and see that God did make something good out of the situation. What once felt hopeless, turned to another reason to praise God.
Maybe you are going through something difficult right now. Acknowledge that God is greater than your situation. Ask him to help see you through whatever it is that you are facing, all the while trusting that his intentions for you are always wise and loving.
Mi nombre es Heber Ticas, Hablando de Vida.
1) James Clear: “Atomic Habits” An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones: (New York, NY: Avery, An Imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2018)
Program Transcript
Speaking Of Life 5039 │ God Redeems our Misfortunes
Heber Ticas
When James Clear was in High School, he was accidentally struck in the face by a classmate’s baseball bat. The injury was so severe that he almost died at the hospital. After his horrific injury, James had a long road to recovery.
A year after the accident, James fell behind his teammates, but during his junior year he made it on the junior varsity baseball team. The next year they put him on the varsity team, but he saw almost no playing time.
James decided to find out how he could make improvements to his game. He studied everything he could find about making small daily habits that would eventually help him to succeed.
By his junior year in college, he not only played on his varsity team, but he also became the team-captain, and was named as an Academic All-American.
James became passionate about sharing his results with others and started writing a series of articles for major publications. His writings were read by coaches of various professional sports leagues, who in turn, shared those articles with their players.
His book, Atomic Habits, became a #1 New York Times bestseller which has inspired millions. He states none of this would have been possible without the tragedy that befell him on the baseball field.1
The Bible records a similar success story of a boy who had to overcome his own tragedy. Out of jealousy, his brothers threw him into a pit and then sold him to slave merchants who sold him to Egypt.
As Joseph grew, he found favor in Pharoah’s household. He even becomes one of the most powerful individuals in the land.
Years later, during a famine, Joseph’s brothers come to Egypt for grain. When they arrive, they are brought before Joseph and don’t recognize him. Joseph recognizing his brothers, decided to play a little game with them. Ultimately, he couldn’t contain his emotions and he revealed who he is.
Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me.” And they came closer. He said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.
Genesis 45:4-5 (NRSVUE)
Despite the tragedies he went through, because of God’s intervention, Joseph was able to accomplish great things. If Joseph had just lived his life without his trials, he wouldn’t have ended up in the position to be a blessing to so many people.
Joseph recognized how God used his life circumstances to prepare him for leadership. As he gave God praise for his plan, wisdom, and graciousness. Joseph also learned to hold no bitterness towards those who were responsible for his trials.
Most of us have probably encountered events that caused us to feel helpless. Situations where we ended up thinking there can’t possibly be anything good that comes from this. However, we can look back and see that God did make something good out of the situation. What once felt hopeless, turned to another reason to praise God.
Maybe you are going through something difficult right now. Acknowledge that God is greater than your situation. Ask him to help see you through whatever it is that you are facing, all the while trusting that his intentions for you are always wise and loving.
Mi nombre es Heber Ticas, Hablando de Vida.
1) James Clear: “Atomic Habits” An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones: (New York, NY: Avery, An Imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2018)
Psalm 133:1–3 • Genesis 45:1–15 • Romans 11:1–2a, 29–32 • Matthew 15:10–28
This week’s theme is Jesus brings outsiders to the table of mercy. In our call to worship psalm, the psalmist declares how good it is when brethren dwell together in unity. In Genesis, we witness the story of Joseph reconciling with his brothers. In the book of Romans, Paul informs the church there that both the Jews and the Gentiles have received the same mercy from God. And in Matthew’s Gospel, we have a Canaanite woman who asserts that God’s favor and blessings do not belong solely to the Jews.
Reminder: This introductory paragraph is intended to show how the four RCL selections for this week are connected and to assist the preacher prepare the sermon. It is not intended to be included in the sermon.
How to use this sermon resource.
Jesus Brings Outsiders to the Table of Mercy
Matthew 15:21–28 NIV
[Read or ask someone to read the passage.]
21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”
23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
25 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment. Matthew 15:21–28 NIV
Imagine a communal celebration — a wedding banquet, a birthday, a festival, a public holiday. The room is full of relatives, neighbors, and friends. There is music, laughter, the smell of food in the air, and the easy joy of people who know they belong.
But at the edge of all that joy stands someone in the doorway — close enough to see the lights, the table, the smiles, and the celebration, yet still outside. They are not on the guest list. No one has welcomed them in. They can see the feast, but they do not know if there is a place for them.
Most of us know that feeling — the feeling of being left out. Maybe it happened at a party, in a family, at school, at work, at church, or even on social media. Our world is constantly sorting people into categories: in or out, accepted or ignored, welcomed, or dismissed. Some people seem to know the rules, the language, and the place they occupy. Others are left wondering, “Do I belong here at all?”
That is exactly where this story begins — not at the center of the room, but at the doorway. Jesus steps into a place his own people would have considered “outside,” and there he meets a woman whom his followers would have marked as “out.” But by the end of the story, Jesus shows that his mercy is larger than the lines people draw, and his table is wider than anyone expected.
Jesus brings outsiders to the table of mercy.
As we go through this Gospel story, let’s keep this in mind: the real question for us is not, “How can we muster up a faith like this woman’s?” but “What kind of God moves into enemy territory, draws out such faith, and seats outsiders at his table?” The grace of Jesus creates great faith in those who seem far away and brings outsiders to the table of God’s mercy. We’ll see God’s amazing reconciling work.
Jesus Walks Into Outsider Territory
Let’s verse 21:
Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
Tyre and Sidon were not Jewish cities. That matters. They were outsider places — foreign places, places faithful Jewish people usually avoided. Jewish people kept separate from Gentiles, who were non-Jewish people. Jews viewed Gentiles as hostile or unclean. If you were an Israelite listening to this story, you would immediately feel uncomfortable. Why is Jesus there?
And then our Gospel writer, Matthew, introduces a woman into the story. She’s not just any woman, but a Canaanite woman, a Gentile. That word carried centuries of hostility and division. She represented the wrong people, the outsiders, the people far from God. She is exactly the kind of person people assumed did not belong at God’s table. But she comes to Jesus anyway.
Verse 22:
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”
She calls him Lord, and by saying, “Son of David,” she is recognizing Jesus as the Messiah, the Savior. The significance is huge, especially given who she is and where the story takes place.
When the Canaanite woman calls Jesus “Son of David,” she is using a distinctly Jewish, messianic title — a title rooted in Israel’s Scriptures and promises. As a Gentile and a Canaanite (a people long viewed as enemies of Israel), she should not “know” or claim this title, yet she recognizes Jesus as Israel’s promised King and Savior even when many insiders do not.
That makes her confession striking: an outsider speaks insider truth. This highlights that true faith is not about ethnicity or geography, but about recognizing who Jesus truly is, and trusting him for mercy.
She believes Jesus can help her daughter. She believes mercy might still be possible for someone like her.
The Silence
But then the story gets uncomfortable. The woman cries for help, and Jesus says nothing.
Verse 23:
Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
The disciples get annoyed: “Send her away.” They want her gone. She is disrupting things, interrupting them, making things awkward.
Then Jesus says something even harder. It’s one of the most difficult and important lines in the story.
Verse 24:
He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
At first glance, it sounds like harsh rejection. But God is love, and Jesus is never cruel. So, what is really going on here?
First, who is Isreal?
When you hear “Israel,” you might think of the modern nation-state. But in the Bible, Israel is the name God gave to the family and people descended from Abraham, who lived nearly two thousand years before Jesus was born. Over centuries, they became the Jewish people.
We call Isreal God’s chosen people because God made a promise to Abraham to bless him and his family that would become a nation.
And God promised to send a Savior, the Messiah, to Isreal. And Jesus is that Messiah, so he came to Isreal, the Jews of his day, to fulfill that promise. Jesus himself was Jewish. His first followers were Jewish.
So why does Jesus call them “lost sheep”?
Ancient shepherd-and-sheep imagery mattered deeply in the biblical world. Sheep were understood as dependent and easily lost. So, the comparison suggests a people who are scattered, vulnerable, exposed, and in need of rescue.
And it suggests a people who need a shepherd. A good shepherd was responsible to guide, protect, gather, and even risk himself for the flock. Scripture calls Jesus, the Messiah, the Good Shepherd (John 10:11).
So, when Jesus speaks of “the lost sheep of Israel,” he is drawing a connection to all of that background, to Isreal’s long story with God. In essence, he is saying:
The people of God’s promise are scattered.
They need a true Shepherd.
They need gathering.
They need rescuing.
And I have come to do just that.
Because God keeps his promises through me, his Son.
This sounds pretty good for Isreal, but what about the rest of us?
As modern listeners, we may hear verse 24 as, “Jesus only cared about the ancient nation of Israel, who in Jesus’ time were Jewish people.”
But God told Abraham, “All nations on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3).
God chose Israel not because they were better than everyone else, but because he wanted to bless the whole world through them. Jesus comes to Israel first because God made promises to Israel, but those promises were always meant to overflow to the world. So, we can understand “only” here to be about order, not exclusion or rejection.
The broader New Testament teaching shows us that salvation is for all nations. Jesus left these instructions for his disciples: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).
Even the immediate context of this passage must affect how we interpret the word “only.” Here, in this very story, we see that God’s mercy is already spilling over to more than Isreal. That is why this story matters so much. Jesus shows that God’s rescue was meant for the whole world.
Jesus brings outsiders to the table of mercy.
Let’s read on to see how. Verses 25–26:
The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.
These words shock us. But it’s contrary to Jesus’ nature to do harm. Jesus is doing something other than insulting her; he’s doing something important. He is bringing the hidden prejudice and bias out into the open.
The words “children” and “dogs” seem to function here to be provocative, to name the absurdity of the existing bias. It gives voice to the disciples’ expectations that the woman does not belong. It disrupts opinions by creating discomfort and sets up the opportunity for Jesus to reveal God’s wider mercy.
The disciples have already tried to send her away. They already believe she is not included. She’s a Gentile; she’s an outsider. Jesus exposes that whole system so he can overturn it.
The woman seems to understands that her hope is not in proving she belongs. Her hope is in the goodness of Jesus. She does not argue, “But I deserve this.” Listen to what she says instead. Verse 27:
“Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
In other words: “Jesus, I believe there is so much mercy in you that even the overflow is enough.” She is simply trusting that Jesus is good.
Jesus often teaches through tension and delayed resolution. We see this elsewhere: Jesus teaches not only by telling, but by asking questions that expose. Here, Jesus allows the conversation to unfold publicly so everyone sees the wideness of God’s mercy and the failure of religion — religion always has insiders and outsiders. God is about relationship not religion. Jesus is not trying to discourage her faith; he reveals it.
Jesus brings outsiders to the table of mercy.
Before this interaction with the Gentile woman, some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked him a question (You can read it at the beginning of this chapter). It’s really an accusation that Jesus and his followers don’t keep the law. And Jesus responds with an explanation — perhaps more for the listening crowd than the Pharisees. And the Pharisees and teachers go away offended. Jesus responds:
“You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.’” Matthew 15:8
The Pharisees were Jewish leaders, experts in Israel’s law, but their hearts were far from Jesus. Jesus came for “the lost sheep of Israel,” he came preaching and teaching to the Jews, but many rejected him.
Yet here we see a woman who is not in the “inside,” and her heart has been drawn near to Jesus. She recognizes he is Lord, confesses him as the Messiah. She kneels and begs for help and mercy. She would only do this if she trusted that he was Lord and could heal her daughter.
In verse 28, Jesus acknowledges her faith:
Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.
Notice what Jesus does not say. He does not say, “You finally proved yourself worthy,” or “You earned your request.” He says, “You trusted me.” Her faith is great because Jesus is great, and her daughter is healed immediately.
This is not a trade or transaction, as if her great faith purchases the miracle. Faith is not a reward system, and grace is not something we unlock by believing hard enough. In the Bible, faith is fundamentally trust — a reliance on Jesus that reshapes how we live because we act on what we trust.
And even that trust is not something we manufacture on our own. Jesus is the one with perfect faithfulness to the Father, and he shares his life with us by grace. We come not with spiritual strength, but with need, not with perfection, but with empty hands. And Jesus meets us there with mercy and healing.
Jesus brings outsiders to the table of mercy. The outsider woman is not sent away. She is welcomed. The table is already growing larger.
That is why this story matters. The gospel is for all people including those who don’t feel included or accepted by God. The gospel is for people who feel like they’re on the outside — outside of meaning, outside of purpose, outside of belonging, outside of hope, outside of love, outside the feast. And honestly, we all feel this at times. And Jesus steps into outsider territory to bring people home, to meet the universal longing to be included, to belong.
The outsider is welcomed — in fact, the outsider becomes the insider. The border is crossed. The banquet grows larger. This story was never about who is in and who is out. It is about the kind of king Jesus is — a king whose mercy is bigger than the boundaries people build, a king whose table is wider than we imagined, a king who goes looking for people standing outside the doorway.
Are there people we consider “outsiders”? Who do we consider and then think: Surely, they do not deserve God’s mercy or receive it!
God is at work in people we do not expect. Maybe the person is even you.
So, if you feel today like the person standing outside the celebration, hearing the music but unsure if there is a place for you, hear this clearly: In Jesus Christ, the door is open.
The table is bigger than we think. And there is room for us in the house of God. And there we find love, belonging, and acceptance. Not because we somehow worked our way into becoming insiders. But because Jesus is generous. Because the Father loves the world. Because the Spirit draws people home.
Jesus Becomes the Outsider for Us
Here is the deepest truth in this story: Jesus does not merely welcome outsiders. He becomes one. In the Incarnation, when the Son of God became human, he entered our world as a stranger. He was misunderstood, rejected, mocked, cast out. At the cross, Jesus was pushed outside the city gates — outside the place of blessing, outside the circle, outside the celebration. He took our outsider status onto himself.
Why? So that outsiders could be brought in. So that people far from God could be welcomed home. So that people could all sit together at the Father’s table.
Jesus lived the faithful human life we could not live. Jesus trusted the Father perfectly in our place. Jesus died the death our sin and rebellion deserved. Jesus rose again to bring humanity into new life with God.
This is good news. The Father has made room at his table through the Son. And the Holy Spirit draws people into that welcome even now.
Jesus brings outsiders to the table of mercy.
Cory Rice—Year A Proper 15
Listen to audio: https://cloud.gci.org/dl/GReverb/GR078-Rice-YearA-Proper15.mp3
Program Transcript
Cory Rice—Year A Proper 15
Anthony: Yeah. Our next passage is Matthew 15:21–28. It is the Revised Common Lectionary passage for Proper 15 in Ordinary Time, August 16.
Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that moment. And her daughter was healed from that moment.
Seems like there’s a lot going on there. “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David.” Isn’t this the cry of every human heart, whether they know it or not? Tell us more, Cory.
Cory: Yeah. Man, I get lost in listening to you read. I think you should read the entire Bible so we can all listen to the ear candy that you have when you read the Scriptures. I love it. Man, of course, this is the cry of every human heart. I see this in daily counseling sessions. I see this in myself all the time. And whether people use religious language or not, humanity longs for wholeness, healing, belonging, mercy, you name it. So, I think every human is searching for the God that they already belong to.
What’s beautiful to me in this story is the woman refusing to disengage even when everything and everyone around her appears silent or resistant.
Anthony: Preach.
Cory: So, she already determined in her mind that something in Jesus is worth pursuing, and I love that. And so, to me, mercy is restorative compassion. It’s the heart of the Father always moving toward suffering people, which I think a lot of us can relate to that.
Anthony: Can you talk a little bit more about pursuing as it relates to relationship? Because it seems like love always moves toward the other. We’re in Christ and he is in face-to-face relationship with the Father. He’s pursued us. He continues to pursue us by the Spirit. Anything else you’d like to say about just the act of God’s pursuit and us pursuing others in relationship?
Cory: Yeah. I think it just comes to awakening to the reality that’s always a constant thing.
As you know, I grew up in a very religious setting, even went to a lot of schools where you learn only one lens to look at, and so I totally understand people in this approach of, “Can I even approach God? Is he distant? Is he disappointed?” Because he’s either distant or disappointed in most Christian circles.
And so, to catch the revelation that when God looks at you, that he’s actually smiling, is a wild experience. That was one of my first, in my first counseling sessions with my counselor, is getting this revelation that when God looks at me, he’s smiling, and that vision actually helped me understand his constant pursuit of me.
And so, it’s just been a continual awakening to the fact that God will always and has always been in love with me and pursuing me.
Anthony: I hope you don’t mind. I’d like to follow up on that a little bit, because you’ve talked about, just in passing, your past being, and I don’t want to put words in your mouth, but it sounds like in a legalistic environment, where having to unlearn that God is pure grace, God is pure love on God’s side. And many of our listeners around the world are coming from a very similar environment.
What would you … Maybe just tell us a little bit about how you came out of that kind of place of feeling like you had to maybe earn God’s approval, to win his love, to a place where now you’ve just been awakened to the goodness of God in Jesus. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
Cory: Yeah. So, I have an “aha” moment. It came, I actually got to listen to Brennan Manning live before he passed away in 2011, I think it was, at the Brooklyn Tabernacle is when he spoke. So again, that’s my undoing of legalism started really in 2012. Now, I always pushed against; even in university I was known for, “That doesn’t make sense.” But I didn’t have like …
Anthony: Oh, that’s you.
Cory: I didn’t have the language for it, like the union it was first grace. You talk about grace all day long until you need it, right? And then it was into eschatology, and then it was really into this union message.
And I heard a lot of people, but it was Brennan Manning. He said something, I’m going to butcher it. I’m sure you can find it online, but it’s something along the lines of, he asked this question of, “What’s the only question you’re going to hear when you meet your maker face to face?” And he, his perspective is, he believes that question is going to be God saying, “Did you really believe that I loved you?”
And then he followed that up with a statistic, a percentage, 90%, and wherever he gets this number from. But 90% of Christians, he believes, will answer that question with a heartbreaking, “No, I did not truly believe that you love me.” And it was that moment, I remember sitting there listening to that. Kind of at this point I already had two masters, right?
So, I thought my relationship with God was in concrete, and that took me on a season of revelation, of learning to unlearn everything I’ve always thought I’d known. And then I moved to the church I’m at in 2012, and I began relationships with so many different people that I now have different ministry experiences with.
But it was really my lead pastor, Channock, and I, and our friend Reggie at the time, the three of us — just being able to ask questions without shame is really what started that. And so, that 2011 “aha” moment, then for the next eight years not necessarily finding answers, but being free enough to be able to ask them without shame attached to the response, is really what began that journey of undoing everything that I thought I knew and believed about God.
And I’m still on this journey. I think we would … The sexy term now is deconstruction, right? We’ve been doing this since, for us in our setting, since 2012. We just didn’t have the language for it, right? But becoming aware not only of our union, but of a God that’s way better than we thought he was.
And so, I think I’m going to die on that hill, or at least I’m going to live on it, is when people say a whole lot of things about our ministry and about what we teach is I don’t think that I’m going to get to heaven and God’s never going to say, “You know what, Cory? You presented me a little too loving.” And so, if that’s the statement, then I think that we can go all, as far as we want with revealing a God who’s better than we think he is.
Anthony: Yeah, and Karl Barth says as much. We can’t put any sort of limit on God’s lovingkindness. Thank you for sharing, and I’m so grateful for your journey. It’s very similar to a journey many of us have been on, and God is just so faithful. And we see it in this text.
And Cory, one of the things that grieves me is, we say we’re a Christocentric podcast. We focus on Jesus as much as we know how by the Spirit. But often when I hear texts preached, it’s human-centric. We go immediately, like in this text, we want to go immediately to this woman’s response, and it’s valuable. So, I want to or ask you this question: Did the Canaanite woman’s faith activate Jesus’ willingness to heal her daughter? I hear it read that way. Tell us about the theological implications one way or the other.
Cory: Man, I got a couple things — don’t know if they’re going to be good. Personally, I don’t believe that her faith changed Jesus’s perspective or willing or unwillingness to heal her. I think Jesus reveals the willing heart of God all the time. Otherwise, we risk creating a picture where God must be persuaded into compassion, and it naturally flows from him, right?
So, I think her faith allowed her to participate in what was already present in Christ, because faith isn’t earning. It’s trustful participation. But I also think that there’s something culturally profound in this specific story, more than even the miracle. It’s that Matthew’s intentional highlight of a woman and a Canaanite, and someone that’s considered outside the covenant story, at least in Matthew’s gospel presentation.
And yet, Jesus, in this moment, reveals that the heart of God extends beyond ethnic and religious boundaries. And so, in other words, grace is not expanding because God changed or because our faith changed him. It’s expanding because humanity is awakening to how expansive and inclusive God has always been. It’s just we’re catching up to that revelation.
Anthony: Yeah. Amen and amen.
Program Transcript
Cory Rice—Year A Proper 15
Anthony: Yeah. Our next passage is Matthew 15:21–28. It is the Revised Common Lectionary passage for Proper 15 in Ordinary Time, August 16.
Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that moment. And her daughter was healed from that moment.
Seems like there’s a lot going on there. “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David.” Isn’t this the cry of every human heart, whether they know it or not? Tell us more, Cory.
Cory: Yeah. Man, I get lost in listening to you read. I think you should read the entire Bible so we can all listen to the ear candy that you have when you read the Scriptures. I love it. Man, of course, this is the cry of every human heart. I see this in daily counseling sessions. I see this in myself all the time. And whether people use religious language or not, humanity longs for wholeness, healing, belonging, mercy, you name it. So, I think every human is searching for the God that they already belong to.
What’s beautiful to me in this story is the woman refusing to disengage even when everything and everyone around her appears silent or resistant.
Anthony: Preach.
Cory: So, she already determined in her mind that something in Jesus is worth pursuing, and I love that. And so, to me, mercy is restorative compassion. It’s the heart of the Father always moving toward suffering people, which I think a lot of us can relate to that.
Anthony: Can you talk a little bit more about pursuing as it relates to relationship? Because it seems like love always moves toward the other. We’re in Christ and he is in face-to-face relationship with the Father. He’s pursued us. He continues to pursue us by the Spirit. Anything else you’d like to say about just the act of God’s pursuit and us pursuing others in relationship?
Cory: Yeah. I think it just comes to awakening to the reality that’s always a constant thing.
As you know, I grew up in a very religious setting, even went to a lot of schools where you learn only one lens to look at, and so I totally understand people in this approach of, “Can I even approach God? Is he distant? Is he disappointed?” Because he’s either distant or disappointed in most Christian circles.
And so, to catch the revelation that when God looks at you, that he’s actually smiling, is a wild experience. That was one of my first, in my first counseling sessions with my counselor, is getting this revelation that when God looks at me, he’s smiling, and that vision actually helped me understand his constant pursuit of me.
And so, it’s just been a continual awakening to the fact that God will always and has always been in love with me and pursuing me.
Anthony: I hope you don’t mind. I’d like to follow up on that a little bit, because you’ve talked about, just in passing, your past being, and I don’t want to put words in your mouth, but it sounds like in a legalistic environment, where having to unlearn that God is pure grace, God is pure love on God’s side. And many of our listeners around the world are coming from a very similar environment.
What would you … Maybe just tell us a little bit about how you came out of that kind of place of feeling like you had to maybe earn God’s approval, to win his love, to a place where now you’ve just been awakened to the goodness of God in Jesus. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
Cory: Yeah. So, I have an “aha” moment. It came, I actually got to listen to Brennan Manning live before he passed away in 2011, I think it was, at the Brooklyn Tabernacle is when he spoke. So again, that’s my undoing of legalism started really in 2012. Now, I always pushed against; even in university I was known for, “That doesn’t make sense.” But I didn’t have like …
Anthony: Oh, that’s you.
Cory: I didn’t have the language for it, like the union it was first grace. You talk about grace all day long until you need it, right? And then it was into eschatology, and then it was really into this union message.
And I heard a lot of people, but it was Brennan Manning. He said something, I’m going to butcher it. I’m sure you can find it online, but it’s something along the lines of, he asked this question of, “What’s the only question you’re going to hear when you meet your maker face to face?” And he, his perspective is, he believes that question is going to be God saying, “Did you really believe that I loved you?”
And then he followed that up with a statistic, a percentage, 90%, and wherever he gets this number from. But 90% of Christians, he believes, will answer that question with a heartbreaking, “No, I did not truly believe that you love me.” And it was that moment, I remember sitting there listening to that. Kind of at this point I already had two masters, right?
So, I thought my relationship with God was in concrete, and that took me on a season of revelation, of learning to unlearn everything I’ve always thought I’d known. And then I moved to the church I’m at in 2012, and I began relationships with so many different people that I now have different ministry experiences with.
But it was really my lead pastor, Channock, and I, and our friend Reggie at the time, the three of us — just being able to ask questions without shame is really what started that. And so, that 2011 “aha” moment, then for the next eight years not necessarily finding answers, but being free enough to be able to ask them without shame attached to the response, is really what began that journey of undoing everything that I thought I knew and believed about God.
And I’m still on this journey. I think we would … The sexy term now is deconstruction, right? We’ve been doing this since, for us in our setting, since 2012. We just didn’t have the language for it, right? But becoming aware not only of our union, but of a God that’s way better than we thought he was.
And so, I think I’m going to die on that hill, or at least I’m going to live on it, is when people say a whole lot of things about our ministry and about what we teach is I don’t think that I’m going to get to heaven and God’s never going to say, “You know what, Cory? You presented me a little too loving.” And so, if that’s the statement, then I think that we can go all, as far as we want with revealing a God who’s better than we think he is.
Anthony: Yeah, and Karl Barth says as much. We can’t put any sort of limit on God’s lovingkindness. Thank you for sharing, and I’m so grateful for your journey. It’s very similar to a journey many of us have been on, and God is just so faithful. And we see it in this text.
And Cory, one of the things that grieves me is, we say we’re a Christocentric podcast. We focus on Jesus as much as we know how by the Spirit. But often when I hear texts preached, it’s human-centric. We go immediately, like in this text, we want to go immediately to this woman’s response, and it’s valuable. So, I want to or ask you this question: Did the Canaanite woman’s faith activate Jesus’ willingness to heal her daughter? I hear it read that way. Tell us about the theological implications one way or the other.
Cory: Man, I got a couple things — don’t know if they’re going to be good. Personally, I don’t believe that her faith changed Jesus’s perspective or willing or unwillingness to heal her. I think Jesus reveals the willing heart of God all the time. Otherwise, we risk creating a picture where God must be persuaded into compassion, and it naturally flows from him, right?
So, I think her faith allowed her to participate in what was already present in Christ, because faith isn’t earning. It’s trustful participation. But I also think that there’s something culturally profound in this specific story, more than even the miracle. It’s that Matthew’s intentional highlight of a woman and a Canaanite, and someone that’s considered outside the covenant story, at least in Matthew’s gospel presentation.
And yet, Jesus, in this moment, reveals that the heart of God extends beyond ethnic and religious boundaries. And so, in other words, grace is not expanding because God changed or because our faith changed him. It’s expanding because humanity is awakening to how expansive and inclusive God has always been. It’s just we’re catching up to that revelation.
Anthony: Yeah. Amen and amen.
Small Group Discussion Questions
- Jesus initially responds with silence and tension. How does that challenge or stretch your understanding of how God works when we cry out for help?
- The woman does not argue that she deserves mercy; she trusts Jesus’ goodness. What does this teach us about faith as trust rather than performance?
- The sermon emphasizes that Jesus exposes and overturns hidden prejudice. What attitudes or assumptions might Jesus be inviting us to examine in ourselves or in the church?
- How does the idea that “Jesus becomes the outsider for us” shape the way we think about grace, belonging, and who is welcome at God’s table?
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