PROPER 15A - Genesis 45:1-15; Psalm 133; Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32; Matthew 15:10-28

17 August 2008 - A sermon given by The Rev. Peter A. Munson for St. Ambrose Episcopal Church, Boulder, Colorado

Heart Matters

It’s a matter of the heart, Jesus told them. “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.” (Matthew 15:18-20)

The original discussion was set in motion by the Pharisees, who noticed that Jesus’ disciples weren’t always washing their hands before they ate. They are going against the tradition of the elders, and defiling themselves - making themselves ritually unclean. So said the Pharisees. But Jesus turned the tables on them, right after he called them hypocrites and quoted Isaiah, saying their hearts were far from God. (Matthew 15:8)

What truly makes you unclean, he says, are the things that emerge from a misguided heart that is bent on destruction and divisiveness. He could have easily added, “For out of the heart come the very best things people do - generous acts of service, faithfulness to friends and spouses through thick and thin, forgiveness, generosity, telling the truth even when it might be very costly, showing deep appreciation for others and praising them publicly for the good things they have done. These are the people who most demonstrate the love of God.”

Don’t get all caught up in the outward appearances of others, Jesus is saying. And while you’re at it, don’t think that just because you try to look good in public, your own heart is right with God. It’s not about how things look. It’s much, much deeper than that.

IT’S DEEPER THAN WHAT YOU THINK

We Americans and we American Christians, too, are very much into what we think.

What do you think about the war in Iraq?

What do you think about abortion?

What do you think about the banks in our country?

What do you think about taxes?

What do you think about professional athletes being paid $10 or $20 million a year to play a game, or actors being paid $20 million to be in one movie?

What do you think about the Virgin Birth, or about the physical resurrection of Jesus?

What do you think happens to Jews who don’t accept Jesus as the Messiah?

But it’s not ultimately about what you think, although what you think is important, because God cares about you, and that includes what you think.

IT’S DEEPER THAN WHAT YOU FEEL

We Americans, and we American Christians, too, are very much into what we feel - especially what makes us feel good.

I feel great when I’m on top of a mountain or at a beautiful lake above treeline.

Perhaps you feel great when you find a great deal when you’re shopping, or when you have a special time with your friends.

We feel great when Michael Phelps dives in the water and swims like no one ever has and sets a world record - again!

We feel bad when Alicia Sacramone falls off the balance beam, and again during the floor exercise. We feel for her as she struggles to hold back the tears, after all those years of training, and the U.S. women’s gymnastics team takes the silver medal, instead of the gold.

We feel terrible when a loved one gets ill, and there doesn’t seem to be very much at all that we can do about it.

But it’s not ultimately about what you feel, or whether you are as happy as you want to be all the time, although what you feel is important, because God cares about you, and that includes what you feel.

IT’S ABOUT YOUR HEART

It’s ultimately about the condition of your heart.

Joseph had a couple of dreams. The youngest of Jacob’s twelve sons, he had a dream that his sheaf stood and the other sheaves, representing his brothers, all bowed to his sheaf. He had another dream where the sun, the moon, and eleven stars - his father, mother, and all his brothers - were bowing down to him.

Joseph made the mistake of telling his brothers, and even his father, these dreams. “Hey, listen to these dreams I’ve had! Aren’t they great!” The next thing he knew his brothers threw him into a pit, and when some Ishmaelites were coming by, they went ever further and sold him into slavery. He was bought by an officer of Pharaoh named Potiphar, then there was the whole Potiphar’s- wife-thing, and the interpreting-Pharaoh’s-dreams- thing, and the famine in Canaan, and Jacob sending his sons to buy grain in Egypt, and Joseph’s brothers coming before him in Egypt, and not recognizing him...

Here’s the point. Joseph’s heart was transformed by all that he went through in Egypt, not the least of which was being separated from his family. He was no longer the young 17-year-old who said, “Hey, I had this dream and all of you were bowing down to me. Isn’t that the coolest dream ever?” He saw how God watched over him while he was in Egypt. He grew in wisdom, and also in compassion for his father and his brothers. And so, in today’s reading, when he reveals himself to his brothers, we hear him say, “And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life... So it was not you who sent me here but God...” (Genesis 45:5,8)

And a little later, after Joseph forgave his brothers, he said, “Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today.” (Genesis 50:20)

JESUS’ TRANSFORMATION

And what about Jesus and the Canaanite woman? It’s almost as if God gives him a test, right after he says, “what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart.” He doesn’t want to deal with this woman. She is not a Jew, and up to this point he sees his ministry as being to the Jews, and only to the Jews. When the disciples try to get Jesus to deal with her, because they don’t want to deal with her, Jesus replies, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

But the woman is nothing if not persistent, and she comes and kneels right at his feet. Those of you who are parents who have ever had a child who is suffering can relate to this woman. She asks Jesus to help her. He then compared her - as a Gentile - to a dog. “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She was not going to be turned away easily. You or I might have said, “Ouch! What’s wrong with you, Jesus? Forget I asked for anything, you big loser!” But her heart was fixed on her tormented daughter, not on Jesus’ response. And patiently and quickly, she responded, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master’s table.” That got Jesus’ attention. We are told by Matthew that he commended her faith, and that her daughter was healed instantly. But more than that happened that day. Jesus’ heart was changed. The son of God’s heart was changed, and suddenly he understood that he had defined his calling and his ministry much too narrowly. And thanks to this Canaanite woman, he began to understand that he had been sent for sake of the whole world, not just part of the world.

PAUL’S TRANSFORMATION

Then there’s Paul. Talk about a man whose heart was changed! When others wanted to write off the Jews who did not accept Jesus as the Messiah, Paul took no such position. “God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.” (Romans 11:2) He tries to explain how the “natural branches” will be grafted back into their own olive tree (Romans 11:24) and adds “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” (11:29) Finally, Paul is done trying to explain how Israel will be saved, and he throws down his pen, and he says, “O the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” He quotes Isaiah: “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” (Romans 11:33-34)

He catches himself. I may know a thing or two about God, but who am I kidding? I can’t possibly know the mind of God! But he adds this: “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36)

This is no longer a man who was breathing fire against the new Christians. He is not even breathing fire against his fellow Jews who have not converted to Christianity. This is a man who has come to know God in a much deeper way, and his heart has been changed.

And perhaps that is the last thing to say today. It’s not ultimately about what you think or what you feel. It’s ultimately about the condition of your heart. And if you want your heart to be transformed... if you want to have - more and more - the compassionate heart of God, then the only way for that to happen is to seek God, and to stay as close to God as you can, and to pray for a converted heart.

CLOSING PRAYER

Lord, Jesus, we get caught up and distracted with what we think and what we feel. Those things are important to you, but sometimes they become barriers between us and you. We pray for a conversion of our hearts. Like Joseph, we want to forgive those who seek to do us harm, and see your hand at work in the grander scheme of things. Like your Son Jesus, we want to avoid defining our calling too narrowly, and be open to going to all the places you would have us go, and open to all the people that you would have us serve and love. And like your servant Paul, help us to come to our senses and accept the things that we can’t possibly know, so that we may fall into the arms of your loving grace, trusting that you will keep us as the apple of your eye, and lead us into the ways that we should go. Thank you for the deep blessing of calling us together to be your body in this community. For from you and through you and to you are all things. To you be the glory forever. Amen.