WEBVTT

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In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy

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Spirit. I want to take you back for a moment

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to the day of the crucifixion of our Lord. Two

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criminals. One of them. Angrily shouted at Christ.

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And said if you are really Christ. If you are

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really the Messiah. Then save yourself. And save

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us. The other criminal. In a pleading voice.

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Said Lord. Remember me. When you come into your

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kingdom. And Jesus said to him, this day you

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will be with me in my kingdom. Two condemned

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criminals hanging on a cross, slowly dying in

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an excruciatingly painful way. Both of them had

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something to say. To Jesus. One. In a fit of

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blasphemy. Asked. Why? If you. Are the one who.

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You claim to be. Then why. Are we suffering?

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And the second criminal. whom the church calls

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the wise thief, admitting his sins and his failure

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in life, cries out with this prayer of hope,

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Lord, Lord, remember me in your kingdom. Now

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it's important To notice that Jesus. Did not

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respond to the question why. But he did reply.

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To one. Who said. Lord remember me in your kingdom.

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If there is any meaning to be learned from today's

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gospel. The prayer of the wise thief seeking

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mercy is compared to that woman in coming before

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the Lord. And I've heard this often. Do we tend

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to question God's providence and love or do we

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submit to God's will? I'm convinced that to spend

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time questioning God is listening to one's own

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voice. To spend time in offering prayer in humility

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leads one to a better understanding of what is

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happening. The Bible from the beginning to the

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end teaches that God Is not some far off distant

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impersonal force. Like the philosophers tell

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us. The ground of all being. Whatever that means.

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Intellectualism will never satisfy the soul.

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Because God is a God of mercy and love above

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all. A God whom Jesus teaches us to say, our

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Father. And in our worship services, again and

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again and again, we hear the phrase, our help

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is in the Lord. And as a father pities his children,

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so the Lord pities those. Who fear him. And here

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the word fear. Should be translated awe. We stand

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and kneel before him in awe. There are those

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who never. Pray except. When they are in difficulties

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and their problems and their sorrow and there's

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grief. Some time ago I asked a young college

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student if he prayed every night. No, he said,

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I don't pray every night. Why not, I said. Well,

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because there are some nights when I don't want

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anything from God. My dear people, prayer is

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not an attempt to get what we want from God.

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Because God is not an errand boy. We pray, and

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this is the very meaning of today's gospel. We

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pray not to persuade God to change his mind,

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but rather to give us the grace to change ourselves.

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In the Lord's prayer, we say, thy will be done,

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not my will. As often as I would like that to

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be sometimes. I confess that. God, not my will,

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but thy will be done in my life. Today's gospel

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reading from Matthew, the 15th chapter, as it's

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also found in Mark. is a very interesting story

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because it tells of a woman who was deeply troubled

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with the burden of a sick child. And the Bible,

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the New Testament, makes it clear that she was

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of non -Jewish nature or ethnic background. And

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she approached Jesus. And ask him for help. And

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I want to read this because it's so powerful.

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Lord, she said, my daughter is grievously vexed

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with the devil. And what did Jesus do? And Jesus

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answered her not a word. Most uncharacteristic.

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Most unusual. Because Jesus always gave a response.

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But in this instance, no response was given.

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But she remained intent. On her and in her wish

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for Jesus to help her daughter. And what did

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the disciples do? I quote, send her away. They

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were annoying Jesus. So the disciples, lacking

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all compassion, said, stay her away. She's bothering

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us. And it's important to remember that why Jesus

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went into tired Sidon. Because he knew that his

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days were numbered. And he wanted to be with

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his disciples. To teach them. Because the days

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were numbered for him. Again she asked. But she

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was not discouraged. Because the driving motive

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of her heart was love. And there is nothing more

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powerful, stronger, more meaningful to us and

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to God and nearer to God than love. She never

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asked, why don't you help me? But she pleaded,

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Lord. And he answered her finally in this way.

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Listen, I can't help you because I am sent only

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to the lost sheep of a house of Israel. And then

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what does she do instead of being discouraged?

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She came and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help

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me. And Jesus, to that answer, Jesus said, I

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can't take the bread from the... and cast it

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to the doggies. The dog here in Greek is a house

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pet. And what did she respond? And how did she

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respond? She says, yes, Lord, I know that. But

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yet even the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall

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from the master's table. Jesus said to her what

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he said to the centurion on two occasions. Jesus

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said to her as he said to the centurion, great,

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great is your faith. There was simply an outpouring

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of love. And this Power of love drove her. To

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say Lord have mercy. And in the light of. This

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expression of trust and faith. And surrender

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to Jesus. Again I want to say to you. What the

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Lord said to her. Woman. Great is your faith.

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And let it be done to you. And we are told at

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that moment her daughter was healed. I want to

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ask you to reread this miracle. Because there's

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so much more involved than I could possibly tell

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you. But as you read, note a couple things. When

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she approached Jesus, she called him the son

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of David, which was a political title with him.

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But she never ended that way. She did say, Lord.

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Jesus. Second thing. She approached Jesus from

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a distance. Because the disciples wouldn't let

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her come any closer. But it ended in this way.

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She ends up on her knees before the Lord. With

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a humble plea. Jesus. Have mercy. For this woman

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prayer. Was no presumptuous questioning. No empty

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ritual. Not some kind of Aladdin's lamp. Her

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prayer. Was a confession. Lord, I cannot always

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understand life. Life sometimes can be brutal.

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And I can never understand this idea why I am

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suffering. But Lord, I know that you have the

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power. You have the mercy. And you have the love

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to do. Not my will, but your will. This woman's

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recognition was this. That she implicitly realized

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that Jesus was a healer. Prayer is never based

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on the question of why. But it is based on the

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intimacy of faith, of love, humility, and awe.

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You know, some time ago, I quoted to you a prayer

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that was found under... The dead soldier. He

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was a young man. And it's obvious. During his

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life. He kind of. Let God. Or put God. In the

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shelf. And when he needed him. He'd pull out

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the shelf. Now listen what he wrote, and it's

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very meaningful to me. Dear God, I have never

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spoken to you, but now I want to come closer

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to you. You see, God, some people told me you

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didn't exist, and like a fool, I believed all

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this. But last night from my foxhole, I saw beyond

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the sky. I realized at that very moment, that

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very moment, they told me a lie. Had I prayerfully

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taken time to see the things you made, I would

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have known they weren't calling a spade a spade.

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Please, Lord, please, take my hand, and I know

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you'll understand. Sorry I had to come to this

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hellish place before I had time to see your face.

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The signal, the signal has come. God, I must

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go. But I have faith that I want you to know.

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This night might be a horrible fight. Who knows?

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I may come to your house tonight. Though my faith

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in you was weak before. Dear Lord, Receive me

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at your door. I cry with faith, repentance, and

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tears. I wish, oh how I wish I had known you

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these many years. Well, I have to go now, God.

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Goodbye. Since I met you, I am not afraid to

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die. Glory be to Jesus Christ.