16th August 2020 All Saints Church, Childwall
READ Matthew 15:10/28: 10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. 11 What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”
12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?” 13 He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14 Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
15 Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. 17 “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18 But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”
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.
REFLECT: Do you remember your English essays at School when you were invited to ‘compare and contrast’ characters in a book/play you were studying? We could do the same with today’s Gospel; ‘Compare and contrast the attitude of the Pharisees and Scribes with that of the Canaanite woman.’
Judaism contained myriad rules and regulations governing every little detail of life and worship; groups such as the Scribes and the Pharisees saw keeping those rules/regulations as the way in which they kept themselves right with God. They also saw it as their duty to encourage others to do the same. – a good thing you would think; why then does Jesus criticise them so fiercely, calling them ‘blind guides’?
The Canaanite woman was a Gentile and, therefore, not considered part of God’s people – an outsider – yet it is this woman who receives Jesus approval as a woman of great faith! What is going on here?
Read verses 1/10 for the context of this passage as some Pharisees and Scribes travel all the way from Jerusalem to challenge Jesus about his disciple’s apparent laxity around ritual handwashing before eating. Jesus challenges this view saying that it is a dirty heart/mind which defiles a person, not dirty hands. Washing hands before eating is, of course, a good thing, but not as important as maintaining a pure heart/mind. Jesus calls them hypocrites and quotes Isaiah 29:13 to them, ‘“‘These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.” The Gentile woman, on the other hand comes to Jesus, not to criticise, butwith an earnest and persistent request for healing for her daughter. She recognises in Jesus a man of God, a true ‘son of David’, maybe even the Messiah Jewish rabbis were always talking about. She knows she has no automatic right to receive a positive response from Jesus, yet she presses him and presses him to such a degree that Jesus, to his own surprise, recognises her as a woman of ‘great faith’ and grants her request.
RESPOND: How do you react to the fact that Jesus is not always ‘gentle Jesus’? Have there been instances where Jesus has spoken to you sternly through the Bible, a Sermon or by the Holy Spirit? Are there any issues Jesus is addressing with you at present? How did you or are you responding? Hurt pride or humility?
Have you ever come across real faith and trust in Jesus in surprising people or places or circumstances?
Are you judgmental about other people, even fellow believers or Church members?
PRAY: God of our pilgrimage, you have willed that the gate of mercyshould stand open for those who trust in you: look upon us with your grace and as we seek to follow you may we never wander into self-righteousness nor stand in judgement on others. Amen
Rev Bill Forster (Associate Minster at All Saints, Childwall)
Dear Friends,
WELLY WEDNESDAY
Mums and Dads with under sevens. We know that this has been a challenging time for you during the pandemic and you have been doing lots of new things to keep your children amused. We would like to invite you to join us for a play date. On Wednesdays at 10am, we will be meeting up in the playgroup garden for an hour of fun and games. It can get a little muddy so remember to bring your wellies! To enable social distancing, numbers will be limited so you will need to book your place by contacting Mary Harrison mary.harrison32@virginmedia.com.This activity is not only for church members. If you feel called to reach out to someone in the community, who may benefit, please book them in. Unfortunately, we are not able to provide drinks and snacks, in the current climate, so please bring your own.
Youth & Children’s Worker –Gypsey-Leigh Tait is moving to Liverpool on 25th August to be a Children’s and Youth worker at All Saints. Please pray for Gypsey as she moves to a city where she has never lived or worked. Gypsey will be starting work on the 1stSeptember and will be working full time for the church.
Services in Church – All Saints Church Building will be open thisSunday 16th August for a 10am service. It is not a Baptism service as planned as all 4 families have decided to postpone. The service will be no longer than 40 minutes. You will need to wear a face mask, gel hands and sign in. Children under 11 and anyone with a relevant medical condition are exempt from wearing a mask. Once the church building is full using alternate pews anyone else who arrives will not be able to be accommodated. Once you are in church you will need to stay in your pew and if you have children with you they need to be fully supervised at all times and not move around. The creche room will not be available and the pew bags have had to be removed.
After the service has finished you will be directed to leave by the door at the front right of church. Once outside please do not congregate and please ensure that you keep 2m apart. I am sorry that this is necessary but it ensures the safety of everyone attending and it is important that we lead by example. The decision for our church building to be open each Sunday going forward is going to be reviewed weekly in light of the changing local and national situation.Chris Russell, Archbishop of Canterbury’s Advisor for Evangelism & Witness writes: In addition to the normal offering of hymns, the daily office, reflections and prayers over this summer month there is a new offering of Holiday at Home. This offers an opportunity for those who rarely leave their houses a chance to be ‘transported’ on a holiday – with prayers of thanks for times past, a poem recollecting holidays and even a soundscape to evoke those memories of past holidays.”
Here is a link to a taster of Holiday at Home- Holiday at Home Taster
Weekly Prayer requests – If you would like other members of our church family to pray for you or a family member, please send me their names for this sheet, please ask permission from the person.
We pray for all those who are unwell at this time particularly for Alan McClelland.
If you change your address or your tax status and you regularly give financially to All Saints Church please will you let Diane Deacon know who is our Gift Aid Secretary, thank you. deekschildwall@gmail.com
WEEKLY PRAYER MEETING – Weekly prayer meeting Thursday 6.30pm on Zoom. Why not join a group of us at All Saints that pray regularly. It lasts 40 minutes, you can pray, sit and listen or just contemplate.
Click on the below link and take 40 minutes out of your busy schedule.
Zoom Meeting: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/79853782379?pwd=NEloclhRVEJST3RFeUdUVEowSWJRUT09
Meeting ID: 798 5378 2379 Password: 7VUQh6 Aidan Holmes
Zoom coffee – Please note change of time to 11.15am for 40 mins – remember to bring your own coffee! Details for Zoom coffee are as follows:
Zoom Coffee – every Sunday at 11.15am Meeting ID: 842 767 1496 Password: 4allsaints
With our prayers for you all at this time
Andrew Colmer – Vicar – Tel: 07305 842257 – vicar.allsaintschildwall@gmail.com
Helen Deegan – Curate – Tel: 07984 933467 – curate.allsaintschildwall@gmail.com
