Weekly Devotional, Pentecost 12
August 16, 2026
Looking at Jesus' Words through the Lens of the Cross
Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
And [Jesus] answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” (full Gospel reading is Matthew 15:21-28)
This is our text.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I recently heard a Lutheran pastor tell of a woman who came up to him after a service in which this same passage was read, and she told him that this verse had offended her, and that it was because of this Scripture that she had quit coming to church in the first place. Taken in isolation, this saying of Jesus may seem harsh, but I have often found that the most challenging passages can be the ones with the most to teach.
Many have tried to apologize for what Jesus said. They say that the term in Greek doesn’t really mean “dog.” Rather, it implies a term of endearment that refers more to a cute puppy. And others have said that Jesus was merely testing her faith. But these apologies don’t really hold water given the original Greek and the context.
So, what are the facts? Jesus and His disciples have left the Jewish region of Galilee, and have walked 11-12 hours into the non-Jewish territory of Tyre and Sidon.
We also know that the woman is Canaanite (Mark’s account clarifies that she is Syrophoenician). In any case, she is not Jewish. Yet she is calling out to Jesus, to the great annoyance of His disciples, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” Our reading also shows us that the disciples of Jesus are literally begging for Jesus to send her away. But He does NOT send her away. In fact, Jesus, in complete control, seems to be heightening the drama of the situation on purpose in front of the disciples in order to show them and us that the order of things is beginning to change. Many of the Jews had come to forget that even though they were the first covenantal people of God, the promise of God (fulfilled in Christ) had always been that through them God would bless ALL nations (Genesis 12:1-3).
This account with the Gentile woman of faith is the beginning of the breaking forth of the new order of things, that the Good News of Jesus Christ is for all people. And in the seeming harshness of His words to this faithful daughter of God, He gets His disciples’ attention, and ours, too. This woman knows who Jesus is and already has faith in Him. She knows that He is the only One who can free her beloved daughter from this demonic oppression. She calls Him “LORD,” and “Son of David.” Hence, she knows that not only is He is the true Messiah, but also that He is her Messiah. Additionally, Jesus knows this woman. He knows how she will respond. So, in His graciousness, He allows her to teach us in Scripture all these 2,000 years later. Let’s look again at the exchange.
The woman pleads for mercy and help. Jesus responds, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” [Jesus here confirms God’s initial order of things... to the Jew first and also to the Greek (Romans 1).
Yet, undeterred in her faith, she came and knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And He answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” [Here Jesus gets our attention and reflects the common attitude of many of the Jews at the time]. She doesn’t take offense. She doesn’t change what Jesus says. She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table.” Then Jesus answered her, “O woman [not dog, but O woman], great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly. In a time and place that women were seen in a dim light, if even seen at all, Jesus saw her and let her response show us what true faith looks like.
From a human perspective, many might say that she had the right to be offended, to be angry and defend herself. Yet, she doesn’t do this. She doesn’t alter what Jesus says... She adds something to it - the assurance by the Holy Spirit that her Master is not only loving, but eternal LOVE itself. She doesn’t stand up for herself, rather, she appeals to His goodness. Our perception of God affects our perception of His answer. In fact, our perception of God affects our relationship with everyone. By faith, the Canaanite woman trusts that whatever Jesus is saying and doing, He must be acting out of love, and for a deeper and eternal purpose. Jesus says in Matthew 11, “And blessed is the one who is not offended by Me.”
This Canaanite woman is bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit in patience and sacrificial love (for her daughter). And she reflects the truth of Proverbs 19:11, which says,
Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is [our] glory to overlook an offense, Proverbs 19:11.
This story may even challenge us personally, “Are we too easily offended?”
As brothers and sisters in Christ, we should not only be quick to forgive each other, but to also put ourselves in each other’s shoes, and to assume in each other the best of intentions, understanding that we are all flesh, that we all fall short, and that we all need our Savior Jesus Christ. In this passage we hear that the Gospel of Christ is for the whole world, that we are all lost without Him. When we read this story through the suffering and atonement of Jesus, its meaning takes on new light.
Jesus has been called every name in the book. His good works of healing and liberation were called works of the devil by His opponents. He was unjustly arrested and mocked. And although He is the only One who never deserved any of it, He endured it without defending Himself and looked to the Love of the Father who would not abandon Him, but would raise Him from the dead.
So, Jesus shatters the assumptions of the disciples and allows the woman’s response to teach them and us that the Gospel is expanding outward, breaking forth to the ends of the earth, that the Good News and blessings of Jesus and His redemption are for all of us. Jesus healed the woman’s daughter, but even more profoundly, He carried her sins (and ours too) to the cross. Such is the goodness and kindness of God.
And now may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)
Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost,
Weekly Devotional, Matthew 14:22-33
August 9, 2026
I AM with You; Stay in the Boat
Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
But when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
This is our text.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Many times in Scripture, the sea is an image of chaos and disorder.
For example, in Psalm 65, we see the raging seas connected to the tumult of God’s people. But then God speaks and brings peace and order to the chaos.
[God is the one who] who by His strength... stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult [our mayhem] of the peoples. (Psalm 65:6–7, in part).
Jesus in John 16 promises that in this world we will have to endure the chaos of life’s stormy conditions, but that we can take courage because Jesus has overcome the world.
Indeed, Jesus treads upon our chaos, grabs us by the hand when we are sinking, keeps our heads above water, gets us back into the boat (the church) so that we can be with each other and keep our eyes focused on the One who calms the winds and the waves.
When Jesus spoke to His disciples and said, “Take heart; it is I,” the It is I in Greek (EGO EIMI) means I AM, which is the very name of God revealed to Moses in Exodus chapter 3.
Jesus is saying to His disciples (and to us) in the midst of the storm, “Take heart; I AM.” In other words, “Take courage, It’s Me, God. Don’t be afraid, I AM with you through all the storms of life. I have drowned all your sins in the sea of grace, and have overcome death with My eternal life.
And now may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Pastor Larry
The Free Gift of God’s Transformative Nutrition
Devotional from Pastor Larry
Our Old Testament reading for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost (August 2, 2026) curiously says,
Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. (Isaiah 55:1)
This invitation reminds us of Christ’s own words to the woman at the well: “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13–14).
Scripture shines light on Scripture and teaches us that these are Gospel invitations from our Lord. Water, wine and milk represent God’s good and abundant gifts of salvation, forgiveness and eternal life. Grace upon grace in Christ. Indeed, there are sacramental implications here, too. In these words, we think of the cleansing waters of our Baptisms. And in the wine, we consider the Lord’s Supper, and the precious blood of Christ shed for us for the forgiveness of all our sins. As our Isaiah passage continues, we learn that consuming God’s spiritual food is connected with hearing God’s Word, listening to Him...
Listen diligently to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to Me; hear, that your soul may live... (Is 55:2–3).
The lifegiving water, the joy and grace of God’s priceless offer of wine and milk, the rich food of His kingdom - all free, secured for us by Jesus Christ. No quantity of gold or silver can purchase what Christ has done. No amount of good works can earn it! We can only accept it as a gift. We receive our Savior’s finished work of redemption by faith. And faith is a gift from God, too, which comes by hearing the Good News of Christ proclaimed in our ears. Strangely enough, we drink Christ’s spiritual water, wine and milk, and eat of God’s “rich foods” by “inclining our ears of faith toward the Word of the Lord that endures forever. And it’s FREE, paid for by Christ’s perfect Sacrifice for us.
Why do we try to satiate our spiritual hunger and thirst with “food” that perishes? Why do we continue to seek meaning and identity in earthly things that pass away? Jesus at the feast in John chapter 7, stands and cries out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.” Revelation 22 declares, “[L]et the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. In the hearing of these words, we have the invitation of Jesus to draw near to Him, and to receive His good gifts that truly satisfy our deepest and eternal hunger. Jesus is the Bread of Life. Taste and see that the Lord is good. (Psalm 34:8)
