A realtor in Southern California writes about a surprising sale he once made and the lesson he learned from it: “He was sitting in his real estate office one afternoon when a “not too prosperous” looking man walked into the office. Right behind him was a young couple who had every appearance of wealth. Both the older man, and the young couple, were asking about the same piece of property. The senior realtor in the office jumped up to invite the younger couple into his office, while the rather ragged looking old man was left to the younger, inexperienced realtor. The junior realtor writes that he begrudgingly invited the old man to sit at his desk, with the attitude of “this is wasting my time and yours”, tried to get rid of the man, knowing that the property he was asking about was way out of his price range. To shorten the story, and to get to the point, It turned out that the affluent looking young couple could not qualify financially to purchase the property, while the older, humble man could... in fact, he had brought with him, in a card board box, the total cash needed to purchase the piece of land. Thus we begin our reflection on our gospel for today.

Pentecost 14 A 2008 Proper 15

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"Jesus answered her: "woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish". And her daughter was healed instantly."

    A realtor in Southern California writes about a surprising sale he once made and the lesson he learned from it: "He was sitting in his real estate office one afternoon when a "not too prosperous" looking man walked into the office. Right behind him was a young couple who had every appearance of wealth. Both the older man, and the young couple, were asking about the same piece of property. The senior realtor in the office jumped up to invite the younger couple into his office, while the rather ragged looking old man was left to the younger, inexperienced realtor. The junior realtor writes that he begrudgingly invited the old man to sit at his desk, with the attitude of "this is wasting my time and yours", tried to get rid of the man, knowing that the property he was asking about was way out of his price range.

To shorten the story, and to get to the point, It turned out that the affluent looking young couple could not qualify financially to purchase the property, while the older, humble man could... in fact, he had brought with him, in a card board box, the total cash needed to purchase the piece of land.

Thus we begin our reflection on our gospel for today. The Canaanite woman pestering the disciples, and Jesus, clearly was not a "qualified believer". Not only was she a Gentile, but she was a woman. Two strikes against her in that day and age. Even Jesus seemed to wonder about her, but soon realized that she had a faith sufficient to cover her request. She had a healthy portfolio of faith.

Matthew, in his gospel, uses the word "great" 20 times...but only here does he link it with "faith". He makes a point, that GREAT is this Canaanite woman’s faith. It was not her persistence, or her humility, but it is her faith that is commended by Jesus.

Jesus once taught his disciples that if they had faith as a grain of mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds, they could move mountains. How do we understand this commodity called "faith"? What would it take for us to accumulate enough faith to move mountains, or heal our children, or to change lives?

I am afraid that we too often confuse "faith" with "belief". They are not the same. Faith always precedes belief. Faith is believing what cannot be seen. Our human impulse , however, seems to be towards "belief" in what we CAN see, which is not faith. We believe in ourselves. We believe in cold hard cash, not the promise of a payment. We believe in science, and medicine, and things which we can prove. Building up an account of faith is somewhat contrary to our human nature. It is almost as hard, for me at least, as building up a savings account. Financial advisors love to show young people how, if they can invest just a few thousand dollars at the age of 21, how it can accumulate into a million dollars by the time they reach the age of 65, through the wonderful snowballing effect of compounding interest upon interest. It is amazing and promising... but sadly, not as promising as the new car they want, or new Iphone, or the house they need once they start having children, and the many other things which we can SEE and want when we are 21.

So how do we build a portfolio of faith? How did the Canaanite woman have such a great faith? Let’s look at the story again, and see what we can learn:

First of all, "we have to ask for faith." Just as Peter began to sink in last week’s gospel, when he tried to walk on water, he didn’t just begin to swim back to the boat, which is what I might have done, but rather, he looked to Jesus and cried out for help: "Lord, save me". We have to ask to be saved. We have to ask to be healed. We have to ask for His presence. We have to ask for his comfort. We have to ask for his power in our lives. We have to ask for faith. And when we ask, we will receive. It does not matter who we are, or what we have done...either good or bad. We ask, and in faith, we receive. We see this so clearly in today’s gospel. The woman was a Gentile. She was a woman. She was a dog, in the eyes of most. She wasn’t the right religion. She was not even supposed to be talking to men. She was not worthy of the scraps which might be thrown from the table. But she asked....and she received.

Next, we see what she does with her faith. She, like Peter, was ready to step out of her boat. She was ready to take some risks. She was ready to walk in faith, and not simply bury her faith in her family bible, or in a jar in the ground. She was ready to step out in faith, and to walk in faith, and to live in faith. This is the hard part. Faith, by its own definition: "the hope of things we cannot see", may often appear to be foolish and unwise. What do you think the other disciples were thinking when Peter stepped out of the boat? What do you think this woman’s neighbors were thinking when she went "barking" at Jesus and his disciples? What do YOU think about the person who says: "I think God is telling me to do this." ??? But when we step out in faith, and walk in faith, even though we may be stepping into a storm and rough waters, or breaking some family or cultural traditions... when we step out in faith, we find a peace that passes all understanding... we find a relationship with God which others will envy.

Finally, in building our new portfolio of faith, we find that we must share what we have accumulated. We must give away, some of our faith, or we find that we will lose all that we have tried to save. We must share our fortune, our faith, with our children, our spouses, our neighbors, the people we work with. We must share our faith, if we want to keep a healthy balance of faith in our accounts. We can plant those tiny mustard seeds of faith in "their" lives, so that they may begin to step out in faith and discover how God is working in their lives. The woman’s daughter was healed, instantly.

Who wants to start a new savings account, here at Grace Church?... a savings account of faith? How do we do that? 1. We ask for it. 2. We live it. 3. We share it.

In the coming weeks, you are going to be hearing more from me about a 28 day experiment... to help those who want it, build up a new portfolio of faith. In the coming weeks, I am going to be looking for those who will enter this 28 day experiment with me, and Kay, to see what the Lord has in store for us. Then during the month of September, those who will join with us, will commit ourselves to daily Bible Study, extra work around the church, a small group to discuss this, tithing, and worship. Five things, for 28 days, to see what the Lord will do with us. Will our "faith portfolio" begin to grow, or will we find ourselves bankrupt? I think we will find the abundant life, which God has promised. AMEN.