https://app.dropwave.io/episode/2fe6b2ad-6666-4792-b4e5-ebd46519f046/reminiscere-second-sunday-in-lent-lent-2-ad-2026.mp3

++ JESU JUVA ++

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

She seeks refuge from her merciful Lord. He has helped others. Surely, He will help her, too. She prays to Jesus, but she hears only silence. She has come out to Him, crying for His help, but He has passed her by. He does not even look at her, but walks by silently, seeming to ignore her. It seems He has left her lying in her own misery, suffering under its terrible weight. She follows and continues to pray in the same words: “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed” (Matthew 15:22). O Lord, I seek the Savior and the Helper of men. Help, salvation, and redemption will be found nowhere else. That’s how she prays.

But what about us? Oh well, I prayed about it. God didn’t answer. I guess He doesn’t want to help me. Looks like I’m on my own. You might ask for a while, but then you give up. God’s silence leads you to conclude things about Him. Silence from God leads you to think that He doesn’t want to give you what you’ve prayed for. In need and in fear, I run to the Lord for help. But with Him I find no rest for my trouble. In spite of my cries and pleas for help, He weighs me down with a heavy burden. He presses me severely. It feels as if God Himself is against me. He doesn’t help, but only increases my suffering. So I stop praying.

Maybe we pray a few times. But when there is no answer, we quickly give up and attend to other things. Bearing the burden of crying out to God for ourselves is rare among us. It’s even more rare that we would bear it for someone else. To keep asking for years and years while nothing appears to change is a discipline rarely practiced — and only after every other possible remedy has been exhausted. Overwhelmed by suffering, then it seems that prayer is the only option. Only when it seems that prayer is the only option that we are finally driven to persistent prayer.

But the truth is that when you decide to no longer pray, this reveals more about you than about God. You know this from other areas of life. If someone really wants something, he doesn’t give up easily. This mother is persistent. She doesn’t quit. It doesn’t matter to her if she will be embarrassed before other people. She has a need — her daughter has been captured in the devil’s kingdom! — and she trusts that Jesus will be merciful to her and help her. So she will not stop praying. She is devoted to her daughter. For the sake of her beloved child’s well-being, she will bear any cost. I

t’s not uncommon for parents to do this. Parents sacrifice for their children’s wellbeing in countless ways. They will give up every comfort if it means their children will have a better life. At least, that’s the way we say it’s supposed to work. Sometimes parents sin against their children by not sacrificing for them. But often Mom and Dad want their kids to have a good education, a successful career, and — often above all, to be healthy and happy.

Yet even this is also disordered. For worldly success often supplants the pursuit of spiritual things. Other things get in the way of church. One seeks a dream job with a high salary without considering whether a faithful church is nearby. Other times, it’s like the seed in the soil full of weeds from a few weeks ago: other things just accumulate over the years — and the life of faith gets choked out.

We aren’t told how this child came to be severely demon-possessed. Canaanite worship practices included idolatry, ritual immorality, child sacrifice, sorcery, necromancy, and all kinds of demonic worship. Perhaps Satan was invited. But whatever brought this trouble upon this child, this girl’s life was without the Word of God. For it is the Word of God alone that keeps us safe from the devil and his power.

What kind of troubles did the little girl have? We aren’t told, but more importantly for us, what does demon oppression look like today? You might think of horror movies depicting people with spinning heads and wild eyes. But more often the devil’s work doesn’t look evil. He wants to keep you away from church. But he doesn’t have to say, ‘Hate God and stop going to church.’

No, it’s usually more like, ‘You don’t need to go to church because you can meet God somewhere else. The sermons and services are long; you need rest.’ Things like that. This is why the Rite of Baptism includes an exorcism — not because we think there’s a demon controlling the child — but that child is subjected to demonic influence, and we are praying for those demons to depart in Jesus’ name. In this life, evil forces surround us. They appear friendly, and they need to be driven away.

Even so, we don’t often consider this danger for us and our loved ones. Absence from God’s Word doesn’t often feel dangerous. Consider how easily we give up the Word of God and prayer. Maybe you’re too busy. Or you don’t feel very close to God or that you have the emotional strength necessary. Maybe your life mostly feels good enough. All of these are ways we give up the Word of God and prayer.

Consider what you are saying when you cease to pray. You are saying that you don’t have the need to pray. That you don’t need what God gives. But the only ones who don’t need what God gives are those who are full of pride. That’s why Jesus warns: Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak (Mark 14:38). Do you still have temptation? Do you still feel weak? Does it feel as though your faith were about to die? Then you must pray.

Still, prayer and faith are not enough. For it matters what is the object of your faith and your prayers: whom do you trust? to whom do you pray? from where do you seek help? Whatever you rely on —. Wherever you seek all strength and good things — Whatever you draw near to, this is your true god. So what kind of faith do you have? What kind of god do you draw near to for help?

Many people say they have faith in Jesus, but they don’t go to Him for help; they don’t see the need to go to church. Could it be possible to trust in Jesus as your Savior and not draw near to Him? Ask those who are married. Is it possible to be married to your spouse but without ever drawing near to one another? You can point to a certificate that says the wedding happened, but a certificate doesn’t keep your marriage alive. You must come close to one another — bodily, emotionally, spiritually. You must live out the one-flesh reality that God established in your wedding.

Just so, faith that doesn’t draw near to Jesus will not give salvation. True faith draws near to Jesus. With words. With actions. With the body. With the heart. When you love someone, you want to be near that person — in the body. You wish to be face to face. But it’s quite possible — and even quite common — for someone to draw near to Jesus physically and by the mouth, but with the heart remaining far away from Him.

Immediately before today’s Gospel — before Jesus takes this long trip out of Israel and into Canaan — that’s what Jesus said to the Pharisees. “You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me’” (Matthew 15:7-8). One comes near to his god not with words alone, but with the heart. So don’t be confused if someone tells you how much he loves Jesus while also avoiding the Lord’s Word and Sacrament and the members of His body, the Church. This kind of person might say the right words. He might act like he wants to be near God.

This can even happen while present at church. You’ve all heard how we start every Divine Service with these words from the pastor: “Let us draw near with a true heart.” Or, as it says in Hebrews (10:22) Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Is this true of you? Where is your heart? Is your heart true? If your heart is anything like mine, you see your heart is full of hypocrisy and mixed motives. It’s opposed to God’s will. It doesn’t want to draw near to God.

But don’t get the wrong idea. Approaching God with a true heart doesn’t mean approaching Him without sin. Approaching God with a true heart does not mean approaching Him deserving His gifts. Approaching God with a true heart means that you see your heart the same way that God does. That means that you agree with God. On account of your sin, you have no right to come to Him. Before God, sinners have no rights. The only way for Him to receive you is for Him to have mercy upon you. Not because you deserve His mercy, for then it would not be mercy. This means that if you dare to approach this God, you must do so both as a sinner and with the assurance of faith.