Matthew 15:21-28 – the account of the Syro-Phoenician woman interacting with Jesus
In my mother tongue we have a proverb – “a child is its mother”. I just wish I could translate it better to communicate the depth of this saying. Bottom line the child belongs to the mother in life and in death, in good times and in bad times, through thick and thin; a mother would debase herself, do anything so long as her child benefits as a result.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, 4 who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
A couple of years ago (2011) I had my second miscarriage. To say that I was devastated is an understatement: I was a wreck, emotionally and physically. I had fought so hard to keep that baby and still lost. Walked in the hospital pregnant, left unpregnant (is that even an English word) and without a child ???
Dear Son, Dear Brother
A promise is a debt, so this is me paying the debt of love.
Dear son, dear brother, I thank God for you. Unlike our dear sisters, wife, wife to be, future wife and dear mothers you both have a different and higher kind of direct model to follow: Jesus Christ – who is both fully man and fully God.
A lot has been written about Him in the Gospel, but there is a portion of scripture that summarizes Him in a very personal way that I think would serve for our consideration this morning.
Source: www.dayspring.com
Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit, do not despise prophesying, but test everything; hold fast what is good, abstain from every form of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5: 16-22)
O God of all creation, fill our hearts with thanksgiving. This is the last line of the Kenyan National Anthem, the beautiful prayer that we sing many a times without paying much attention to the words therein. The glory of Kenya, the fruit of our labour fill every heart with thanksgiving. Are our hearts as Kenyans filled with thanksgiving? Are we rejoicing always? Are we praying constantly?
Are we holding fast to what is good? Are we quenching the Spirit? Are we despising prophesy? Are we holding fast to what is good? Are we abstaining every from of evil?
It’s reflection time Kenyans, especially those of the household of faith. As we sing the Kenya National Anthem, let us never forget that we are praying to our God, the God of all creation. And every line we utter, every word in this anthem is directed to Him. He hears, He answers and may He fill our hearts with thanksgiving in all circumstances.
Prayer:
O God of all creation, thank you for the land of Kenya. Thank you for the people of Kenya. Thank you for the heritage of Kenya. Thank you Father for your mercy and kindness that you have continued to show to us despite our continued failure, outright disobedience and distancing from you. Father, have mercy on us and in that mercy through your Son Jesus Christ draw us back to Yourself. In Jesus Name, Amen!
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. (Colossians 3:12-14)
O God of all creation, help us to rise up with one accord in common bond united. Our common bond is love, it binds everything together in perfect harmony. Love gels the different members of the Body of Christ regardless of the tribe, gender, race, age, language or even physical features. That is why we are encouraged in Colossians that above all the virtues described above, we are to put on love.
Love binds us together, love keep us together. Therefore when we sing the Kenya National Anthem and arrive at this line, we should not wander in the darkness looking for the ‘common bond’. It is love, it will always be love. And love is exemplified in God giving His Only Begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. Love reads as sacrifice, it reads laying down one’s selfish ambition, one’s self, one’s desire for another. Let us rise up in one accord, united in the common bond of love.
Prayer:
O God of all creation, let us all in one accord with the common bond of love stand. Father, thank you for the greatest gift of all your dear Son Jesus Christ. In giving Him you have taught us what is love, the virtue of love that is above all virtues and is the common bond that unites us. Father, fill our hearts with love, Your love – Your selfless, sacrificial giving kind of love. and let that love be and become our common bond. In Jesus Name, Amen!
Image Source: 123rf.com
May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 15:5-6)
O God of all creation, help us to all be in one accord. The ‘Kiondo’ is one work of art that is well known by Kenyans regardless of their tribe or geographical location. Different tribes have their own unique style of the ‘Kiondo’. One the most outstanding elements of the ‘Kiondo’ is how the cords – be they leather, sisal, plastic bag or woolen strings – come together in one accord to form a beautiful piece of art. These cords are strung tight in cords together and their unity produces the ‘Kiondo’ – on their own each of the cords would really not be called a ‘Kiondo’.
When we sing the Kenya National Anthem and shout aloud the clarion call ‘let all with one accord’ we are still in prayer. It is only God who can bring us into one accord, we cannot possibly be able to do it on our own. And this accord is only found in Christ Jesus, Him who died for us to reconcile us to God. In Him we are united, in Him we stand in one accord: especially when we partake in the Lord’s table, as we eat the bread and drink the wine, we are one! Important to never forget, the one accord for the ultimate glory of God the Father.
Prayer:
O God of all creation, thank you for making a way for us to be in one accord – the gift of your Son Jesus Christ. Who through His life, death and resurrection has made a way to you Father and a way to bring us all as your children into one accord. Father, help your children, especially in this nation of Kenya to be in one accord as you desire. In Jesus Name, Amen
Be watchful, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love. (1 Corinthians 16:13-14)
O God of all creation, help us to stand firm and defend our homeland of Kenya, this very heritage of splendour that you have graciously given unto us.
Standing firm in defense of our homeland and the heritage of splendour is not about war using weapons of mass destruction no! It is a war fought God’s way: through obedience and prayer, that’s the spirit of the Kenya National Anthem. We must stand firm and defend the values passed down to us of godliness. The values of truth, the place of God’s Word and obedience to that Word. We stand firm and defend trough love. By loving our God with all our hearts, mind and strength, loving our neighbors as ourselves and loving our enemies and doing good to those who hate and hurt us.
We stand and defend our homeland of Kenya and the heritage of splendour by standing on Christ the Solid Rock! By choosing to walk on the path of holiness, by choosing not to bow down to the gods of this age – the god of money, pleasure, sex, fame, entertainment – and bowing down to the Only One and True God, YHWH! This calls for courage and strength, because standing firm in faith is not a walk in the park; especially in the present age. But be of courage and good cheer, God has overcome the world!
Prayer:
O God of all creation, thank you for gift of our homeland of Kenya. Our heritage of splendour. Help us to stand firm and defend it. Help us to stand firm for truth and right. Help us to study your Word and obey it even in the face of great opposition and danger. Help us to shine your light in a dark world by walking in love. In Jesus Name, Amen!
For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. (Deuteronomy 8:7-10)
O God of all creation, thank you for our homeland of Kenya which is a heritage of splendour indeed! Our homeland is a heritage that God gave each and every one of us who are privileged to call this beautiful nation home. And like to the children of Israel who were also given a land of splendour by God, the call to us is to be grateful for this gift: Not to become satisfied by its fruit that we forget God the creator who gave it to us.
One just has to travel around the beatiful nation of Kenya or even look at photos or videos of the scenaries, mountains, valleys, wildlife, animals and people and you will definitely agree with the words of the Kenya National Anthem: our homeland is a heritage of splendour. Just a few years ago, half a decade and a couple of years, our land had been taken away from us by the colonialist. Our forefathers, the freedom fighters, fought to bring us back into the ownership of this land. We must at all times treasure our heritage: not just the land but the values of patriotism (peace, love and unity), hard work, fear of God and hospitality. Above all we must be thankful to God for it and for them all.
Prayer:
O God of all creation, thank you for our homeland of Kenya. This very heritage of splendour that you generously gave to us. Thank you. Help us to remain grateful for this gift and to daily show our gratitude in how we preserve the land and the godly values passed down to us from generations past. In Jesus Name, Amen
You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. (John 13:13-15)
O God of all creation, you who humbled yourself and become man, become obedient unto death even death on a cross, let service be our earnest endeavor. Jesus set the bar quite high and low at the same time when He stepped down from glory into the earth. The act of washing His disciples feet was a practical example of what His entire humanity was all about. He lowered Himself to the form of a slave and by that elevated service as an acceptable form of worship.
The Kenya National Anthem includes a prayer and indeed a clarion call that after we have arisen one and all, with hearts both strong and true we will set about into service – earnestly so. Earnest endeavor brings about the imagery of persistent, conscious and joyful pursuit of something: in this case service. To serve is lower oneself and in the same breathe elevate another. It is to daily, moment by moment live like Jesus, follow His example: Live the Jesus way.
Prayer:
O God of all creation, let service be our earnest endeavor. Help us to daily, moment by moment chose service. Help us to be very conscious about the decisions we make as we interact with others that service will be our code of honor. In Jesus Name, Amen!
When our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had frustrated their plan, we all returned to the wall, each to his work. From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail; and the leaders stood behind all the house of Judah, who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were laden in such a way that each with one hand labored on the work and with the other held his weapon. And each of the builders had his sword girded at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me. And I said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and widely spread, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another. In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.” (Nehemiah 4:15-20)
O God of all creation help the people of the nation of Kenya to arise one and all, with their hearts both strong and true. Arising is one thing, to continue standing in the face of adversity and opposition is another. That is why we ask for hearts both strong and true. We ask for resolve, commitment, focus and absolute abandon to the task ahead.
The people rebuilding the wall were faced with immense opposition, but they did not stop building. They re-strategised, to keep safe and continue building: Strong heart. True heart is a result of our relationship with God. He who is the foundation of our faith, He to whom we pray every time we sing the Kenya National Anthem: “The Way, the Truth, and the Life”. Our hearts have to be both strong and true if we are going to arise and keep arisen – one and all.
Prayer:
O God of all creation, give us strong and true hearts. Hearts that are wholly dependent and obedient to you. Hearts that will stand in the face of opposition, pressure and adversity. Hearts that seek to honor you in all things: hearts both strong and true. In Jesus Name, Amen!