Reminiscere…Remember, O Lord, Thy Tender mercies

Lent is a time of Catechesis in the faith. If Invocabit introduced the new Christian to an important reality of the Christian life, namely, that they have an enemy who likes to parade as a friend, the second Sunday in Lent, Reminscere, introduces the newbies (and reminds the old hands) that there are plenty of times to the contrary where our dearest Friend appears to us in the guise of our enemy, as one who seemingly ignores our pleas for mercy and aid. So the Canaanite woman in the Gospel reading experienced (St. Matthew 15); but she also teaches us the way out of the trial. Luther captured this so beautifully in a sermon from 1525:

Is not this masterly? She catches Christ by means of His own words. He compares her to a dog, which she admits and she asks no more than that He let her be like a dog as He Himself judges; Whither could He turn? He was caught. No dog is denied the breadcrumbs under the table. They are its rightful share. Therefore He takes heed of her and submits to her will, so that she is no longer a dog but is become a child of Israel.

And this was written in order that we might be comforted and that it may be made manifest to us all how deeply God hides His grace from us, and that we should not judge Him according to our feeling and thinking about Him, but in accordance with His Word. For here you see that Christ, although He showed Himself hard, pronounced no final judgment by saying ‘No’ to her; but all His answers, though they sounded like ‘No’, are yet not ‘No’ but are indefinite.

Therewith is shown how our heart should stand firm in the midst of temptations, for as hard as we feel Him, so Christ feigns to be. Our heart hears and understands nothing but ‘No’ and yet it is not ‘No’. Therefore sweep your heart clean of such feelings and trust firmly in God’s Word and grasp from above or from underneath the ‘No’ the deeply hidden ‘Yes’ and hold on to it as this woman did and keep a firm belief in God’s justice. Then you have won, and caught Him in His own words. (Cited from Day by Day We Magnify Thee, p. 119)

Could we give a more profound lesson to the new (or reminder to the old) Christian? He will test you. He will appear to be worse than indifferent to you, in fact, you will be sure He’s just ignoring you. It’s okay. Hold tight to His words and promises and toss your feelings to the winds. The truth is always what His Words reveal. Hold them in your heart and never let them go, and in the end you will see His mask slip and behind the cool and heartless appearance will be Divine Love beaming upon you His shining countenance with joy! Never forget the deep and hidden “yes.”