Matthew 15:21-28 on August 16th, 2026
Above is audio of the sermon pulled from the video and amplified.
Below is transcript pulled from the video and formatted by artificial intelligence. There may be inconsistencies or errors.
Tags:
Welcome and Inclusion: A Sermon on Christ's Love for All
It's always my joy to be able to greet you on behalf of your brothers and sisters across the South Carolina Synod. I want to thank Pastor Jason for sharing his pulpit and all of you for your warm welcome to me. It's a delight to be here. I read on your website that you say, "come as you are, it's the beach." And I thought, that's a pretty exciting statement. But especially when you said we love to make friends. You are my friends and I'm glad to be yours. Thank you for having me.
Bow your heads with me in prayer. Oh Lord, we thank you for your word and for your invitation to the table to join in your mission of welcome. Open our hearts to your teaching and help us to open our hearts to one another in your name. Amen.
The Disorientation of the Unfamiliar
So as we begin this morning, I'd like to ask you to imagine a time when you needed to go to a new place. Perhaps for an appointment, for an errand, going to a place you had never been before. Got that? Can you remember how disorienting it feels to go into a new place, trying to navigate a new setting or figure out where to go or what you're doing? How intimidating it can feel when we don't know where things are or exactly where we're supposed to go. Unless or until we become familiar, that is family-like, new experiences, new places, new people can cause us to wonder if we belong. If we have a place at the table, so to speak, I'd like to share with you a personal story, a reflection from my history in church.
A Lesson in Welcome
The whole time that I was growing up, my family and I went to the same Lutheran church and we were there all the time. It was very familiar and very comfortable. I never wondered where my place was. I always knew I was welcomed and all of my friends felt exactly the same way. But one ordinary Sunday morning when I was a teenager, I got a lesson in what welcome really looks like, a lesson that I will never forget.
You see, after Sunday school, I slipped into the pew with my friends just like I did every other Sunday morning. The patterns were familiar. People were chattering and greeting each other hello just before the service started. Announcements about worship and the week ahead went smoothly. The liturgy flowed. Faithful readings of scripture were completed. Then we all had the opportunity to settle into our pew and wait for the sermon. It was all familiar and comfortable. The sermon was about the grace and the love of Christ. As far as I can recall, it was a fine message.
But about midway through the service, through this message, something suddenly changed in our quiet meditative worship time. Into our ordinary little Lutheran church gathering walked a stranger we had never seen before. She strolled down the path that we call the center aisle and she came all the way up to the front. The sermon came to life that day in a way that none of us could have ever imagined. The whole experience left an indelible mark on our lives and on my heart.
The Bold Stranger
This outsider was late for worship. She was so late in fact that the greeters and the usher had already settled into their back pew and they were intently listening to the sermon like the rest of the congregation. So she slipped past them. And halfway up the aisle before they knew what was happening, she sauntered in with not a single indication that she knew she was a stranger here. An outsider. Much less that she was late for worship or that she was interrupting the pastor's sermon.
This woman was bold. She had a big sack on her shoulder, a big purse, and she greeted people as she walked up the aisle. "Well, hi, how are you today? Hello, good to see you. What are you doing?" She was so loud and she seemed oblivious to the fact that the pastor was actually speaking. She shuffled people around so she could get in the pew that she wanted and when she finally sat down she started pulling things out of her purse to make herself more comfortable. She turned around several times to talk to the people behind her and you can only imagine what that was like. She even made small talk with the pastor who at this point had stopped preaching, trying to see if everything was settled down.
None of us knew what was happening or what to expect but she definitely had our attention. The little ordinary Sunday worship was turned upside down. Everyone at that time was speechless by the experience but we knew that the experience would provide us with lots to talk about at lunch. She had caused a commotion.
Grace in Action
Now everyone but this woman could feel the suspended tension in the church. It was uncomfortable to be honest, strange, disorienting. Whispers started to rise like buzzing bees swarming on a summer night. And then just when we thought all hope was lost for order and the opportunity to grasp the point of the sermon, one member stood up from one side of the church and she went and sat down right beside the woman on the other side of the church. She tapped her hand and she whispered something in her ear and then she guided her through the rest of the service.
My friends, the grace and love of God, the call into Christian community came to life that Sunday morning in a new and profound way. The word became flesh and action for a bold stranger and for an entire congregation of subdued and respectable Lutherans. And it left an indelible mark on our lives and on my heart. It illustrated one way that real inclusion and welcome in Jesus' name can look when it is put into action.
The Gospel of Inclusion
Our gospel for today introduces us to another bold woman and another lesson of inclusion and most significantly, the bold love of our Lord who crosses every barrier to welcome each one of us. This woman is also a stranger and outsider, a Canaanite in need of help. Bold enough to push her way through the gathered believers. Bold enough to chatter with Jesus as he talks about his mission to the lost sheep of Israel. And then these two have a little debate about food for the dogs or so it seems.
The disciples have encouraged Jesus and her away. She is just being disruptive. She's an outsider and the disciples were uncomfortable with that. She is disorienting to those around her and there doesn't seem to be a place for her. Jesus is moved by her faith and by her persistence. And Jesus crosses the barrier from coming just for the lost sheep of the house of Israel to welcoming all, including the Gentiles. In his movement to include, he begins with the healing of her daughter. We get a picture once again of God's inclusive and gracious love coming to life right before our eyes.
Christ's overflowing compassion demonstrates God's love is not just for some insiders but for all of God's children. The good news in Christ for us is that God's love includes insiders and outsiders alike. God's love includes each one of us.
Christ's Church is for Everyone
Now we come together to worship Jesus, to learn from his teaching and to walk as closely as we can in faith. Maybe, maybe it's only human that sometimes we expect Jesus to be our special friend and no one else's special friend. But the gospel is so clear that Christ's church is for everyone.
This community includes insiders that are here every time the door is open. Who is that out there? Every time the door is open. Yes, you probably have a key to the church. But this community, meaning the community of Christ's church even beyond this wall, is also for those without a key. Who are just trying to find an open door or someone who will open it for them.
Celebrating Your Ministry
You know, I'm so happy to be here. I've told Pastor Jason several times this morning. It really matters to me. The last time I was here, you were on sabbatical. And the church looked vastly different. You were preparing for this renovation. And I wanted so desperately to be here in January when you dedicated it. But you know, the storm had a different plan in mind. So I wanted to come and be sure to be with you and to see this glorious site. And this is absolutely stunning. It's beautiful. I know that the Holy Spirit is going to bless generations to come here. And I celebrate with you the openness, the lighting, the windows, the opportunity to gather in this holy and sacred space.
In your renovations, you reoriented your space. But what I celebrate with you even more so is your mission and your vision and the way that comes to life in your ministry, which re-orients people's lives towards Christ Jesus. I love your mission statement: "To expand God's table for all in spirit, song, and service." What a great mission to have.
Stories of Welcome
I love the stories from the people of St. Phillips that bring to life the impact of the gospel. I was particularly moved by Percedas Rivera Mendez's story of worshiping with you online and feeling some kind of a connection. A strong enough connection for her to take the risk and come in person to worship. And I love the truth that she speaks because I resonate with it quite well when she says that she pulled into the parking lot and then she didn't know where she was supposed to go or how to get in.
As Pastor shared with you, I traveled to a lot of different congregations all the time. And I know this is going to surprise you, but I rarely know how to get into a church. It's disorienting to be a newcomer, an outsider, a stranger in a new place. But the story that Perceda tells is that the good news showed up in the form of a couple who noticed somehow her discomfort when she sat in her car. And they went to her car to introduce themselves and to show her the way in.
My friends, that is true welcome. She says in her story, "This is a place where the welcome of Christ shows up in real people and in real moments and as simple as a greeting in the parking lot." That is simply beautiful and a great testimony to your ministry. I thank you for sharing the gospel and for being Christ's good news in this community. Thank you for expanding the table to include all of God's beloved.
A Living Gospel
The gospel of Jesus Christ helps us to understand that we are all outsiders separated by sin and yet made into insiders, reconciled by Christ so that we can recognize the people of Christ. And we can reconcile ourselves to one another. May God continue to bless your ministry so that you can continue to be a living gospel that makes an indelible mark on the lives of God's children. That continues to look for the ways to include others and welcome them warmly. And that makes memories that will shape the lives and the faith of all the generations to come. In Jesus' name. Amen.