the 11th sunday after pentecost
the PRAYER. . .
God of all peoples, your arms reach out to embrace all those who call upon you. Teach us as disciples of your Son to love the world with compassion and constancy, that your name may be known throughout the earth, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
the READING. . .
[Jesus] answered [the Canaanite woman], “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
the DEVOTION. . .
A dog dies. A few years later, the dog’s human dies. The next we see them, they’re walking down a road together. After a while, a wall off to one side blocks their view. They walk up to a gatehouse through the wall. A man with a clipboard comes out to greet them. “Hello!” “Hi! Wondered if we could get something to drink.” “Sure! Go on in! Water’s to your right.” “Can my dog come in, too?” “Sorry.” The man points with the clipboard to a sign. “No pets.” The man looks at his dog, scratches his chin, turns away. The two continue down the road.
At the top of another hill, a dirt road heads off across a field. There’s a tree beside the road, a man sitting under it. “Morning! Wondered if we could get something to drink?” “Be my guest,” said the man. “There’s the pump! Take as much as you need! And be sure to get some for your dog! There’s a bowl by the pump.” When they have their fill, the man and his dog walk back to the tree. “Thanks! Needed that! Hey, where are we, anyway?” “Heaven!” “But I thought that other place was heaven!” “Nah. That’s hell,” the man said. “They screen folks, for us, though. Keep all the ones who’d leave their dogs.“
“It’s not fair,” Jesus said, “to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs!” The woman responded, “Yes, but even puppies eat the crumbs that fall from the table.”
Bob Barndt, pastor