Patience and Humility for the Sake of One's Child

This sermon, preached on Mother's Day, explores the story of the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:21-28, who came to Jesus with persistence and humility to seek healing for her demon-possessed daughter. Although she was a foreigner from a land of idol worship, she resolved to seek the Messiah because of her love for her child. A mother's love is one of the most powerful emotions in human experience, for a child is truly part of the mother's own body—a sacred bond that cannot be completely severed even with time.

The woman faced four deliberate obstacles as she sought Jesus. First, Jesus appeared indifferent and did not answer her plea, even though she cried out: "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Yet she continued to follow Him. Second came the disciples' ridicule and rejection, telling Jesus to send her away because she was making too much noise. Despite this public humiliation, she did not give up her dignity but persisted in her petition. Third was Jesus' direct refusal: "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." Hearing this, she actually drew closer to Jesus to plead with Him further. Fourth and finally came what seemed like an insult: "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs." Yet despite being compared to a dog, she responded with humility and wisdom: "Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table."

Patience and humility (nhẫn nhục) means enduring hurtful things others cause, words of shame and reproach, while still keeping one's heart free from anger and thoughts of revenge. This is an easy concept to articulate but extremely difficult to practice. The degree of patience we can exercise depends entirely on the degree of love we have for someone or something. The Canaanite mother exercised patience because her love for her daughter surpassed her own honor, dignity, and pride. True love is sacrificial love that gives up all personal rights for the sake of the beloved, willing even to sacrifice one's own life if necessary. It was this mother's persistence, humility, and sacrificial love that prompted Jesus to praise her: "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

The sermon emphasizes the responsibility of parents to model faith through faithful worship and service to God. If parents worship idols or live without genuine faith, their children will certainly be influenced and suffer the consequences: "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge." Examples like Mary (mother of John Mark), Lois (Timothy's grandmother), and Eunice (Timothy's mother) left a legacy of faith to the next generation. The sacrificial love displayed by the Canaanite mother serves as a model of unconditional sacrifice and also reflects the incomparable patience of Jesus Christ, who bore countless indignities and died on the cross because of His immeasurable love for sinful humanity.

The sermon concludes with practical application: children should be patient with and care for their aging parents, just as parents bore with their children through many years from infancy to adulthood. Finally, the sermon calls all people to come to Jesus Christ, the One who demonstrated boundless patience and humility out of love for mankind.