Sermon by Pastor Ken Pfitzner - 16 August, 2026 [The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost]
‘God’s Mercy Breaks Through All Boundaries to Bring Forgiveness and Healing for Everyone’
Bible Readings for Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost:
Isaiah 56:1,6-8 God’s covenant with his people will also include foreigners
Romans 11:1,2a,29-32 God’s plan is for both Jews & Gentiles to belong to his family, because his mercy is for all people
Matthew 15:10-28 Jesus breaks through boundaries that divide people so that ‘outsiders' can also receive God’s mercy, cleansing and healing
Text for message: Matthew 15:10-28
10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. 11 What goes into a person’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean;’ rather, what comes out of it makes him ‘unclean.’”
12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”
13 He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots, 14 so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.”
15 But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.”
16 “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. 17 “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a person ‘unclean.’ 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are what make a person ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands doesn’t make a person ‘unclean.’”
21 Jesus left that place and went off to the territory near the cities of Tyre and Sidon. 22A Canaanite woman who lived in that region came to him. “Son of David!” she cried out. “Have mercy on me, sir! My daughter has a demon and is in a terrible condition.”
23 But Jesus did not say a word to her. His disciples came to him and begged him, “Send her away! She is following us and making all this noise!”
24 Then Jesus replied, “I have been sent only to the lost sheep of the people of Israel.”
25 At this the woman came and fell at his feet. “Help me, sir!” she said.
26 Jesus answered, “It isn’t right to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”
27 “That’s true, sir,” she answered; “but even the dogs eat the leftovers that fall from their masters’ table.”
28 So Jesus answered her, “You are a woman of great faith! What you want will be done for you.” And at that very moment her daughter was healed.
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Sermon theme: “How does Jesus judge what’s clean and what’s not clean?”
We’re often concerned about cleanliness – and we’re urged to maintain what should be normal practices for good health and hygiene. So we wash our hands and our clothes. We use disinfectants to kill germs. We take measures to avoid flus and to help stop the spread of viruses. Health regulations set a range of standards for safety with food preparations.
Well, the religious people of Jesus’ day were very particular about cleanliness – as part of their religious rituals. They insisted on certain regulations for washing and cleansing – not only for their hands, but also for bowls and dishes . . . and what foods you could-and-couldn’t eat.
All this was part of the religious rituals they thought would keep them in good standing with God.
But Jesus wasn’t concerned about a person’s outer cleanliness. Instead, in today’s Gospel reading, He points out:
“It is not what people put into their mouths that makes them unclean. It is what comes out of their mouths that makes them ‘unclean.’ . . . the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a person 'unclean.'” And then He gives some very clear examples: “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These things make people 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make them 'unclean.'”
So, “How does Jesus judge what’s clean and what’s not clean?”
He looks at the heart . . . the will, the mind – what and who we are inside. And what’s in our hearts and minds is revealed by our words and actions. They show whether we’re really ‘clean’ or not! That’s why years ago your mother might have warned you about the language you used – and threatened to wash your mouth out with soap! God knows we’re all born with unclean-ness in our hearts. It’s the disease of sin and selfishness in our very fibre and DNA – inherited, original sin, that we can never get rid of! That’s why all sorts of acts and attitudes spill out of us – and spread all over other people . . . just like when you sneeze and cough with the flu! In the end, this sinfulness brings about our death! So how can we ever escape this . . . and be put right with God!?
God Himself tells us that, in His mercy, He spares us from getting what we deserve! For through Jesus, He came to rescue us from the disease of our sin! That’s what Jesus’ death on the cross on Good Friday and His victory over death at Easter were all about. And through the gift of baptism, He brings us the washing of His forgiveness, gained for us through Jesus’ death and resurrection. Because Jesus has taken all our guilt on to Himself, God now sees us as ‘clean’! . . . and by the power of His Holy Spirit, He makes each of us a ‘new creation’! . . . and gives you and me a clean heart, a new mind, and loving attitudes. In this ongoing process, God’s Spirit transforms us so that His love and goodness overflow from within us.
Then, in the second part of today’s Gospel reading, we also see the actions of Jesus towards people who were regarded as ‘unclean.’ What Jesus does stands in stark contrast to the religious people of His day.
The Pharisees insisted on external rituals and cleansing as being essential before God, . . . and as a guarantee of their cleanliness before God. And if people didn’t observe these religious rules and traditions, they were excluded. Those who didn’t meet the required standards, or ignore the regulations, or came from a different background, were rejected as ‘unclean’ and treated as ‘outsiders.’
But here we see Jesus breaking through those barriers! He accepts an ‘unclean’ woman . . . ‘unclean’ at least, as far as the religious leaders were concerned . . . ‘unclean’ because she was a Canaanite – one of Israel’s old enemies who were deeply involved in pagan worship. This woman definitely was an ‘outsider’!
Yet Jesus lets her experience the mercy of God. He finally responds to her persistent shouting to Him for help. And the dialogue she has with Jesus, shows she believes she can come to Jesus and expect Him to help her! – and she can receive God’s mercy . . . even if only the crumbs!
Jesus’ own disciples had trouble accepting this. They, too, judged her as an ‘outsider’. . . ‘unclean’ – and wanted Jesus to get rid of her, . . . to send her away, and exclude her!
But as Jesus sees her great persistence, He heals her daughter from the severe demonic hold on her . . . and commends this woman’s great faith in Him! Jesus moved the emphasis from being exclusive to being inclusive. He shows us that God’s mercy and help is for everyone!
The Pharisees believed that touching an unclean person polluted the one who touched them. But when Jesus touched a diseased person, such as a leper, Jesus didn’t become contaminated – instead, the leper became clean! When an immoral woman washed Jesus’ feet, she went way forgiven and transformed! When Jesus defied custom and entered a pagan’s house to heal his servant, healing took place! Jesus went out of His way to extend the realm of God’s mercy to everyone!
So how does Jesus judge who’s clean and who’s not?
He sees the heart and inner needs of a person . . . the emptiness and longing of someone who desperately calls out to God for ‘mercy’ and ‘help.’ In the end, Jesus doesn’t turn that person away but enfolds him or her in God’s mercy!
Our calling and mission, as His people and Church here, is to reach out to others with His mercy, not condemnation. Every person needs God’s healing and hope, and the cleansing that only Jesus can give . . . that same grace He keeps lavishing on you and me!! The apostle Paul reminds us:
“There is no difference between Jew and Gentile – the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”
What a deep and lasting comfort that is . . . as we see the awful sufferings in our world, and people gripped with unimaginable pain and grief and fear. And as we keep pleading, “Lord, have mercy,” we trust that He will answer the needs of suffering people in His own way!
Today, Jesus teaches us that ‘being clean’ isn’t based on outer cleanliness - or on what others may think of us – but having a heart made clean through the mercy and forgiveness of Jesus.
Even as Jesus looks at our hearts, thank God, there’s no limit to His mercy! . . .
Prayer: “Create a clean heart in me, O God, and put your Spirit within me. Amen.
Video attached
Video attached
Sermon delivered by Vicar Paul Ridley at Tabor, on the 7th Sunday after Easter service, 17th May 2026
John 17:1-11 – “Living Vine, Certain Hope”
As attached.