Godparents. Crumbs to the Dogs. From Where Did God Come?
by the Rev. Walter Snyder

Q: What is the role of the godparent in today's church? Is it just meant to be a symbolic honor,
or does the godparent really do something?

A: Anyone asked to sponsor a child and become a godparent should feel honored. And as your
question implies, there are some who consider being a godparent a one-time thing or, at most, a
reminder to buy presents annually. I've heard of some parents who pick baptismal sponsors based
upon what gifts they might provide the child. These things are not the original intent of godparents.
In the early days of the Christian church, adults and children both had sponsors, who would pray for
the newly baptized and help to mentor and model the faith. In the case of children, sponsors would
assume the role of parent if the natural parents died. Otherwise, the promises they made to continue
a child's religious education often couldn't be kept if the child went to non-Christian family
members.

While it is rare that orphaned children today are taken into godparents' homes to be raised, there are
still some who make promises they intend to keep concerning the long-term Christian education and
the eternal welfare of those they sponsor. This is aided when pastors explain the serious nature of the
promises and commitments, when parents choose accordingly, and when the godparents seriously
desire to do what they are asked and what they promise to do.

Our Lutheran baptismal rite asks the sponsors to pray for the child and promise to help in his or her
Christian education, especially if something happens to the parents. I encourage all godparents to
take this seriously. Some do; some don't. If it's only going to be a symbolic honor, especially if the
people don't believe the same way as our church teaches, I ask that they stand up as witnesses to the
baptism and not make promises they are not ready to keep or promise to help teach in a way they
don't believe.

Q: In Mark 7:24--30, a woman wants Jesus to heal her daughter who was possessed by a
demon. He tells her, "First let the children eat all they want, for it is not right to take the
children's bread and toss it to their dogs." She replies with, "Yes Lord, but even the dogs under
the table eat the children's crumbs." Then Jesus says, "For such a reply, you many go; the
demon has left your daughter." And of course, it had. What does this parable mean? I don't
understand about the children and the dogs and how that pertains to the woman's faith, or
anything for that matter.

A: This isn't a parable, although Jesus speaks to the woman in a roundabout way. What he is doing is
proving the woman's faith by first answering with what she may well have expected from a Jewish
man receiving such a request from a Gentile woman. Yet she persists, showing both a deep love for
her daughter and a strong belief that this Man can help, if he chooses to do so. She acknowledges
that Israel was God's chosen people in her reply but also shows that even those who are not of the
Covenant people still receive their blessings from the Lord. Even the "crumbs" that come from God
are better than great gifts from this earth and its inhabitants.

So what Jesus basically did was compare Israel, the children of Abraham and thus God's chosen
children, with the others who surrounded them (the "dogs"). And this "dog" then showed greater
belief than did many in Israel---a belief that met with earthly reward as Jesus cast out the daughter's
demon. Perhaps it was only a divine "crumb," but it was a rich banquet for the woman 
starving for an answer to her prayers.

Q: Going through the Bible, I wonder, "Who created God?" On the first page it says, "In the
beginning, God created." But what happened before? Things do not just come to exist; is there
someone else? Have you ever wondered this or is it just I?

A: Many people wonder this at some time or another. However, you finally must settle on one
conclusion among three possibilities: Everything has been going on forever; everything came into
being from absolute nothing; or else there is Someone behind everything---an uncreated Creator---
who has always been. Since I believe in the God of the Bible, I believe that He is the One who has
always been.

To Ask the Pastor, please write Ask the Pastor, PO Box 12, Emma, MO, 65327 or send email to
askthepastor@aol.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book
"What Do Lutherans Believe."

Ask the Pastor is copyright (c) 2001 by Walter P. Snyder. It may be reproduced  in totality,
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