1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,340 The Holy Gospel according to Matthew the 21st chapter 2 00:00:05,700 --> 00:00:11,460 And I'm gonna invite you to be seated because it's important for you to know some background before we get into this reading today 3 00:00:12,060 --> 00:00:16,460 So before this reading happens Jesus comes into Jerusalem riding on a donkey 4 00:00:16,460 --> 00:00:19,800 So that makes us think of Palm Sunday, so we know it's Holy Week 5 00:00:20,100 --> 00:00:24,240 That means Jesus is coming very close to his crucifixion and death on the cross 6 00:00:24,240 --> 00:00:28,560 And what happens before this reading what leads up to these passages? 7 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:31,200 Is Jesus is kind of pushing things in that direction 8 00:00:31,940 --> 00:00:37,080 So he comes into the temple and he overturns the tables of the money changers there 9 00:00:37,320 --> 00:00:41,320 So he upsets the system of sacrifice the religious system for that day 10 00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:47,180 And it especially notes that he overturns the seats of those who sell doves 11 00:00:48,060 --> 00:00:52,660 Who are the people that would buy doves anyone have any idea who could afford to buy doves? 12 00:00:52,660 --> 00:01:00,660 Only those experiencing the most poverty that's the only thing they could afford so when it's especially 13 00:01:01,020 --> 00:01:04,020 Mentions he overturns the seats of those who sell doves 14 00:01:04,020 --> 00:01:10,420 I think it notes that Jesus is showing special care and concern for those experiencing poverty 15 00:01:11,180 --> 00:01:19,060 So he upsets this system and the money that came into that system sometimes was was misused or exploited to support the religious leaders themselves 16 00:01:19,060 --> 00:01:23,340 So Jesus upsets that system and then he has those who are blind and lame come to him 17 00:01:23,340 --> 00:01:27,460 And he heals them and these people that weren't welcome before are suddenly welcome 18 00:01:27,460 --> 00:01:35,180 And it's outside the way that the religious system would have it work and so this upsets the religious leaders of the day 19 00:01:35,660 --> 00:01:42,500 So we get to our reading today, and they're like who gives you the authority to do these kinds of things and I think it invites us to ask 20 00:01:43,300 --> 00:01:48,020 What authority is it that we base our lives and our actions on? 21 00:01:48,020 --> 00:01:50,020 Here's a reading from Matthew chapter 21 22 00:01:52,020 --> 00:01:58,020 When Jesus entered the temple the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching and said 23 00:01:58,020 --> 00:02:03,020 By what authority are you doing these things and who gave you this authority? 24 00:02:04,020 --> 00:02:07,020 Jesus said to them I will also ask you one question 25 00:02:08,020 --> 00:02:12,020 If you tell me the answer then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things 26 00:02:13,020 --> 00:02:15,020 Did the baptism of John come from heaven? 27 00:02:15,020 --> 00:02:19,020 Or was it of human origin and they argued with one another 28 00:02:20,020 --> 00:02:23,020 We say from heaven he'll say to us then why did you not believe him? 29 00:02:24,020 --> 00:02:29,020 But if we say of human origin we are afraid of the crowd for all regard John as a prophet 30 00:02:30,020 --> 00:02:32,020 So they answered Jesus. We don't know 31 00:02:33,020 --> 00:02:37,020 And he said to them neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things 32 00:02:38,020 --> 00:02:41,020 What do you think a man had two sons? 33 00:02:41,020 --> 00:02:46,020 He went to the first and said son go and work in the vineyard today 34 00:02:46,020 --> 00:02:48,020 He answered I will not 35 00:02:48,020 --> 00:02:50,020 But later he changed his mind and went 36 00:02:51,020 --> 00:02:57,020 The father went to the second and did the same and he answered I go sir, but he did not go 37 00:02:57,020 --> 00:03:01,020 Which of the two did the will of his father? They said the first 38 00:03:02,020 --> 00:03:04,020 Jesus said to them truly I tell you 39 00:03:04,020 --> 00:03:09,020 The tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of the Lord 40 00:03:09,020 --> 00:03:12,020 The tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you 41 00:03:13,020 --> 00:03:17,020 For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him 42 00:03:17,020 --> 00:03:20,020 But the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him 43 00:03:20,020 --> 00:03:25,020 And even after you saw it you did not change your minds and believe him 44 00:03:25,020 --> 00:03:27,020 The gospel of the Lord 45 00:03:30,020 --> 00:03:36,020 So we have this question of authority by what authority is Jesus doing these things and who gave it to him 46 00:03:36,020 --> 00:03:40,020 Jesus pointed out that authority can only ever be given 47 00:03:40,020 --> 00:03:45,020 Some people get authority because some people higher up have given it to them like a boss 48 00:03:45,020 --> 00:03:51,020 Others get authority because people allow or give them authority over them 49 00:03:51,020 --> 00:03:57,020 It invites us to ask what kinds of things do we allow to have authority in our lives? 50 00:03:57,020 --> 00:04:01,020 What things do we allow to have authority that maybe don't deserve it? 51 00:04:01,020 --> 00:04:04,020 The religious leaders find authority in their traditions 52 00:04:04,020 --> 00:04:07,020 They also find authority in a system that keeps on benefiting them 53 00:04:07,020 --> 00:04:12,020 Like why would they want it to change? They're benefiting from the authority they have 54 00:04:12,020 --> 00:04:15,020 Biblical scholar Emerson Powery 55 00:04:15,020 --> 00:04:23,020 He talked about Jesus' parable and he noted that the son who is most expected to understand and do God's will 56 00:04:23,020 --> 00:04:26,020 It's relating to the religious leadership 57 00:04:26,020 --> 00:04:30,020 The ones who are most versed in the scriptures who most should understand God's will 58 00:04:30,020 --> 00:04:32,020 They don't get it 59 00:04:32,020 --> 00:04:35,020 They fail to see God's work in Jesus 60 00:04:35,020 --> 00:04:40,020 While the son least expected to understand and do God's will 61 00:04:40,020 --> 00:04:45,020 He says that is the one most culturally despised by the rest of us 62 00:04:45,020 --> 00:04:51,020 That one acknowledges God's work in John the Baptist and in Jesus Christ 63 00:04:51,020 --> 00:04:58,020 Another scholar notes that this week we see more clearly how Jesus' ministry of transformation 64 00:04:58,020 --> 00:05:03,020 offends those with a vested interest in keeping the status quo 65 00:05:03,020 --> 00:05:10,020 That Jesus' ministry of transformation most offends those who are most interested in keeping things the way they are 66 00:05:10,020 --> 00:05:15,020 I think that invites us to think about today are there places where we don't want systems to change 67 00:05:15,020 --> 00:05:21,020 or we don't want things to change because we are benefiting from how they are now 68 00:05:21,020 --> 00:05:24,020 It's something to think about 69 00:05:24,020 --> 00:05:28,020 I remember several years ago reading an article about someone who was a part of a church 70 00:05:28,020 --> 00:05:30,020 and he shared this in the article 71 00:05:30,020 --> 00:05:38,020 He was a part of a church and he got really upset at how his church was welcoming a certain group of people into their community 72 00:05:38,020 --> 00:05:42,020 He was really upset by this because he didn't think his church should be welcoming them 73 00:05:42,020 --> 00:05:45,020 And so he went to his pastor and he complained about it 74 00:05:45,020 --> 00:05:51,020 And his pastor invited him to go home and to read the gospels and to pay special attention 75 00:05:51,020 --> 00:05:57,020 To what does Jesus do? Where does Jesus go? With whom does Jesus spend his time? 76 00:05:57,020 --> 00:05:59,020 And the man actually went home and he did that 77 00:05:59,020 --> 00:06:01,020 He read the gospels 78 00:06:01,020 --> 00:06:05,020 He paid attention to everything that Jesus said and did and he came back 79 00:06:05,020 --> 00:06:07,020 And he was completely changed 80 00:06:07,020 --> 00:06:11,020 He said he realized that his church was walking in the way of Jesus Christ 81 00:06:11,020 --> 00:06:14,020 They were welcoming people as Jesus would 82 00:06:14,020 --> 00:06:17,020 And then he joined in that ministry 83 00:06:17,020 --> 00:06:21,020 That is living not with the authority of our own assumptions in our lives 84 00:06:21,020 --> 00:06:25,020 But that's living with the authority of Jesus Christ 85 00:06:25,020 --> 00:06:28,020 There are times when I've heard people say 86 00:06:28,020 --> 00:06:33,020 Talk about like what the Bible would say or what they know Jesus would stand for 87 00:06:33,020 --> 00:06:37,020 And they clearly haven't found that in the Bible or read that in the gospels 88 00:06:37,020 --> 00:06:44,020 And perhaps unsurprisingly what they say Jesus stands for seems remarkably like what they want to stand for 89 00:06:44,020 --> 00:06:47,020 And the thing is we all do this at times 90 00:06:47,020 --> 00:06:53,020 Instead we want our lives and our actions to be shaped humbly by following Jesus 91 00:06:53,020 --> 00:07:00,020 It invites us to ask what is it that really is shaping our life and our faith? 92 00:07:00,020 --> 00:07:03,020 Is it the authority we give to ourselves? 93 00:07:03,020 --> 00:07:07,020 Do our politics, and I'm talking to everyone on all ends of the spectrum 94 00:07:07,020 --> 00:07:13,020 Do our politics or our own assumptions end up shaping our faith and our belief? 95 00:07:13,020 --> 00:07:18,020 Or does our faith in Jesus shape how we live out our politics? 96 00:07:18,020 --> 00:07:23,020 Does our faith rewrite some of the assumptions that we have? 97 00:07:23,020 --> 00:07:27,020 If our faith never rewrites some of the assumptions we have 98 00:07:27,020 --> 00:07:31,020 Then we may need to go back and listen humbly for Jesus 99 00:07:31,020 --> 00:07:33,020 And I'm talking to myself as well 100 00:07:33,020 --> 00:07:38,020 Because Jesus' word is constantly working on us and working in us 101 00:07:38,020 --> 00:07:41,020 So that we can see things in a new way 102 00:07:41,020 --> 00:07:46,020 We can say what we believe, but if we don't live it 103 00:07:46,020 --> 00:07:51,020 That might not be what we're actually believing 104 00:07:51,020 --> 00:07:53,020 I think about our mission statement 105 00:07:53,020 --> 00:07:57,020 Thank God, share Jesus, help others 106 00:07:57,020 --> 00:07:59,020 Does our church fully live that? 107 00:07:59,020 --> 00:08:01,020 I think there's definitely ways we do 108 00:08:01,020 --> 00:08:03,020 How about us as individuals? 109 00:08:03,020 --> 00:08:04,020 Are we living that? 110 00:08:04,020 --> 00:08:10,020 Because the church isn't just coming here to this building whenever we come here 111 00:08:10,020 --> 00:08:13,020 But we are the church every time we leave here 112 00:08:13,020 --> 00:08:18,020 And in our day-to-day lives are we thanking God, sharing Jesus, helping others? 113 00:08:18,020 --> 00:08:23,020 If we aren't living that out, it might just be nice words that we say 114 00:08:23,020 --> 00:08:28,020 So again, what things do we give authority over our lives? 115 00:08:28,020 --> 00:08:32,020 If we change directions a little bit, a different way that we give things authority 116 00:08:32,020 --> 00:08:38,020 There was a writer for the New York Times who once wrote about going through a traumatic event in his life 117 00:08:38,020 --> 00:08:42,020 He was seven years old and I think something happened to a family member 118 00:08:42,020 --> 00:08:44,020 And he was angry 119 00:08:44,020 --> 00:08:50,020 When he was 20, 13 years later, he decided he was going to enact revenge 120 00:08:50,020 --> 00:08:55,020 And on his way to enacting revenge for what happened to him 121 00:08:55,020 --> 00:08:59,020 He all of a sudden thought to himself, what are you doing? 122 00:08:59,020 --> 00:09:02,020 You can't keep living your life this way 123 00:09:02,020 --> 00:09:06,020 Yes, this has been bad, but you deserve to live in spite of it 124 00:09:06,020 --> 00:09:13,020 You have a life and you can't give this thing so much power over that life 125 00:09:13,020 --> 00:09:16,020 That it takes that life away 126 00:09:16,020 --> 00:09:19,020 What he realized after 13 years had passed 127 00:09:19,020 --> 00:09:25,020 Was that he kept giving this event this authority over his life and his future 128 00:09:25,020 --> 00:09:30,020 The future was open and it could be shaped in a new way 129 00:09:30,020 --> 00:09:34,020 God calls and invites us into that new future 130 00:09:34,020 --> 00:09:40,020 One that doesn't have to be shaped by our assumptions about other people or about how we think things should work 131 00:09:40,020 --> 00:09:45,020 It doesn't have to be shaped by our regrets or our resentments of the past 132 00:09:45,020 --> 00:09:52,020 But a future shaped by our baptismal identity as children of God and Jesus Christ 133 00:09:52,020 --> 00:09:55,020 Martin Luther, for whom our Lutheran church gets its name 134 00:09:55,020 --> 00:09:58,020 He used to struggle with various things 135 00:09:58,020 --> 00:10:01,020 And when he was going through a particularly difficult time 136 00:10:01,020 --> 00:10:04,020 When he was overcome with worry and doubt 137 00:10:04,020 --> 00:10:08,020 He would yell out to himself, I am baptized 138 00:10:08,020 --> 00:10:14,020 His assurance in that time, the thing that had authority over his life and his future 139 00:10:14,020 --> 00:10:17,020 Was not his past mistakes or past failings 140 00:10:17,020 --> 00:10:21,020 It wasn't words that others said about him, even those in power 141 00:10:21,020 --> 00:10:26,020 But the authority in that instant over his life was Jesus Christ 142 00:10:26,020 --> 00:10:31,020 Who God had claimed him to be as his child of God in his baptism 143 00:10:31,020 --> 00:10:35,020 Something that Jude and Sadie are going to experience later today 144 00:10:35,020 --> 00:10:39,020 What is it that really shapes us? 145 00:10:39,020 --> 00:10:43,020 What assumptions are we each clinging to? 146 00:10:43,020 --> 00:10:47,020 Maybe it's assumptions about others or how life should be 147 00:10:47,020 --> 00:10:52,020 Where might the Holy Spirit be working to help us understand things in a new way? 148 00:10:52,020 --> 00:10:56,020 Or to be more fully shaped by Jesus? 149 00:10:56,020 --> 00:11:03,020 Or think of the thing that you most regret or resent from the past 150 00:11:03,020 --> 00:11:07,020 If that one thing no longer weighed on you 151 00:11:07,020 --> 00:11:09,020 If it didn't keep hanging over you 152 00:11:09,020 --> 00:11:12,020 What would you or what could you do? 153 00:11:12,020 --> 00:11:16,020 Freed from that one thing, what would life be like? 154 00:11:16,020 --> 00:11:20,020 And sometimes we also need God's help through a counselor or through a life coach 155 00:11:20,020 --> 00:11:24,020 To help us get through that, to be freed from that thing 156 00:11:24,020 --> 00:11:30,020 But in the end, no level of brokenness or hurt has to shape our future 157 00:11:30,020 --> 00:11:36,020 But only our God who calls us to new life again and again and again 158 00:11:36,020 --> 00:11:42,020 In the end, what is it that's worthy of having authority in our lives and of our future? 159 00:11:42,020 --> 00:11:45,020 We know it's Jesus, Jesus alone 160 00:11:45,020 --> 00:11:50,020 Who overturned the tables of the money changers to show that there's a different way 161 00:11:50,020 --> 00:11:54,020 Jesus who died at the hands of his enemies praying for them 162 00:11:54,020 --> 00:11:57,020 Instead of igniting holy revenge on them 163 00:11:57,020 --> 00:12:02,020 Jesus whom God raised from the dead that even death could not defeat him 164 00:12:02,020 --> 00:12:10,020 Jesus who promises that our worth, our life, our future is certainly in God's care 165 00:12:10,020 --> 00:12:15,020 May that authority be what defines us and shapes our lives and our actions 166 00:12:15,020 --> 00:12:43,020 Today and every single day ahead. Amen.