Friday, September 26, 2014

Lectionary 26 A - Matthew 21:23-32

Matthew 21:23-32
During his last week in Jerusalem Jesus flips the tables of the temple money changers and turns the tables on the chief priests. He is one tricky Messiah and I imagine he smiled when he asked the elders about John the Baptist knowing full well the trap he was setting. Of course they will have the last laugh on the Friday we call “Good” but then maybe their answer “we don’t know” leads Jesus to forgive them for not knowing what they do (Luke 23:34) even though the Gospel of Matthew believes they knew exactly what they were doing. “Let his blood be on us and on our children.” (Matthew 27:25) The story of the two sons that follows the Q&A might be read as the cliff notes of the more well-known “son” story. (Luke 15) In the same way that the son who ran away comes home the unwilling son becomes obedient. And the stay at home son who says “yes” hits the snooze and sleeps in when it’s time to work. The bottom line is those who were out are in and those who were in are out but only so far as they continue to resist the One whose authority is a higher power.

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