Dearest e-votees-
People never seem to quite catch on in scripture that engaging Jesus with attempts to entrap him never end well for the engagers.
I know we would never say this so directly but I wonder how often our subconscious says things "Who gave you authority over me?"
Peace,
Karl
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23 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”
24 Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25 John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”
They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”
27 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”
28 “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’
29 “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
30 “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.
31 “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”
“The first,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
Matthew 21:23-32, NRSV
The deal seems to be that when we set ourselves in a place to judge God or to judge others we set ourselves up for failure. We are ill-equipped to judge God (duh!). We are also ill-equipped to judge our sisters and brothers made in God's likeness. We are even, perhaps most particularly, ill-equipped to judge ourselves. We are biased beyond our awareness and therefore beyond our ability to fix ourselves. We neglect the log in our own eye as we seek to judge the speck in another's eye. We are quick to allow mitigating circumstances to account for our misdeeds and thunder down judgment on others. Woe are us.
When asked by Jesus the elders and chief priests couldn't even give a straight answer to Jesus. They colluded to refuse to grant even an inch to Jesus' authority. They chose to be mute rather than perhaps yield a bit of ground.
Jesus called out their unwillingness to yield. Then he tells the story of two brothers. Both answered without being entirely truthful. One, however, compounded his flawed answer with an unwillingness to repent. All of us are sinners. All of us live in a way that is less than fully truthful. Jesus calls us to repent. Jesus calls us to change our ways. Jesus invites all in. Some seem more willing or able to accept the invitation than others.
God, help us to know ourselves as we really are and to accept your invitation to repentance. Amen.
People never seem to quite catch on in scripture that engaging Jesus with attempts to entrap him never end well for the engagers.
I know we would never say this so directly but I wonder how often our subconscious says things "Who gave you authority over me?"
Peace,
Karl
------------
23 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”
24 Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25 John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”
They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”
27 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”
28 “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’
29 “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
30 “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.
31 “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”
“The first,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
The deal seems to be that when we set ourselves in a place to judge God or to judge others we set ourselves up for failure. We are ill-equipped to judge God (duh!). We are also ill-equipped to judge our sisters and brothers made in God's likeness. We are even, perhaps most particularly, ill-equipped to judge ourselves. We are biased beyond our awareness and therefore beyond our ability to fix ourselves. We neglect the log in our own eye as we seek to judge the speck in another's eye. We are quick to allow mitigating circumstances to account for our misdeeds and thunder down judgment on others. Woe are us.
When asked by Jesus the elders and chief priests couldn't even give a straight answer to Jesus. They colluded to refuse to grant even an inch to Jesus' authority. They chose to be mute rather than perhaps yield a bit of ground.
Jesus called out their unwillingness to yield. Then he tells the story of two brothers. Both answered without being entirely truthful. One, however, compounded his flawed answer with an unwillingness to repent. All of us are sinners. All of us live in a way that is less than fully truthful. Jesus calls us to repent. Jesus calls us to change our ways. Jesus invites all in. Some seem more willing or able to accept the invitation than others.
God, help us to know ourselves as we really are and to accept your invitation to repentance. Amen.
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