A number of questions hang in the air with these texts. What
is authority? How do we judge it? Do words or actions matter more? What is the “mind
of Christ”? How could we ever hope to have such a mind ourselves?
Lest the preacher get trapped by the impossibility of
answering these questions adequately, let us all concentrate on the promise of
God’s active presence among us. In that promise lies the final answer to all the
questions that have no solution.
Matthew 21:23-32
The leaders’ question [to Jesus] about
authority is not unreasonable. . . However, the real question. . . is not about
[Jesus’] credentials but about the inability of the leaders to trust God’s Word
when it appears. They rejected John’s call to repentance. They now reject
Jesus. Jesus then tells this parable, which is unique to Matthew.
The heart of the matter is whether
talk or actions are what really matter. Certainly, Jesus aligns the leaders who
confront him with the son who agreed and then did not act. The tax collectors,
sinners, and other riffraff. . . are aligned with the son who said no, but then
acted anyway. As the leaders of the Temple answer with the obvious answer, they
indict themselves and—here is the key to the question of authority—show
themselves to be without authority to ask the question of Jesus in the first
place.
. . . The good news here, and in
all the passages, is that God is indeed acting in our midst to call us to new
life. . . –– Timothy V. Olson
Ezekiel 18:1-4,
25-32
The exiles have fallen into a
hopeless acceptance of exile as punishment for Israel’s past sins. The prophet
will have none of it. In the form of a legal debate, Ezekiel challenges any
feelings of unfairness the people may have toward God. Punishment is a
consequence of rebellion.
Ezekiel also will not let them
wallow in hopelessness. Despite the length of time spent on punishment in the
chapter, it all drives to the redemptive word at the end. Repentance is
possible because God does not desire punishment or death. God is a god of life
and calls the people to turn and live. –– Timothy V. Olson
Philippians 2:1-13
While this passage is a highly
Christological reading with the cross firmly planted in the middle as we read
it every year in Lent, the current liturgical setting allows us to see the
communal concerns perhaps a little more fully. The overall concern of the
passage is unity and faithfulness.
Verses 1–4 use an “if, then”
structure to lift up some marks of living a life in Christ that a community of
disciples should bear. Consolation, compassion, encouragement, unity, humility
and self-sacrifice are to be manifest if Christ is present in Spirit, and love
is what guides the community.
Paul then uses the Christological
hymn in 5–11 to show the way that this is possible. What is tricky here is how
to translate verse 5. Some translations make this a call to conformity or
imitation. Others make it out to be an openness to God’s work at empowering us
to follow. The first puts the burden upon the faithful, the latter on the work
of the Spirit. Either approach is a legitimate rendering of the Greek. However,
if the argument is to square with verse 13, “it is God who is at work in you,
enabling you...” and 1:6, where Paul assures that God will complete the work
begun in the Philippian community, one might choose the latter reading. This
does not create a passive submission, however; these are still people on the
journey of faith, capable of resistance and rejection. –– Timothy V. Olson
Timothy V. Olson is the Lead
Pastor for Mission and Vision at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Ankeny, Iowa.
Homily Service 38, no. 10 (2005): 47-56.
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