At the beginning of the service I asked the question, “People of God, why are you here?” And you responded, “We have come to give thanks to God. We do not go to church. We are the church.” I picked that up from the Master of Sacred Theology thesis by my colleague, the Rev. Johanna Rehbaum. She, in turn, got it from someone else. It may seem like a cute little question, but it gets at a deeper point. Why are you here? There are probably as many answers as there are people here. But it is worth asking.
It has become a common belief in our culture that all religions are just different branches of the same tree. Additionally, it is a common belief that you can be a moral person without Christianity; in fact, without any religion at all. Atheists can quite easily be highly moral people.
There’s also a widespread belief that when you die you pretty much automatically go to heaven. The qualifications for going to heaven are that you were a good person and lived a good life.
So, if all of those things are effectively true, then we need truly ask ourselves, why are we here? What’s the point of it all? Indeed, the majority of people in this nation today will not think one thought about the resurrection of Jesus or Christianity at all. It’s just a secular holiday of baskets filled with candy, egg hunts, and a brunch with your family.
It is not my place to judge who goes to heaven or how you get there. That is God’s work and God’s business. I won’t pretend to know. But what I do know is that our society’s understanding of all of these things are simply wrong.
Why are you here? Because you know that there is much more going on than morality or every good person being rewarded for their good behavior by God and given eternal life.
It is Easter Sunday. We are celebrating the resurrection. You can’t get to the resurrection of Jesus without him first dying. If you can simply be a moral person on your own, and if good morality gets you to heaven, then what was the whole point of the crucifixion? I’ve never actually seen it, but I understand that in the 1960s a newspaper comic was created depicting Jesus on the cross. The caption read, “If I’m okay and you’re okay then what am I doing hanging up here?”
That’s an important realization. It also gets at why you are here today.
There is something much deeper than morality at work here. For indeed, an atheist can easily be a highly moral person. The deeper thing is the nature of evil.
Evil is not something that polite people talk about. The idea of evil is not a socially acceptable one. That is one of evil’s greatest tricks – to convince people that it doesn’t even exist. We prefer saying things like someone is acting out of ignorance, or someone is being motivated by fear. We would not call it evil. Or we define evil as some deeply and profoundly insanely immoral act. But all of this is wrong.
Evil has no problem with morality. In fact, evil loves highly moral people. Evil also loves people who are good. They fall into evil’s hands very easily. Evil loves it when people think, “I can be good and moral without Christianity, and without any religion at all.” Evil says, “Why waste your time going to worship on Easter? Wouldn’t it be time better spent relaxing, or doing something entertaining, or spending the whole day with your family. Or even better yet, why not spend Easter doing a community service project? That would be truly good indeed!”
Yes, evil loves good morals. Evil easily convinces people that morals are an end unto themselves. Evil easily convinces people that goodness is an end unto itself, and that it is the fundamental quality God is looking for in humanity.
You see, evil’s real intention is to convince you that you can live a good, virtuous, perfectly fulfilled life all on your own. That was the basic trick that we find in the Garden of Eden stories when the serpent says, “God knows that when you eat of the [forbidden fruit] your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
It is a very clever promise of fulfillment.
The truth is that we are not okay. The truth is that we all fall into evil’s traps. We are quite ready to believe that we can be our own selves apart from God. We let possessions, and earthly security, and social status become the places where we turn for fulfillment. Ironically, as we think we are free to do to as we choose and be our own selves (as long as that self doesn’t appear to hurt anybody) we actually become slaves to evil. That slavery might take the form of greed and destruction and death. There evil is obvious. Evil doesn’t care about that. But what is far more often, and what evil really likes, is a life of good morals; but brokenness from God the creator. I am certain that far more death, hurting, and destruction happens in this world in the name of good morals than by overt evil.
Easter is a grand holiday celebrating Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. But you cannot get to Easter without going through Good Friday. Evil leads to death. On Good Friday God conquers the power of evil by innocently accepting a horrific death. In so doing, God breaks evil’s grip. Evil is caught a bind of its own creating. And only God can do it. For we are too sinful, too apt to turn somewhere other than God for trust.
Today we read the Easter scene from Matthew’s gospel. It is almost comic in several regards. How strange is it to have soldiers guarding the tomb of a dead man so that the dead man’s followers, all of whom fled at his arrest, do not somehow find courage and come back and steal the corpse? And how strange is it that when the angel descends these guards – fully alive – Matthew tells us they are so afraid they become like dead men. Isn’t it funny that the men outside are dead and the man inside is not dead? Meanwhile the two women who have come to the tomb to mourn are indeed afraid, but not that afraid.
But the women are also in for a surprise. Isn’t it surprising that Matthew depicts the angel rolling back the stone and the women see that that tomb is empty? Is Jesus a ghost? But then where is the body?
The women follow the angel’s instructions and they go and tell the disciples that Jesus will meet them in Galilee. Along the way they encounter the resurrected Jesus. His first word to them is “Greetings!” It’s not a grand pronouncement or profound. It’s like a playful “Good morning!”
But then there’s Galilee itself? Why would Jesus meet the disciples in Galilee? Well, that’s where Jesus’ ministry began, so it makes sense to wrap things up there. But why would God choose to work in an uneducated, unimportant, unsophisticated place like Galilee in the first place?
These are all fun twists and turns. But in the midst of them there is a subtle thing. Unfortunately, it usually gets lost in translation. The angel’s words to the women are, “I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for he was raised.” Do you note the subtle difference? In Greek the crucifixion is in the perfect tense. The resurrection is the simple past tense. What that means is that while the resurrection is an event in the past, the ongoing reality, even on Easter, is that Jesus is the crucified one.
Why are you here? Because, whether you’re conscious of it or not, you know that you are a sinner. You know the power and subtlety of evil, which tells you that you can be a good and moral person without faith; and that all good people go to heaven.
It is our recognition of the power of evil that we see defeated by God in the crucifixion that then draws us authentically to God. We desire God’s love. We want God’s acceptance. We want the wholeness of being that only comes from God. We know that everything else is a lie.
Then resurrection becomes a miracle. Only when we recognize that God made us whole right from the beginning, and that God always holds us securely in that wholeness even when we wander off or fail, that we can truly love God.
Could eternal life really be all that good if you’ve spent your whole earthly life trying to discover yourself apart from God? Could eternal life really be any good at all if it is just perpetual self-determination? Can you really enjoy a resurrected life and not crave being loved by the one who created you in the first place? For if you exist and are not loved securely and absolutely then it sounds more like hell than heaven.
People of God, why are you here? Because we are sinners who easily fall into evil’s traps. But we know that our all-powerful and all-loving God has suffered death so as to defeat evil at its own game. And in so doing show us love. It is anticipation of that eternal love that we can truly rejoice and live in freedom.
Monday, April 6, 2026
April 5, 2026 Easter 6:00 Worship Matthew 28:1-10
It is early in the morning and we are probably still more asleep than awake. For the 10:30 service I have created, what I hope, is a deeply profound and inspiring sermon. But even if it does turn out to be that, at this point in the morning we are not ready for deeply profound. Let’s have a bit of fun instead. The resurrection story that Matthew tells us in his gospel is both deeply profound and also light hearted, if not even a bit silly.
Imagine yourself in the role of one of the soldiers tasked with guarding Jesus’ tomb. Would you consider it to be a cake job? After all, what could possibly happen? This man Jesus came from Galilee (of all places), along with a rag tag bunch of uncultured uneducated hicks, in order to celebrate the Passover holiday. Apparently Jesus got a bit miffed when he arrived and caused a stir in the temple. He continued to stir the pot until the authorities felt that he had to go in order to keep the peace. But Jesus kept slipping out of their hands. That is, he kept slipping out of their hands until one of his closest disciples decided to sell him out. From there Jesus was arrested, and could have been left go. However, Jesus stuck to some delusions about being the Son of God and so he was put on trial and executed. When his closest and most devoted followers saw that they all fled. This idea that they might somehow suddenly find some courage and come back and steal the body is silly.
But maybe you would have been offended to be asked to guard the tomb of Jesus. If I were a ranking soldier in charge of security assignments you can bet I wouldn’t put my best men in charge of Jesus’ tomb. What could possibly happen? As I just described, the threat is insignificant. I’d put my lowest and least soldiers on the job. So perhaps the guards felt insulted by the assignment.
So you guard the tomb knowing full well nothing would happen. Then just as the day is dawning two women who were followers of Jesus came to mourn at the tomb. Of course who cares about these women? They are no threat. They cannot overpower an armed guard! They only dare to be there because they know there is no threat to them for doing so. Whereas a man might be called a co-criminal and also arrested, women were of such low status that they didn’t matter. The two women come and you scoff at them for their sentimentality and mistaken devotion.
Then things take an unexpected turn. There is an earthquake as an bright shining angel descends from the sky and rolls back the stone. You’ve probably heard me say many times that it is not accurate to depict angels as sweet little cherubs with wings and harps. As the Bible describes them angels are fearsome warriors. They cause absolute terror in all who encounter them.
You’re so scared by the presence of the angel that you start shaking uncontrollably. Our gospel reading makes the funny observation, “for fear of [the angel] the guards shook and became like dead men.” Ha, so much for your bravery!
How conscious the guards are isn’t clear, but the story takes a bizarre twist. The angel rolls the stone back and the tomb is empty. How could that be? One dead corpse was placed in the tomb. The tomb was sealed with a massive stone. Now, the stone is rolled back and there is no body! Where did it go? What happened to it?
You as a guard are probably more afraid than ever. It was common in those days for jailers to be held so responsible for keeping their prisoners contained that if a prisoner escaped the jailor would be executed. It was a sure way to prevent corruption in prison guards.
Now what about this case? What is going to happen to you when you let the prisoner escape on your watch? Or even more embarrassing, you were charged with guarding a dead guy… and despite being dead he managed to escape! What’s your commanding officer going to think?
Even if somehow you are not punished for your failure, how are you ever going to live it down that you were so inept at guard duty that you couldn’t keep a dead guy from getting out of his tomb?
Next week in worship we’re going to learn what happens to those guards so we’ll leave them in that predicament for the moment. We’ll turn to the other playful twists in the story.
These simply lowly women followers of Jesus are certainly terrified by the angel but they don’t shake uncontrollably. Let’s be clear, this is not about women being braver than men. It’s subtle, but Matthew’s Greek text makes it clear that it is God who caused the uncontrollable fear in the guards. Meanwhile God does not cause such fear in the women. They will be the witnesses of the empty tomb who will carry the message of the resurrection to the disciples.
There is an odd thing in the angel’s instructions. He tells the women to tell the disciples that Jesus has left and that they will meet him in Galilee. Why Galilee of all places? The obvious answer is that Galilee is where Jesus began his public ministry and where they all came from. But why would God choose to do any work in Galilee at all? Galilee was no place. Nothing significant ever happened there. No one important came from there. Perhaps we could say that the Town of Victor is an important place. Oh, to be sure it does not play a major role in national history and it isn’t on the news, but it does have a high end shopping mall, a great school district, nice neighborhoods, many fine homes, some excellent golf courses, and many things to offer. Whether Victor gets national attention or not, it is still a place of significance. How about the Town of Galen, New York? Is that anywhere? Do you even know where Galen is? The heart of Galen is the Village of Clyde. But who cares about it? So what? There’s no shopping, no culture. The schools are probably adequate but nothing special. If the Town of Victor is ‘somewhere’ then the Town of Galen is ‘nowhere.’ It would be as if Jesus decided to begin his ministry in Galen. And now after the resurrection he’s going to meet his disciples there again.
God works in mysterious and unpredictable ways. Burly soldiers outside a tomb are scared to the point of being like dead men. A stone is rolled back and instead of a corpse we find the tomb empty. Women are tasked with heading to the middle of nowhere to begin the world-changing ministry of Christianity.
And with one more playful twist, the women meet the resurrected Jesus on their way to meet the disciples. They are able to touch him. They take hold of his feet. He is no ghost. Exactly how he, a solid body, got out of that stone-sealed tomb is a mystery.
Even Jesus greeting to these women is playful. He does not start off with some grand theological proclamation. He simply says, “Greetings!” Or it could be translated as, “Hi!” Or, “Good morning!” It’s playful. It’s familiar. It’s the way friends would causally greet each other. Jesus repeats to the women what the angel said – tell the disciples to meet him in Galilee.
The resurrection of Jesus turns many things on its head. It’s playful, warm, and perhaps even a little silly. I imagine Matthew smiling as he wrote it.
We too are reminded that the task of following the resurrected Jesus will involve playfulness, warmth, and even some silliness. Oh sure, there are plenty of hardships. Many things will not go well. Many things will have to be endured. But it is not all serious somber work. It is God’s delight to invite us to be his messengers. Though we may not be told to travel to Galilee to meet the resurrected Jesus, we are sent out to let others know of God’s resurrection triumph. Death is defeated. It is not the end. So the true celebration can now begin.
Imagine yourself in the role of one of the soldiers tasked with guarding Jesus’ tomb. Would you consider it to be a cake job? After all, what could possibly happen? This man Jesus came from Galilee (of all places), along with a rag tag bunch of uncultured uneducated hicks, in order to celebrate the Passover holiday. Apparently Jesus got a bit miffed when he arrived and caused a stir in the temple. He continued to stir the pot until the authorities felt that he had to go in order to keep the peace. But Jesus kept slipping out of their hands. That is, he kept slipping out of their hands until one of his closest disciples decided to sell him out. From there Jesus was arrested, and could have been left go. However, Jesus stuck to some delusions about being the Son of God and so he was put on trial and executed. When his closest and most devoted followers saw that they all fled. This idea that they might somehow suddenly find some courage and come back and steal the body is silly.
But maybe you would have been offended to be asked to guard the tomb of Jesus. If I were a ranking soldier in charge of security assignments you can bet I wouldn’t put my best men in charge of Jesus’ tomb. What could possibly happen? As I just described, the threat is insignificant. I’d put my lowest and least soldiers on the job. So perhaps the guards felt insulted by the assignment.
So you guard the tomb knowing full well nothing would happen. Then just as the day is dawning two women who were followers of Jesus came to mourn at the tomb. Of course who cares about these women? They are no threat. They cannot overpower an armed guard! They only dare to be there because they know there is no threat to them for doing so. Whereas a man might be called a co-criminal and also arrested, women were of such low status that they didn’t matter. The two women come and you scoff at them for their sentimentality and mistaken devotion.
Then things take an unexpected turn. There is an earthquake as an bright shining angel descends from the sky and rolls back the stone. You’ve probably heard me say many times that it is not accurate to depict angels as sweet little cherubs with wings and harps. As the Bible describes them angels are fearsome warriors. They cause absolute terror in all who encounter them.
You’re so scared by the presence of the angel that you start shaking uncontrollably. Our gospel reading makes the funny observation, “for fear of [the angel] the guards shook and became like dead men.” Ha, so much for your bravery!
How conscious the guards are isn’t clear, but the story takes a bizarre twist. The angel rolls the stone back and the tomb is empty. How could that be? One dead corpse was placed in the tomb. The tomb was sealed with a massive stone. Now, the stone is rolled back and there is no body! Where did it go? What happened to it?
You as a guard are probably more afraid than ever. It was common in those days for jailers to be held so responsible for keeping their prisoners contained that if a prisoner escaped the jailor would be executed. It was a sure way to prevent corruption in prison guards.
Now what about this case? What is going to happen to you when you let the prisoner escape on your watch? Or even more embarrassing, you were charged with guarding a dead guy… and despite being dead he managed to escape! What’s your commanding officer going to think?
Even if somehow you are not punished for your failure, how are you ever going to live it down that you were so inept at guard duty that you couldn’t keep a dead guy from getting out of his tomb?
Next week in worship we’re going to learn what happens to those guards so we’ll leave them in that predicament for the moment. We’ll turn to the other playful twists in the story.
These simply lowly women followers of Jesus are certainly terrified by the angel but they don’t shake uncontrollably. Let’s be clear, this is not about women being braver than men. It’s subtle, but Matthew’s Greek text makes it clear that it is God who caused the uncontrollable fear in the guards. Meanwhile God does not cause such fear in the women. They will be the witnesses of the empty tomb who will carry the message of the resurrection to the disciples.
There is an odd thing in the angel’s instructions. He tells the women to tell the disciples that Jesus has left and that they will meet him in Galilee. Why Galilee of all places? The obvious answer is that Galilee is where Jesus began his public ministry and where they all came from. But why would God choose to do any work in Galilee at all? Galilee was no place. Nothing significant ever happened there. No one important came from there. Perhaps we could say that the Town of Victor is an important place. Oh, to be sure it does not play a major role in national history and it isn’t on the news, but it does have a high end shopping mall, a great school district, nice neighborhoods, many fine homes, some excellent golf courses, and many things to offer. Whether Victor gets national attention or not, it is still a place of significance. How about the Town of Galen, New York? Is that anywhere? Do you even know where Galen is? The heart of Galen is the Village of Clyde. But who cares about it? So what? There’s no shopping, no culture. The schools are probably adequate but nothing special. If the Town of Victor is ‘somewhere’ then the Town of Galen is ‘nowhere.’ It would be as if Jesus decided to begin his ministry in Galen. And now after the resurrection he’s going to meet his disciples there again.
God works in mysterious and unpredictable ways. Burly soldiers outside a tomb are scared to the point of being like dead men. A stone is rolled back and instead of a corpse we find the tomb empty. Women are tasked with heading to the middle of nowhere to begin the world-changing ministry of Christianity.
And with one more playful twist, the women meet the resurrected Jesus on their way to meet the disciples. They are able to touch him. They take hold of his feet. He is no ghost. Exactly how he, a solid body, got out of that stone-sealed tomb is a mystery.
Even Jesus greeting to these women is playful. He does not start off with some grand theological proclamation. He simply says, “Greetings!” Or it could be translated as, “Hi!” Or, “Good morning!” It’s playful. It’s familiar. It’s the way friends would causally greet each other. Jesus repeats to the women what the angel said – tell the disciples to meet him in Galilee.
The resurrection of Jesus turns many things on its head. It’s playful, warm, and perhaps even a little silly. I imagine Matthew smiling as he wrote it.
We too are reminded that the task of following the resurrected Jesus will involve playfulness, warmth, and even some silliness. Oh sure, there are plenty of hardships. Many things will not go well. Many things will have to be endured. But it is not all serious somber work. It is God’s delight to invite us to be his messengers. Though we may not be told to travel to Galilee to meet the resurrected Jesus, we are sent out to let others know of God’s resurrection triumph. Death is defeated. It is not the end. So the true celebration can now begin.
April 3, 2026 Good Friday Matthew 27
You may or may not be familiar with what is called, “self determination theory.” Whether you’re familiar with it or not, the title is pretty self-explanatory. It is the psychological study of what gives a person’s life a sense of purpose and meaning. There are three main tenants. One, is the idea of autonomy. You have freedom to do and to choose as you wish. Two, is the idea of competence. You develop skills and become good at something. Being good at something gives you a sense of value. And three is relationships. None of us lives as an individual. We all rely upon others and the society at large. If no one likes us, or said differently – if everyone hates us – it impacts our sense of self. We want to fit in. We want to have friends. Having a supportive community around us sends us the message that we are likeable and good.
Self determination theory can be helpful for human resource departments, and mid-level managers who are interested in making sure employees feel like they are valued and being treated well. You can easily imagine that you’ll work more faithfully and diligently for an employer who helps you to feel good about yourself than you would for an employer who makes you feel like you are a disposable commodity who is to be used up and then discarded.
In the hands of a competent and caring manager self determination theory can help him or her assign tasks based upon what they know will be most meaningful to any given employee or team.
Self determination theory can also be seen as a tool to help youth and young adults plot out a course for their lives that will be fulfilling. It can help them match their innate abilities with society’s needs in a way that everyone benefits.
A problem with self determination theory is that it leaves no place for God. Or perhaps I should say that it would consider God and religion as just one of many factors that should be considered in giving a person a meaningful life. The idea would be that if religious beliefs and practices help to fulfill you then you should be allowed to have them without judgment. But similarly, if you do not find religion helpful for self determination, then you should be free to not do it and feel no social pressure for your self-fulfilling choices.
Self determination theory runs into catastrophic problems if you look at it from the point of view of Christian theology. Consider the Bible’s storyline. In Genesis chapter 1 we find a creation story. God creates the universe in six days and puts it in order. All is well. In Genesis chapter 2 we find a different creation story. God creates a garden and puts a man and woman in it. All is well.
In Genesis chapter 3 we find that the man and woman make history’s first experiment of self determination theory. They decide they can find self fulfillment on their own terms.
Consider this. There are 1189 chapters in the Bible. Things are going well for humanity for the first two chapters. The remaining 1187 chapters are all about what a hopeless mess humans are! Every time we put self determination theory into practice we make a mess of things!
Consider the Good Friday stories about Jesus from the point of view of self determination theory.
Remember that one of the tenants of self determination theory is relationships. Well, Jesus’ twelve closest followers all desert him when he is arrested. One of them, Judas, actually sold him out for cash! The Jewish leaders don’t want him. They determine he should be put to death. They hand him over to Pilate. Pilate, the government authority, questions Jesus but Jesus gives no answer. Pilate decides to let the crowds determine Jesus’ fate. He gives them the choice between Barabbas and Jesus. The crowds choose Barabbas. So Jesus is rejected by them as well. The soldiers mock Jesus and beat him. Jesus is getting no fuzzy relationship feelings there. Certainly the soldiers who nailed him to the cross were against him. And then, according to Matthew’s gospel, even the two criminals crucified with him also taught him. Jesus can’t even find relationship among the criminal element.
Jesus will get nothing in the way of relationships for self determination theory.
How about the competence of Jesus? What was he good at? Shouldn’t you find fulfillment by doing what you are good at? Jesus can preach, he can heal, he can perform miracles, he can bring people back to life. Yet he does none of those things in his own self-interest. Jesus will get nothing by exercising his competence for self determination theory.
Then the third tenant of self determination theory, autonomy. Can Jesus not do what he wants? Does he not have the power to do as he wants, to chart his own destiny according to his own desires for prosperity and longevity? Do you not find self fulfillment by doing what you want in life?
Remember what Jesus says when he is arrested at Gethsemane? One of his disciples takes out a sword and cuts off the ear of the high priest’s slave. Jesus says, “Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” And then he says something very interesting, “Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will send me more than twelve legions of angels?” Twelve legions of angels would be an army of 72,000. At the time of Jesus that would probably have been bigger than the entire Roman army. Rome could have thrown all of its might against Jesus, and if Jesus had wished to exercise his autonomy he could have commanded forces to destroy them all.
Jesus will gets nothing for exercising his autonomy from self determination theory.
What is going on with this? It’s it absolutely ironic that the exact thing our society, our culture, and our psychological experts say is the path to self-fulfillment is entirely opposite what Jesus does and what our faith teaches?
This is one of the deep mysteries of our faith.
Here is the key. I do not want to overtly condemn self determination theory. I do not want to suggest people will find fulfillment by being miserable and friendless. But in and of itself it is a path to death and destruction; not only of the self but of society as a whole. We have too many people running around consuming far too much and accomplishing nothing but being exhausted and wasteful.
And ultimately, self determination theory cannot lead to resurrection.
Jesus did the exact opposite of self determination theory for our sake and out of love for us. Jesus knows how tempting that theory’s tenants are for our lives. He knows that we will fall into its traps. And while he does not condemn it outright, he reminds us that it is not an end unto itself.
Love of God, and knowing that God alone creates us, loves us, and values us is what makes us fully alive.
So let us not be afraid to die to the ways of this world so as to ultimately live the promise of the resurrection.
Self determination theory can be helpful for human resource departments, and mid-level managers who are interested in making sure employees feel like they are valued and being treated well. You can easily imagine that you’ll work more faithfully and diligently for an employer who helps you to feel good about yourself than you would for an employer who makes you feel like you are a disposable commodity who is to be used up and then discarded.
In the hands of a competent and caring manager self determination theory can help him or her assign tasks based upon what they know will be most meaningful to any given employee or team.
Self determination theory can also be seen as a tool to help youth and young adults plot out a course for their lives that will be fulfilling. It can help them match their innate abilities with society’s needs in a way that everyone benefits.
A problem with self determination theory is that it leaves no place for God. Or perhaps I should say that it would consider God and religion as just one of many factors that should be considered in giving a person a meaningful life. The idea would be that if religious beliefs and practices help to fulfill you then you should be allowed to have them without judgment. But similarly, if you do not find religion helpful for self determination, then you should be free to not do it and feel no social pressure for your self-fulfilling choices.
Self determination theory runs into catastrophic problems if you look at it from the point of view of Christian theology. Consider the Bible’s storyline. In Genesis chapter 1 we find a creation story. God creates the universe in six days and puts it in order. All is well. In Genesis chapter 2 we find a different creation story. God creates a garden and puts a man and woman in it. All is well.
In Genesis chapter 3 we find that the man and woman make history’s first experiment of self determination theory. They decide they can find self fulfillment on their own terms.
Consider this. There are 1189 chapters in the Bible. Things are going well for humanity for the first two chapters. The remaining 1187 chapters are all about what a hopeless mess humans are! Every time we put self determination theory into practice we make a mess of things!
Consider the Good Friday stories about Jesus from the point of view of self determination theory.
Remember that one of the tenants of self determination theory is relationships. Well, Jesus’ twelve closest followers all desert him when he is arrested. One of them, Judas, actually sold him out for cash! The Jewish leaders don’t want him. They determine he should be put to death. They hand him over to Pilate. Pilate, the government authority, questions Jesus but Jesus gives no answer. Pilate decides to let the crowds determine Jesus’ fate. He gives them the choice between Barabbas and Jesus. The crowds choose Barabbas. So Jesus is rejected by them as well. The soldiers mock Jesus and beat him. Jesus is getting no fuzzy relationship feelings there. Certainly the soldiers who nailed him to the cross were against him. And then, according to Matthew’s gospel, even the two criminals crucified with him also taught him. Jesus can’t even find relationship among the criminal element.
Jesus will get nothing in the way of relationships for self determination theory.
How about the competence of Jesus? What was he good at? Shouldn’t you find fulfillment by doing what you are good at? Jesus can preach, he can heal, he can perform miracles, he can bring people back to life. Yet he does none of those things in his own self-interest. Jesus will get nothing by exercising his competence for self determination theory.
Then the third tenant of self determination theory, autonomy. Can Jesus not do what he wants? Does he not have the power to do as he wants, to chart his own destiny according to his own desires for prosperity and longevity? Do you not find self fulfillment by doing what you want in life?
Remember what Jesus says when he is arrested at Gethsemane? One of his disciples takes out a sword and cuts off the ear of the high priest’s slave. Jesus says, “Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” And then he says something very interesting, “Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will send me more than twelve legions of angels?” Twelve legions of angels would be an army of 72,000. At the time of Jesus that would probably have been bigger than the entire Roman army. Rome could have thrown all of its might against Jesus, and if Jesus had wished to exercise his autonomy he could have commanded forces to destroy them all.
Jesus will gets nothing for exercising his autonomy from self determination theory.
What is going on with this? It’s it absolutely ironic that the exact thing our society, our culture, and our psychological experts say is the path to self-fulfillment is entirely opposite what Jesus does and what our faith teaches?
This is one of the deep mysteries of our faith.
Here is the key. I do not want to overtly condemn self determination theory. I do not want to suggest people will find fulfillment by being miserable and friendless. But in and of itself it is a path to death and destruction; not only of the self but of society as a whole. We have too many people running around consuming far too much and accomplishing nothing but being exhausted and wasteful.
And ultimately, self determination theory cannot lead to resurrection.
Jesus did the exact opposite of self determination theory for our sake and out of love for us. Jesus knows how tempting that theory’s tenants are for our lives. He knows that we will fall into its traps. And while he does not condemn it outright, he reminds us that it is not an end unto itself.
Love of God, and knowing that God alone creates us, loves us, and values us is what makes us fully alive.
So let us not be afraid to die to the ways of this world so as to ultimately live the promise of the resurrection.
Monday, March 30, 2026
March 29, 2026 Palm Sunday – God’s Plan Matthew 21:1-17
There is a strange little detail in Matthew’s account of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. I point it out every time we read this part of Matthew’s gospel, but it’s very easy to overlook. It bears repeating.
How many animals does Jesus ride on as he comes into Jerusalem? According to all the other gospels: Mark, Luke, and John, Jesus rides in on one animal. They call it either a colt or a young donkey. But in Matthew we read this:
[Jesus said to them] “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.”
Then we get a quote from Zechariah 9:9 and the story goes on:
“The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them and he sat on them.”
So, how many animals does that add up to? Two. Now how does Jesus possibly ride on two animals at the exact same time? If you try to imagine it you end up with all sorts of strange images of how he could stretch himself across two donkeys. In seminary we used to joke that Jesus must have been incredibly bow legged because he needed to sit astride two donkeys!
Silliness aside, I’m quite sure Matthew does not want us to envision Jesus somehow straddling two animals at once. But he is being careful to get at a serious point.
The idea of a Jewish king coming in on a humble donkey is rooted in the prophesy of Zechariah 9 in the Old Testament. Zechariah 9:9 says, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
There’s where Matthew gets the idea of two animals. Though Zechariah means only one animal, and repeats that it’s a ‘colt, the foal of a donkey’ for poetic emphasis, Matthew interprets it to mean both the mother and the colt. He is surely aware that Zechariah is using poetic emphasis. But remember that Matthew was almost certainly a highly trained Jewish scribe. Details matter greatly to him. And so to be emphatic about the fulfillment of prophesy, he describes the disciples as fetching two animals, a donkey and her colt, and Jesus riding on them.
We didn’t choose the Zechariah reading for worship today because it would be quite long if we wanted to have enough of it to get his point. But it boils down to this is Zechariah 9. God is depicted as a divine warrior traveling from the north towards Jerusalem. Along the way he has attacked and conquered every city and territory that has threatened the Jewish people. But then it is not God who enters Jerusalem with power and pomp. It is the Jewish king.
Now when a king returns to his capital city from a victorious battle he usually comes in riding on a massive warhorse. He wears his armor and carries his weapons. All of that is a sign of his victorious power. Behind him would come his army – some on horses, some walking; probably depending on their rank. And also in the procession might be captured prisoners, forced to walk in humiliation. Or perhaps the corpses of the leaders who were conquered. It was all a display of power.
But that’s not what Zechariah describes. Zechariah describes God as the divine warrior who is victorious. It is not the king. It is because God conquers, and not the king, that the king enters Jerusalem on a humble animal; and without his army behind him. Zechariah’s point is clear. It is God and God alone who is powerful. God demilitarizes the region so that the Jewish king comes in meekness and ushers in peace.
These are the themes that Matthew is working with as he describes Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. He wants his readers to notice Jesus’ meekness, not his miraculous power. And he is setting the stage for how God will overcome earthly power. It will not come about by military might, or miraculous power, or fancy theology, or a charismatic presence that sways the multitudes to rise up against the Romans. It will come about by Jesus’ crucifixion. At this point in the story it’s only a few days away.
The gospel of Mark describes Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on a Sunday and then his overturning the tables of the money changers the next morning. But here in Matthew Jesus enters Jerusalem and immediately causes a ruckus in the temple. Which day it actually happens on isn’t important. What is important for Matthew is that the humble and peaceful Jesus, as the Son of God, immediately enacts a prophesy from Jeremiah by driving out the merchants from the temple precinct and ending false teachings. By the actions of Jesus’ God’s promises of salvation are coming about.
All of that is a fine interpretation of Matthew’s words. But what does it all mean for today?
While many things have changed tremendously between then and now, some things are remarkably similar. Remember when we began reading Matthew’s gospel this church year we reminded ourselves of the original readers. They were almost certainly a small community of believers in Jesus who had Jewish roots. They’d probably been thrown out of the synagogues for their beliefs. Families were tense or broken. Being a follower of Jesus could cost you a lot. Plus, Matthew was written sometime after the Roman crack down on the Jewish revolts that occurred in the late 60s. Roman ultimately destroyed Jerusalem and killed many leaders.
It was a chaotic time to be living in Palestine. The whole world seemed to be unstable. The small Christian community was frail and powerless. Lives were uncertain. And where was God in all of it? What about God’s promises? What was God up to? Were they wrong to be putting their trust in Jesus?
It is into that chaotic, fear-filled reality that Matthew wrote. You’ll remember that he starts off the story of Jesus with a genealogy. Matthew shows that it was orderly and structured. Matthew goes on to describe a world that was chaotic where the small and insignificant people were getting bullied by the powerful. But despite it all, God’s plans for salvation were unfolding in an orderly way exactly how God intended them to go.
Jesus faced temptation, ran into opposition, and was hit with problem after problem. But through it all he steadily and calmly stayed faithful knowing that God was in control.
And so when we get to the Palm Sunday text we see the same thing at work. Matthew is clearly showing that Jesus is continuing the path exactly as God intended it to go. Our text started off with Jesus telling the disciples exactly what they would find with the colt and told them what to say when they were questioned about taking it. All of Jesus’ predictions proved to be true. And so God’s plans of salvation continued to unfold in an orderly way down to the last detail; including interpreting Zechariah 9 to mean two animals.
While we live in the United States of America and have lives infinitely more secure than Matthew’s original readers did, it can still feel like life is chaos.
Declines in Christianity lead many parents to wonder what they did wrong in rearing their children. Declines in the church make many wonder what the future will be, or if there’s a future for the church in America at all. The cost of living is becoming impossible. Jobs are not secure. Politics has become a circus of tribalism and nonsense. News outlets are biased. People are impatient, pushy, and rude. Virtues like integrity, decency, patience, and conscientiousness are not valued. Science and logic seem to be corrupted by whatever is the perspective of the biggest financial backer.
Even as we live in a relatively safe and stable country, we still have our fears and anxieties.
So Matthew’s words come down to us too.
What did Zechariah prophesy? That the people would rise up and protect themselves from those who threatened them? No. God took care of them. God did it in God’s own time and would continue to do so. The king would ride in on a donkey, simple and humble. And God would continue to work in ways that are orderly and dependable. Though the world may seem like chaos that is beyond our control, we live securely in God’s kingdom. It is a place of value, of peace, of respect, of dignity; and of purpose and meaning.
These are the values that we keep. And in so doing we also create a space that the world may overlook and even scoff at. The powers of the world certainly scoffed at Jesus. But the church today must continue to be God’s community that invites those haggard by the chaos of the world to find God’s peace and God’s promises.
You know the stories of Holy Week. The week will not end well for Jesus. But Matthew will continue to be at pains to show that even as everything seems to be out of control for Jesus, it is all falling into God’s plans for salvation. And so it is for our lives. Even if things seem out of control, it is all in God’s hands. It is in believing in that and staying true to it that God’s kingdom comes to life on earth.
How many animals does Jesus ride on as he comes into Jerusalem? According to all the other gospels: Mark, Luke, and John, Jesus rides in on one animal. They call it either a colt or a young donkey. But in Matthew we read this:
[Jesus said to them] “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.”
Then we get a quote from Zechariah 9:9 and the story goes on:
“The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them and he sat on them.”
So, how many animals does that add up to? Two. Now how does Jesus possibly ride on two animals at the exact same time? If you try to imagine it you end up with all sorts of strange images of how he could stretch himself across two donkeys. In seminary we used to joke that Jesus must have been incredibly bow legged because he needed to sit astride two donkeys!
Silliness aside, I’m quite sure Matthew does not want us to envision Jesus somehow straddling two animals at once. But he is being careful to get at a serious point.
The idea of a Jewish king coming in on a humble donkey is rooted in the prophesy of Zechariah 9 in the Old Testament. Zechariah 9:9 says, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
There’s where Matthew gets the idea of two animals. Though Zechariah means only one animal, and repeats that it’s a ‘colt, the foal of a donkey’ for poetic emphasis, Matthew interprets it to mean both the mother and the colt. He is surely aware that Zechariah is using poetic emphasis. But remember that Matthew was almost certainly a highly trained Jewish scribe. Details matter greatly to him. And so to be emphatic about the fulfillment of prophesy, he describes the disciples as fetching two animals, a donkey and her colt, and Jesus riding on them.
We didn’t choose the Zechariah reading for worship today because it would be quite long if we wanted to have enough of it to get his point. But it boils down to this is Zechariah 9. God is depicted as a divine warrior traveling from the north towards Jerusalem. Along the way he has attacked and conquered every city and territory that has threatened the Jewish people. But then it is not God who enters Jerusalem with power and pomp. It is the Jewish king.
Now when a king returns to his capital city from a victorious battle he usually comes in riding on a massive warhorse. He wears his armor and carries his weapons. All of that is a sign of his victorious power. Behind him would come his army – some on horses, some walking; probably depending on their rank. And also in the procession might be captured prisoners, forced to walk in humiliation. Or perhaps the corpses of the leaders who were conquered. It was all a display of power.
But that’s not what Zechariah describes. Zechariah describes God as the divine warrior who is victorious. It is not the king. It is because God conquers, and not the king, that the king enters Jerusalem on a humble animal; and without his army behind him. Zechariah’s point is clear. It is God and God alone who is powerful. God demilitarizes the region so that the Jewish king comes in meekness and ushers in peace.
These are the themes that Matthew is working with as he describes Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. He wants his readers to notice Jesus’ meekness, not his miraculous power. And he is setting the stage for how God will overcome earthly power. It will not come about by military might, or miraculous power, or fancy theology, or a charismatic presence that sways the multitudes to rise up against the Romans. It will come about by Jesus’ crucifixion. At this point in the story it’s only a few days away.
The gospel of Mark describes Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on a Sunday and then his overturning the tables of the money changers the next morning. But here in Matthew Jesus enters Jerusalem and immediately causes a ruckus in the temple. Which day it actually happens on isn’t important. What is important for Matthew is that the humble and peaceful Jesus, as the Son of God, immediately enacts a prophesy from Jeremiah by driving out the merchants from the temple precinct and ending false teachings. By the actions of Jesus’ God’s promises of salvation are coming about.
All of that is a fine interpretation of Matthew’s words. But what does it all mean for today?
While many things have changed tremendously between then and now, some things are remarkably similar. Remember when we began reading Matthew’s gospel this church year we reminded ourselves of the original readers. They were almost certainly a small community of believers in Jesus who had Jewish roots. They’d probably been thrown out of the synagogues for their beliefs. Families were tense or broken. Being a follower of Jesus could cost you a lot. Plus, Matthew was written sometime after the Roman crack down on the Jewish revolts that occurred in the late 60s. Roman ultimately destroyed Jerusalem and killed many leaders.
It was a chaotic time to be living in Palestine. The whole world seemed to be unstable. The small Christian community was frail and powerless. Lives were uncertain. And where was God in all of it? What about God’s promises? What was God up to? Were they wrong to be putting their trust in Jesus?
It is into that chaotic, fear-filled reality that Matthew wrote. You’ll remember that he starts off the story of Jesus with a genealogy. Matthew shows that it was orderly and structured. Matthew goes on to describe a world that was chaotic where the small and insignificant people were getting bullied by the powerful. But despite it all, God’s plans for salvation were unfolding in an orderly way exactly how God intended them to go.
Jesus faced temptation, ran into opposition, and was hit with problem after problem. But through it all he steadily and calmly stayed faithful knowing that God was in control.
And so when we get to the Palm Sunday text we see the same thing at work. Matthew is clearly showing that Jesus is continuing the path exactly as God intended it to go. Our text started off with Jesus telling the disciples exactly what they would find with the colt and told them what to say when they were questioned about taking it. All of Jesus’ predictions proved to be true. And so God’s plans of salvation continued to unfold in an orderly way down to the last detail; including interpreting Zechariah 9 to mean two animals.
While we live in the United States of America and have lives infinitely more secure than Matthew’s original readers did, it can still feel like life is chaos.
Declines in Christianity lead many parents to wonder what they did wrong in rearing their children. Declines in the church make many wonder what the future will be, or if there’s a future for the church in America at all. The cost of living is becoming impossible. Jobs are not secure. Politics has become a circus of tribalism and nonsense. News outlets are biased. People are impatient, pushy, and rude. Virtues like integrity, decency, patience, and conscientiousness are not valued. Science and logic seem to be corrupted by whatever is the perspective of the biggest financial backer.
Even as we live in a relatively safe and stable country, we still have our fears and anxieties.
So Matthew’s words come down to us too.
What did Zechariah prophesy? That the people would rise up and protect themselves from those who threatened them? No. God took care of them. God did it in God’s own time and would continue to do so. The king would ride in on a donkey, simple and humble. And God would continue to work in ways that are orderly and dependable. Though the world may seem like chaos that is beyond our control, we live securely in God’s kingdom. It is a place of value, of peace, of respect, of dignity; and of purpose and meaning.
These are the values that we keep. And in so doing we also create a space that the world may overlook and even scoff at. The powers of the world certainly scoffed at Jesus. But the church today must continue to be God’s community that invites those haggard by the chaos of the world to find God’s peace and God’s promises.
You know the stories of Holy Week. The week will not end well for Jesus. But Matthew will continue to be at pains to show that even as everything seems to be out of control for Jesus, it is all falling into God’s plans for salvation. And so it is for our lives. Even if things seem out of control, it is all in God’s hands. It is in believing in that and staying true to it that God’s kingdom comes to life on earth.
Monday, March 23, 2026
March 22, 2026 - Matthew 19:16-20:34 Sermon Drama
My responsibilities as conference dean took me to Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church in Wellsville. I created this skit to be performed in place of the sermon.
Synopsis: One of Jesus’ disciples reflects on various scenes from Matthew 19:16 – 20:34. An angel is on one side giving his thoughts. A devil is on the other side giving his thoughts. Sometimes the angel and devil talk to the disciple. Sometimes they talk to each other in criticism. The skit is broken into several parts. The congregation will read a scene in the gospel. Then the skit picks up in response to that scene.
Cast:
Angel: (to Devil) Don’t call him or the other eleven hopeless losers!
Devil: (to Angel) Why not? It’s what they are, aren’t they? Didn’t Jesus choose a dozen hopeless cases to start his religious movement? Well, maybe not a dozen hopeless cases; just eleven. Judas is shaping up to be just the useful sort I like to see.
Angel: (to Devil) They’re all as God made them to be. Which means none of them are hopeless cases.
Devil: (to Angel) Have it your way then. But watch what I can easily do to this guy.
(to Disciple) You do see how Jesus’ teachings make no sense, right? Of course God blesses people who live by the rules. God gives them wealth and power as a reward for living the right way. Then everyone else should look to them as examples. If everyone lived the right way God would bless them with a prosperous and healthy life.
Angel: (to Disciple) Not so! While God wants you to work hard and live in a good way, God does not necessarily bless and protect those who do.
Devil: (to Disciple) Do you hear the nonsense this angel is telling you? What’s the point of being good then? And what’s the point of believing in God if God’s not going to come to your aid?
Angel: (to Disciple) I never said God wouldn’t come to your aid. All I said was that God doesn’t guarantee you an easy life. Keep listening to Jesus and he’ll teach you how God’s grace works.
Part 2: Matthew 19:24-26
Disciple: A camel going through the eye of a needle?!? That makes no sense. Then who can be saved?
Angel: (to Disciple) Do you see how God’s grace works? Do you understand that it’s impossible for you to save yourself? A camel can’t go through the eye of a needle. There’s no way to ever be good enough. No matter how good you try to be you’re going to end up tripping up. Life is not about living in the perfect way and earning salvation. Life is about trusting God and living out that trust.
Devil: (to Disciple) Don’t listen to that angel. He just speaks confusing nonsense. Of course life is about doing what God wants. Life is about doing things the right way. When you do things the right way then God owes you.
Angel: (to Devil) You can never make God owe you. God can get anything God wants faster and better than expecting people to do it. But God loves people even though they are far from perfect.
Devil: (to Angel) So what? Who cares what’s true? All I need to do is get this guy to believe he can be good enough. When I convince him of that then I’ve won.
(to Disciple) It looks like Peter has a question for Jesus. Let’s listen to what he has to say.
Part 3: Matthew 19:27-30
Devil: (to Angel) Aha! I’m right! It’s right out of the mouth of Jesus. There are things you can do to inherit eternal life. And God will reward those who do it.
(to Disciple) Alright, you have to admit that what Jesus just said is pretty tough. You’re going to have to give up your stuff. And I know you love your stuff and it’s important to you. But there is a path. Give up your stuff and God will reward you with eternal life. And even more than that. You’ll get to be the judge over the twelve tribes of Israel! Think about all the power you’ll have. God just wants you to live humbly now and God will reward you with eternal power later.
Angel: (to Disciple) Don’t listen to that devil. He’s just twisting Jesus words.
Devil: (to Angel) I am not! Didn’t Jesus just give a clear quid-pro-quo situation? Give up everything and at the renewal of all things these guys will be the judges of Israel. And… and I quote Jesus himself, “..and will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life.” That is a clear quid-pro-quo.
Angel: (to Devil) Well, aren’t you one for using fancy terms. I didn’t think you knew what “quid-pro-quo” meant.
Devil: (to Angel) Of course I know what it means! It means, “This for that.” I do this thing for you and you do that thing for me. It’s exchanging favors. It’s making a deal and following through on it. Jesus’ words are clear: be the kind of disciple who does what God wants and God will reward you for it.
Angel: (to Devil) Yes, you have quoted Jesus correctly. But you have twisted his words. Jesus does not mean that God will return a favor. Jesus is citing several Old Testament passages that show that God’s kingdom does not work by the rules of the world.
(to Disciple) A life of true discipleship is always looking to God. Quite often that is not the way of the world. The rules of what is fair and unfair are different. To the extent that you ever serve as a judge of anyone, you will be doing it from trust in God.
Devil: (to Disciple) Don’t listen to that complicated nonsense the angel just told you. Listen to me and I’ll make everything clear. There’s no such thing as grace. God’s favor must be earned. Those who earn it get power. Those who don’t get rejected. It’s as simple as that.
Angel: (to Disciple) Don’t listen to the tempting logic that devil just told you. It is about grace. Jesus is about to tell another parable. Pay attention to what he says.
Part 4: Matthew 20:1-16
Disciple: What does that mean? That makes no sense! Clearly those who work the longest should get paid the most. That’s only fair!
Devil: (to Disciple) Exactly! That’s what I’ve been saying all along. Don’t listen to this nonsense about equal pay for unequal work.
Angel: (to Disciple) Don’t listen to what this devil is telling you. He’s taking Jesus’ words and twisting them.
Devil: (to Angel) Alright, if I’m twisting them somehow then tell me what they mean.
Angel: (to Disciple) Keep in mind the rich man we met just a bit ago who thought he could earn his way to heaven. Don’t add details to this parable that aren’t there. Jesus did not say that some were enjoying a day of relaxation and then only at the last minute got hired and received a full day’s pay. Also, Jesus did not say that the landowner represented God. He did not say that and he did not mean that.
You know that a day’s pay for a farm labor job isn’t much. It’s barely be enough to maintain a family at a subsistence level. In the parable all the workers who are hired needed the work badly. Jesus didn’t say why some weren’t hired right away. The point is that the landowner wants to make sure that all his workers receive enough to survive.
Devil: (to Angel) No matter how you spin it, it’s still unfair!
Angel: (to Devil) Of course it’s unfair at an earthly level. That’s the whole point! Jesus wants his followers to understand that God’s grace is not bounded by earthly fairness. At the level of God’s grace it is about everyone having an opportunity to be a part of the eternal kingdom.
Devil: (to Disciple) I suppose you’re listening to the nonsense this angel is telling you. Look, you’re a disciple of Jesus. You’ve been with him from the beginning. You’ve worked hardest and done the most work. If God is just, then you should get an exalted status in heaven. You should be above those who come to Jesus later. Plus, you’re Jewish. That should give you an inside track. You’re one of God’s chosen people. You should be above the non-Jews who believe in Jesus. If this ridiculous Jesus movement ever actually gets off the ground and becomes a religion, then Jesus should be rewarding loyalty; loyalty like you show.
Angel: (to Disciple) Don’t forget how you became a disciple. Did you go to Jesus and say that you were a faithful Jew and you wanted to follow him because you thought you were worthy? No. Jesus chose you. Not that many minutes ago this devil said that Jesus chose a bunch of hopeless cases. This devil thinks you’re a hopeless case! But Jesus says you are not a hopeless case. By God’s grace Jesus chose you; despite you not having anything special in worldly terms.
Devil: (to Disciple) Don’t listen to that angel. I misspoke earlier. I didn’t really mean that you were a hopeless case. I just meant that Jesus was saying things that didn’t make sense and you shouldn’t be expected to understand them.
Angel: (to Devil) You’re endlessly splitting hairs and twisting details to serve your interests!
Devil: (to Angel) That’s what I do best!
Part 5: Matthew 20:17-19
Disciple: This is the third time Jesus has predicted that he will be handed over to the authorities and be condemned and killed, then be raised. I don’t understand what he means. But I don’t think I can ask again. The first time he said it Peter him aside and rebuked him for saying such nonsense. But Jesus then rebuked Peter in return.
Then a while later we gathered with Jesus in Galilee. Jesus said the same thing about being condemned and dying a second time. None of us knows what he means. It is distressing nonetheless. What does he really mean by it? I guess it’s just another parable. We’ll find out eventually.
Devil: (to Disciple) Good, good. Just ignore what Jesus says. Or when it’s too hard to understand just go along as if you do understand. Jesus will never know. And the other disciples won’t know either. Then when Jesus triumphs and it does make sense you can pretend that you understood all along.
Angel: (to Disciple) This devil is telling you nonsense. Jesus knows what he’s talking about. It is no parable. It will happen. Believe Jesus. If you don’t understand what he says then ask him. I promise you that you aren’t the only one who doesn’t understand. All would benefit if you have the courage to ask Jesus and believe him.
Devil: (to Disciple) Nah, that’s too hard. Just go along. If it’s important you’ll get it.
My devil friends on the shoulders of the other disciples tell me they’re convincing everyone to just ignore Jesus when Jesus says stuff like this. In fact, look, here comes James and John with their mother. I bet they’re going to ignore what Jesus said and ask for something important.
Part 6: Matthew 12:20-24
Disciple: James and John are such greedy schemers! They have their mother coming and asking Jesus for things on their behalf. That way they don’t look too greedy. They know Jesus doesn’t like greed. It just looks like they have a loving mother who is looking out for their best interests.
Devil: (to Disciple) Good! Good! Keep it up! Keep up that criticism of your fellow disciples. Don’t trust them. You know full well they have their own interests at heart. You should too! Keep competing to be Jesus’ favorite. He’ll reward you for it.
Plus, notice how they just ignored Jesus’ teaching about him being condemned. That’s what you should do. Like I told you before, just ignore whatever Jesus says that doesn’t make sense.
Angel: (to Disciple) Don’t listen to that devil. He’s trying to cause divisions between you and the other disciples. The more he can make you turn on each other the more he wins. Do you really want to spend eternal life competing with others for God’s favor? No. It’s all by God’s grace. Everyone will be there, not because they deserve it, but because God loves them.
Devil: (to Disciple) Just ignore what the angel said. I think you should call out James and John for their greedy schemes.
Part 7: Matthew 20:24-28
Disciple: I’m so confused. This is more about being a servant in order to be great. Is this like when Jesus talked about giving up all our possessions? Is that how I become great?
Devil: (to Disciple) Right on! Keep thinking that way. It’s all about reverse psychology. What God really wants is humility. Just be strategic in humility so that you can be great in God’s kingdom!
Angel: (to Devil) You never give up on an idea! You just keep twisting things and changing topics to make everything be about strategizing your way to greatness. That is not what Jesus is saying at all.
(to Disciple) Remember what I said earlier. Jesus chose you. You didn’t choose him. It’s already by God’s grace that you are following Jesus. Jesus doesn’t want you to waste your time or your energy posturing to be the best – whether that’s straightforward trying to get ahead or some back door method. Jesus loves you. Jesus chooses you. Just enjoy that and share the news that Jesus loves them and chooses them too. Let the rest of the details up to God.
Devil: (to Disciple) Silly, silly, silly, I say. That angel is teaching you nonsense. I tell you, the only way for you to live a full life it to take what you have and use it for yourself. Being a servant means that you’re just going to get walked over.
Angel: (to Disciple) It’s not silly at all. Jesus didn’t say that you should let yourself be walked over. He means that just as he loves you, you should love others. That means being willing to do things that aren’t glamorous. If you try to live for just yourself you’re going to end up exhausted and empty. If you take up the tasks Jesus has for you, you will be fulfilled.
Part 8: Matthew 20:29-34
Disciple: That was a cool miracle Jesus just did! It’s amazing to see him doing things like that!
Devil: (to Disciple) Cool?!? Humph. Maybe it was kind of cool, but think about it critically. It was a complete waste of a miracle. You are in Jericho. Who cares about Jericho? And Jesus heals two blind nobodies along the side of the road. (sarcastically) Big deal. Why waste power on worthless nobodies from nowhere who can’t help your cause at all?
Angel: (to Disciple) That’s another example of God’s grace. Learn from it. Just because it happened in a place unimportant to humans doesn’t mean it’s unimportant to God. And just because it happened to people who don’t seem important doesn’t mean they aren’t important to God.
Look, now they’ve become followers of Jesus too! That’s exactly grace in action.
Devil: (to Angel) Big deal. Now there are two more inept nobodies following Jesus; along with his bunch of other misfits from nowhere. I tell you, if you want to get something done in this world you have to strategize. You have to decide who’s worth it and who’s not. If they don’t have the skills then let them behind. If they’re able to help you, then recruit them.
Angel: (to Devil) That’s your perspective always. Always judge people based on how much you can get out of them.
(to Disciple) Remember, it’s all about God’s grace. God does not need anything from humans. God can get anything God wants. It is God’s own choice to love you, even though -in earthly terms- you have no value before God.
Devil: (to Disciple) Blah, blah, blah. More nonsense about grace and love. Grace and love is all that he talks about. Grace and love won’t get you anywhere. You’ll just die friendless and broke.
Angel: (to Disciple) You will die after a meaningful life. Trust God.
Devil: (to Disciple) I tell you, this angel is teaching you nonsense.
Look, it’s all coming to a head soon. You’ve been following Jesus for a couple of years now. For a long time he’s said you’re heading to Jerusalem. You’re almost there. That’s the place of Jewish power. It’s also the Passover holidays. The Romans will be pouring in with their troops to keep the peace. Pontus Pilate will probably even be there. There’s some power for you! But watch what Jesus does to them. You can bet he’s going to show them who’s boss. He’ll be knocking heads together and setting up his glorious kingdom. You’ll be honored too. Then you’ll see that I’ve been right about Jesus all along.
Angel: (to Devil) You endlessly lie and twist everything. Your stories don’t add up. You say one thing one time and another thing another time.
Devil: (to Angel) Like I said earlier, it’s a perk of my business. I can keep changing the truth to suit whatever I want. The key thing is to make this guy think it’s all consistent and logical. The only message I have to convince him of is that he’s the most important and he should look out for himself. These humans are always twisting logic for their own benefit.
Angel: (to Disciple) What this devil told you is true… partly. You are almost to Jerusalem. It is the center of religious power. And the Romans will send Pontus Pilate in with a whole legion of soldiers to keep the peace. But keep an eye on Jesus. Follow him. Believe him. Trust him. There are things that probably won’t make any sense. That’s the way God’s grace often works. But remember, even if you do fail, God still loves you. And you will have been a first-hand witness of just how much God’s grace can do!
Disciple: We have almost reached Jerusalem. I think it’ll be a big success for us. Jesus will surely make everything clear.
I know I’m a committed disciple of Jesus. …at least I think I am.
I’ll follow him no matter what happens. …at least I think I will.
Synopsis: One of Jesus’ disciples reflects on various scenes from Matthew 19:16 – 20:34. An angel is on one side giving his thoughts. A devil is on the other side giving his thoughts. Sometimes the angel and devil talk to the disciple. Sometimes they talk to each other in criticism. The skit is broken into several parts. The congregation will read a scene in the gospel. Then the skit picks up in response to that scene.
Cast:
One of the lesser of Jesus’ twelve disciples.
Angel – wearing a white robe or light clothing
Devil – wearing red
Props/staging: The center altar rail is removed. A chair is set on the altar platform in front of the altar. The disciple sits in it facing the congregation. The devil and angel stand on either side of him.
Part 1: Matthew 19:16-23
Disciple: I don’t understand this. How can Jesus not praise this young man? He is doing everything right. He’s an upstanding citizen. He follows the religious laws. He lives by the traditions. He’s generous with his wealth. Surely he’s good enough to deserve eternal life already.
Devil: (to Disciple) Exactly! This man is a model of virtue. He deserves good eternal life.
Angel: (to Devil) I’m surprised to hear you say that! I thought you’d be over there wanting to corrupt that young man.
Devil: (to Angel) You know well enough by now to know that’s not how I work. Plus, he’s corrupt enough already. Self-righteousness is wonderfully corrupting without me having to do any work! He’s not going to follow Jesus.
Angel: (to Devil) I know you well enough to know that you’ll use whatever tactic that you think might work at any given moment.
Devil: (to Angel) That’s one of the perks of my trade. I get to change the rules however and whenever I want! I can latch on to anything I choose. Whereas you, dear angel, have to always operate under the rules of being right.
Angel: (to Devil) That’s yet another one of your subtle traps, for I am not as bound by rules as your sort seems to think we should be.
Devil: (to Angel) Of course, you and that whole “grace” thing. Grace just doesn’t fit the rules either. But it doesn’t matter to me. I can corrupt grace just as easily as I can corrupt anything else.
Angel: (to Devil) True, you can corrupt just about anything, but that doesn’t make it right. It also means that you ultimately lose no matter what.
Devil: (to Angel) Ultimate things don’t matter in my business. It’s short-term things that get us gains.
Take this disciple of Jesus here. (Points at disciple) He thinks he’s doing the right thing by following Jesus. But he doesn’t understand half of what Jesus says. He goes along with it just because the eleven other hopeless losers Jesus chose are also just going along with it.
Angel – wearing a white robe or light clothing
Devil – wearing red
Props/staging: The center altar rail is removed. A chair is set on the altar platform in front of the altar. The disciple sits in it facing the congregation. The devil and angel stand on either side of him.
Part 1: Matthew 19:16-23
Disciple: I don’t understand this. How can Jesus not praise this young man? He is doing everything right. He’s an upstanding citizen. He follows the religious laws. He lives by the traditions. He’s generous with his wealth. Surely he’s good enough to deserve eternal life already.
Devil: (to Disciple) Exactly! This man is a model of virtue. He deserves good eternal life.
Angel: (to Devil) I’m surprised to hear you say that! I thought you’d be over there wanting to corrupt that young man.
Devil: (to Angel) You know well enough by now to know that’s not how I work. Plus, he’s corrupt enough already. Self-righteousness is wonderfully corrupting without me having to do any work! He’s not going to follow Jesus.
Angel: (to Devil) I know you well enough to know that you’ll use whatever tactic that you think might work at any given moment.
Devil: (to Angel) That’s one of the perks of my trade. I get to change the rules however and whenever I want! I can latch on to anything I choose. Whereas you, dear angel, have to always operate under the rules of being right.
Angel: (to Devil) That’s yet another one of your subtle traps, for I am not as bound by rules as your sort seems to think we should be.
Devil: (to Angel) Of course, you and that whole “grace” thing. Grace just doesn’t fit the rules either. But it doesn’t matter to me. I can corrupt grace just as easily as I can corrupt anything else.
Angel: (to Devil) True, you can corrupt just about anything, but that doesn’t make it right. It also means that you ultimately lose no matter what.
Devil: (to Angel) Ultimate things don’t matter in my business. It’s short-term things that get us gains.
Take this disciple of Jesus here. (Points at disciple) He thinks he’s doing the right thing by following Jesus. But he doesn’t understand half of what Jesus says. He goes along with it just because the eleven other hopeless losers Jesus chose are also just going along with it.
Angel: (to Devil) Don’t call him or the other eleven hopeless losers!
Devil: (to Angel) Why not? It’s what they are, aren’t they? Didn’t Jesus choose a dozen hopeless cases to start his religious movement? Well, maybe not a dozen hopeless cases; just eleven. Judas is shaping up to be just the useful sort I like to see.
Angel: (to Devil) They’re all as God made them to be. Which means none of them are hopeless cases.
Devil: (to Angel) Have it your way then. But watch what I can easily do to this guy.
(to Disciple) You do see how Jesus’ teachings make no sense, right? Of course God blesses people who live by the rules. God gives them wealth and power as a reward for living the right way. Then everyone else should look to them as examples. If everyone lived the right way God would bless them with a prosperous and healthy life.
Angel: (to Disciple) Not so! While God wants you to work hard and live in a good way, God does not necessarily bless and protect those who do.
Devil: (to Disciple) Do you hear the nonsense this angel is telling you? What’s the point of being good then? And what’s the point of believing in God if God’s not going to come to your aid?
Angel: (to Disciple) I never said God wouldn’t come to your aid. All I said was that God doesn’t guarantee you an easy life. Keep listening to Jesus and he’ll teach you how God’s grace works.
Part 2: Matthew 19:24-26
Disciple: A camel going through the eye of a needle?!? That makes no sense. Then who can be saved?
Angel: (to Disciple) Do you see how God’s grace works? Do you understand that it’s impossible for you to save yourself? A camel can’t go through the eye of a needle. There’s no way to ever be good enough. No matter how good you try to be you’re going to end up tripping up. Life is not about living in the perfect way and earning salvation. Life is about trusting God and living out that trust.
Devil: (to Disciple) Don’t listen to that angel. He just speaks confusing nonsense. Of course life is about doing what God wants. Life is about doing things the right way. When you do things the right way then God owes you.
Angel: (to Devil) You can never make God owe you. God can get anything God wants faster and better than expecting people to do it. But God loves people even though they are far from perfect.
Devil: (to Angel) So what? Who cares what’s true? All I need to do is get this guy to believe he can be good enough. When I convince him of that then I’ve won.
(to Disciple) It looks like Peter has a question for Jesus. Let’s listen to what he has to say.
Part 3: Matthew 19:27-30
Devil: (to Angel) Aha! I’m right! It’s right out of the mouth of Jesus. There are things you can do to inherit eternal life. And God will reward those who do it.
(to Disciple) Alright, you have to admit that what Jesus just said is pretty tough. You’re going to have to give up your stuff. And I know you love your stuff and it’s important to you. But there is a path. Give up your stuff and God will reward you with eternal life. And even more than that. You’ll get to be the judge over the twelve tribes of Israel! Think about all the power you’ll have. God just wants you to live humbly now and God will reward you with eternal power later.
Angel: (to Disciple) Don’t listen to that devil. He’s just twisting Jesus words.
Devil: (to Angel) I am not! Didn’t Jesus just give a clear quid-pro-quo situation? Give up everything and at the renewal of all things these guys will be the judges of Israel. And… and I quote Jesus himself, “..and will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life.” That is a clear quid-pro-quo.
Angel: (to Devil) Well, aren’t you one for using fancy terms. I didn’t think you knew what “quid-pro-quo” meant.
Devil: (to Angel) Of course I know what it means! It means, “This for that.” I do this thing for you and you do that thing for me. It’s exchanging favors. It’s making a deal and following through on it. Jesus’ words are clear: be the kind of disciple who does what God wants and God will reward you for it.
Angel: (to Devil) Yes, you have quoted Jesus correctly. But you have twisted his words. Jesus does not mean that God will return a favor. Jesus is citing several Old Testament passages that show that God’s kingdom does not work by the rules of the world.
(to Disciple) A life of true discipleship is always looking to God. Quite often that is not the way of the world. The rules of what is fair and unfair are different. To the extent that you ever serve as a judge of anyone, you will be doing it from trust in God.
Devil: (to Disciple) Don’t listen to that complicated nonsense the angel just told you. Listen to me and I’ll make everything clear. There’s no such thing as grace. God’s favor must be earned. Those who earn it get power. Those who don’t get rejected. It’s as simple as that.
Angel: (to Disciple) Don’t listen to the tempting logic that devil just told you. It is about grace. Jesus is about to tell another parable. Pay attention to what he says.
Part 4: Matthew 20:1-16
Disciple: What does that mean? That makes no sense! Clearly those who work the longest should get paid the most. That’s only fair!
Devil: (to Disciple) Exactly! That’s what I’ve been saying all along. Don’t listen to this nonsense about equal pay for unequal work.
Angel: (to Disciple) Don’t listen to what this devil is telling you. He’s taking Jesus’ words and twisting them.
Devil: (to Angel) Alright, if I’m twisting them somehow then tell me what they mean.
Angel: (to Disciple) Keep in mind the rich man we met just a bit ago who thought he could earn his way to heaven. Don’t add details to this parable that aren’t there. Jesus did not say that some were enjoying a day of relaxation and then only at the last minute got hired and received a full day’s pay. Also, Jesus did not say that the landowner represented God. He did not say that and he did not mean that.
You know that a day’s pay for a farm labor job isn’t much. It’s barely be enough to maintain a family at a subsistence level. In the parable all the workers who are hired needed the work badly. Jesus didn’t say why some weren’t hired right away. The point is that the landowner wants to make sure that all his workers receive enough to survive.
Devil: (to Angel) No matter how you spin it, it’s still unfair!
Angel: (to Devil) Of course it’s unfair at an earthly level. That’s the whole point! Jesus wants his followers to understand that God’s grace is not bounded by earthly fairness. At the level of God’s grace it is about everyone having an opportunity to be a part of the eternal kingdom.
Devil: (to Disciple) I suppose you’re listening to the nonsense this angel is telling you. Look, you’re a disciple of Jesus. You’ve been with him from the beginning. You’ve worked hardest and done the most work. If God is just, then you should get an exalted status in heaven. You should be above those who come to Jesus later. Plus, you’re Jewish. That should give you an inside track. You’re one of God’s chosen people. You should be above the non-Jews who believe in Jesus. If this ridiculous Jesus movement ever actually gets off the ground and becomes a religion, then Jesus should be rewarding loyalty; loyalty like you show.
Angel: (to Disciple) Don’t forget how you became a disciple. Did you go to Jesus and say that you were a faithful Jew and you wanted to follow him because you thought you were worthy? No. Jesus chose you. Not that many minutes ago this devil said that Jesus chose a bunch of hopeless cases. This devil thinks you’re a hopeless case! But Jesus says you are not a hopeless case. By God’s grace Jesus chose you; despite you not having anything special in worldly terms.
Devil: (to Disciple) Don’t listen to that angel. I misspoke earlier. I didn’t really mean that you were a hopeless case. I just meant that Jesus was saying things that didn’t make sense and you shouldn’t be expected to understand them.
Angel: (to Devil) You’re endlessly splitting hairs and twisting details to serve your interests!
Devil: (to Angel) That’s what I do best!
Part 5: Matthew 20:17-19
Disciple: This is the third time Jesus has predicted that he will be handed over to the authorities and be condemned and killed, then be raised. I don’t understand what he means. But I don’t think I can ask again. The first time he said it Peter him aside and rebuked him for saying such nonsense. But Jesus then rebuked Peter in return.
Then a while later we gathered with Jesus in Galilee. Jesus said the same thing about being condemned and dying a second time. None of us knows what he means. It is distressing nonetheless. What does he really mean by it? I guess it’s just another parable. We’ll find out eventually.
Devil: (to Disciple) Good, good. Just ignore what Jesus says. Or when it’s too hard to understand just go along as if you do understand. Jesus will never know. And the other disciples won’t know either. Then when Jesus triumphs and it does make sense you can pretend that you understood all along.
Angel: (to Disciple) This devil is telling you nonsense. Jesus knows what he’s talking about. It is no parable. It will happen. Believe Jesus. If you don’t understand what he says then ask him. I promise you that you aren’t the only one who doesn’t understand. All would benefit if you have the courage to ask Jesus and believe him.
Devil: (to Disciple) Nah, that’s too hard. Just go along. If it’s important you’ll get it.
My devil friends on the shoulders of the other disciples tell me they’re convincing everyone to just ignore Jesus when Jesus says stuff like this. In fact, look, here comes James and John with their mother. I bet they’re going to ignore what Jesus said and ask for something important.
Part 6: Matthew 12:20-24
Disciple: James and John are such greedy schemers! They have their mother coming and asking Jesus for things on their behalf. That way they don’t look too greedy. They know Jesus doesn’t like greed. It just looks like they have a loving mother who is looking out for their best interests.
Devil: (to Disciple) Good! Good! Keep it up! Keep up that criticism of your fellow disciples. Don’t trust them. You know full well they have their own interests at heart. You should too! Keep competing to be Jesus’ favorite. He’ll reward you for it.
Plus, notice how they just ignored Jesus’ teaching about him being condemned. That’s what you should do. Like I told you before, just ignore whatever Jesus says that doesn’t make sense.
Angel: (to Disciple) Don’t listen to that devil. He’s trying to cause divisions between you and the other disciples. The more he can make you turn on each other the more he wins. Do you really want to spend eternal life competing with others for God’s favor? No. It’s all by God’s grace. Everyone will be there, not because they deserve it, but because God loves them.
Devil: (to Disciple) Just ignore what the angel said. I think you should call out James and John for their greedy schemes.
Part 7: Matthew 20:24-28
Disciple: I’m so confused. This is more about being a servant in order to be great. Is this like when Jesus talked about giving up all our possessions? Is that how I become great?
Devil: (to Disciple) Right on! Keep thinking that way. It’s all about reverse psychology. What God really wants is humility. Just be strategic in humility so that you can be great in God’s kingdom!
Angel: (to Devil) You never give up on an idea! You just keep twisting things and changing topics to make everything be about strategizing your way to greatness. That is not what Jesus is saying at all.
(to Disciple) Remember what I said earlier. Jesus chose you. You didn’t choose him. It’s already by God’s grace that you are following Jesus. Jesus doesn’t want you to waste your time or your energy posturing to be the best – whether that’s straightforward trying to get ahead or some back door method. Jesus loves you. Jesus chooses you. Just enjoy that and share the news that Jesus loves them and chooses them too. Let the rest of the details up to God.
Devil: (to Disciple) Silly, silly, silly, I say. That angel is teaching you nonsense. I tell you, the only way for you to live a full life it to take what you have and use it for yourself. Being a servant means that you’re just going to get walked over.
Angel: (to Disciple) It’s not silly at all. Jesus didn’t say that you should let yourself be walked over. He means that just as he loves you, you should love others. That means being willing to do things that aren’t glamorous. If you try to live for just yourself you’re going to end up exhausted and empty. If you take up the tasks Jesus has for you, you will be fulfilled.
Part 8: Matthew 20:29-34
Disciple: That was a cool miracle Jesus just did! It’s amazing to see him doing things like that!
Devil: (to Disciple) Cool?!? Humph. Maybe it was kind of cool, but think about it critically. It was a complete waste of a miracle. You are in Jericho. Who cares about Jericho? And Jesus heals two blind nobodies along the side of the road. (sarcastically) Big deal. Why waste power on worthless nobodies from nowhere who can’t help your cause at all?
Angel: (to Disciple) That’s another example of God’s grace. Learn from it. Just because it happened in a place unimportant to humans doesn’t mean it’s unimportant to God. And just because it happened to people who don’t seem important doesn’t mean they aren’t important to God.
Look, now they’ve become followers of Jesus too! That’s exactly grace in action.
Devil: (to Angel) Big deal. Now there are two more inept nobodies following Jesus; along with his bunch of other misfits from nowhere. I tell you, if you want to get something done in this world you have to strategize. You have to decide who’s worth it and who’s not. If they don’t have the skills then let them behind. If they’re able to help you, then recruit them.
Angel: (to Devil) That’s your perspective always. Always judge people based on how much you can get out of them.
(to Disciple) Remember, it’s all about God’s grace. God does not need anything from humans. God can get anything God wants. It is God’s own choice to love you, even though -in earthly terms- you have no value before God.
Devil: (to Disciple) Blah, blah, blah. More nonsense about grace and love. Grace and love is all that he talks about. Grace and love won’t get you anywhere. You’ll just die friendless and broke.
Angel: (to Disciple) You will die after a meaningful life. Trust God.
Devil: (to Disciple) I tell you, this angel is teaching you nonsense.
Look, it’s all coming to a head soon. You’ve been following Jesus for a couple of years now. For a long time he’s said you’re heading to Jerusalem. You’re almost there. That’s the place of Jewish power. It’s also the Passover holidays. The Romans will be pouring in with their troops to keep the peace. Pontus Pilate will probably even be there. There’s some power for you! But watch what Jesus does to them. You can bet he’s going to show them who’s boss. He’ll be knocking heads together and setting up his glorious kingdom. You’ll be honored too. Then you’ll see that I’ve been right about Jesus all along.
Angel: (to Devil) You endlessly lie and twist everything. Your stories don’t add up. You say one thing one time and another thing another time.
Devil: (to Angel) Like I said earlier, it’s a perk of my business. I can keep changing the truth to suit whatever I want. The key thing is to make this guy think it’s all consistent and logical. The only message I have to convince him of is that he’s the most important and he should look out for himself. These humans are always twisting logic for their own benefit.
Angel: (to Disciple) What this devil told you is true… partly. You are almost to Jerusalem. It is the center of religious power. And the Romans will send Pontus Pilate in with a whole legion of soldiers to keep the peace. But keep an eye on Jesus. Follow him. Believe him. Trust him. There are things that probably won’t make any sense. That’s the way God’s grace often works. But remember, even if you do fail, God still loves you. And you will have been a first-hand witness of just how much God’s grace can do!
Disciple: We have almost reached Jerusalem. I think it’ll be a big success for us. Jesus will surely make everything clear.
I know I’m a committed disciple of Jesus. …at least I think I am.
I’ll follow him no matter what happens. …at least I think I will.
Monday, March 16, 2026
March 15, 2026 Moral Foundations Matthew 19:1-15
In his 1973 book Whatever Became of Sin psychiatrist Karl Menninger notes that American presidents used to mention sin once in a while, but that none had done so since 1953. Thus at the time of publication the topic of sin had not been in presential language for 20 years. Picking up on this in 1988 United Methodist pastor Rev. Dr. Donald Strobe said, “The Republicans refer to the problems of “pride” and “self-righteousness.” The Democrats refer to “shortcomings.” But none use the grand old sweeping concept of sin anymore. Thus, it seems, we as a nation stopped sinning thirty-five years ago! And, speaking of politics: a poll on heaven and hell in the Des Moines Register awhile back found that only one Republican in 35 expects to end up in hell, whereas one Democrat in nine assumes he will. I am not sure what that means. It may mean that it does little good to preach hellfire and brimstone to a congregation that is filled with people who don’t believe there is a chance in hell that they will end up there!” (King's Treasury of Dynamic Humor. Seven World’s Press 1990, Pg. 193-4)
The word sin is certainly a word that does not get used in society anymore. Although perhaps it is used to by one political group to refer to the actions of a different group. It is a dirty word. We don’t like it. So we don’t use it. And as a society we’ve, in our consciousness, stopped sinning. But just because you chuck out a concept doesn’t mean it wasn’t true. And just because you’ve chucked it out doesn’t mean that it isn’t ultimately helpful either.
It has often been said that you cannot legislate morality. Indeed, you can try to codify moral principles into a legal system. While you have to have some sort of legal code so that there are solid boundaries, the legal code does not create morals. People will always find ways around them. You can make the legal code ever more complex so as to close all the loopholes, but people will ever find ways around them.
And then there is the other side of legislating morality. Any overly rigid moral code will inadvertently hurt innocent people. The letter of the law may even become a trap that an innocent person cannot escape. Many a novel has been written about innocent people becoming victims inescapably trapped in social and moral codes.
You cannot legislate morality. Lots of legal things are immoral. And lots of moral things may fall on the wrong side of the law.
Sin is a good concept to engage all of this. We may say that sin and morality are the same things. We would be right in seeing many overlaps. But they are not necessarily the same. Morals are about right and wrong conduct. Sin, in its most basic form, is about relationship with God. It is a deeper category than morality. Sin is going against God’s designs for creation and human society.
It is with this understanding that we turn to our gospel reading, which begins with Jesus being asked about divorce. Or perhaps I should say he’s being trapped by some Pharisees by using the concept of divorce. You’ll remember that according to the Old Testament law divorce was okay. Or, I should say it was okay for a man to divorce his wife. There was nothing giving a woman the right to divorce her husband. Grounds for divorce could be anything. Anything at all. Any failing or shortcoming the husband perceived from his wife was legitimate grounds. I’ve joked before that if the husband got home from work and his wife put a burnt meatloaf on the table for supper that could be grounds for divorce.
In Jesus’ day there was a debate over the legitimacy of divorce between the more conservative Shammaites and the more liberal Hillelites. Sort of like trying to trap someone into being either a Republican or a Democrat based on how they answer a moral question, so was the Pharisees question to Jesus to see which label they could apply to him. And just like today, if you can put a label onto someone you can impose all sorts of other categories onto that person as well.
Jesus is being asked a moral question that is a trap. Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife? Jesus does not reply with a moral response. Jesus replies with a sin-based response. Jesus takes the issue back to relationship with God, God’s created order, and God’s designs for healthy human society. He says, “Have you not read that at the beginning the Creator made them ‘male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?”
This answer does carry moral implications, but you can see how Jesus frames it in terms of sin.
His opponents are not satisfied with this answer. They pull out scripture for their response, “Why then did Moses command us to give a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her?” Again, they are coming from a moral standpoint. They are asking about technicalities of right and wrong. They use the legal code to frame their question.
But Jesus refuses to be trapped into a moral argument. He once again responds from the point of view of sin, “It was because you were so hard-hearted that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.”
Do you see how this is again a sin category based upon God’s designs for relationships? Jesus’ ongoing response confirms that, “And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another commits adultery.” Now this can potentially open a whole new can of worms. That’s beyond the scope of this sermon. But again, we can see that he is rooting his thoughts in God’s designs for relationships and the fundamental breakdown of those relationships.
The relationships of a solid family were foundational to the early Christian church and the same is true today. Matthew’s text turns to that in a minute, but not before a somewhat bizarre aside from the disciples.
The disciples say in response to Jesus talking about God’s purposes in marriage, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”
That response makes no sense whatsoever. Jesus just put broken marital relationships into the category of sin and not just morality. The disciples somehow think it’s a statement against marriage in general!?! It is bizarre to be sure. And if it is an historically accurate account then it leaves us puzzled. But within the storyline of Matthew it sets up the next scene with children. Jesus’ response to them is basically that those who get married to form families and those who remain single both serve purposes in God’s design. Pressure should not be applied either way.
That becomes a stepping stone that takes us to the meaning of this whole passage.
Children were brought to Jesus but the disciples turned them away. Jesus says, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” We know these words well and we love them. Let’s make sure we understand them in context. In contrast to both Jewish and pagan religious life, the Christian community encouraged participation by the whole family. There were pagan religions exclusively for men or women, but families did not participate together. Within Judaism the practices of first century synagogues are unclear. They definitely did allow for some participation of women, but not children. Boys under age twelve did not participate in worship. Girls and young women did not at all.
In the church the entire family was welcome. All had a place. All participated. Man, woman, or child… all were worthy and regarded as important. Children, with their almost total lack of status outside the church, were regarded as models of how the kingdom of God is to be received.
The church needs all people, for all are God’s children. The church also needs sin; or perhaps I should say it relies on the concepts of sin in order to make sense of the world. We build the community of the church on the foundational relationships God designed into creation, human society, and the way humans relate to creation. Ideally it is all one united community. Any and every break from it is a sin.
I think we would do well to not categorize the actions of politics, military, business, and society in general in terms of morality. That just leads to ever more divisions, ever more judgments, and ever more posturing for the moral high ground. When we see the plight of our world in terms of sin, I believe we are taking a step of seeing it how it should be. We recognize our own sinfulness. And we recognize ways that we can and should work to bring things into God’s designs.
It is unlikely that we will solve everything, or even perhaps much of anything at all, but we will be working in the right direction for God’s kingdom.
The word sin is certainly a word that does not get used in society anymore. Although perhaps it is used to by one political group to refer to the actions of a different group. It is a dirty word. We don’t like it. So we don’t use it. And as a society we’ve, in our consciousness, stopped sinning. But just because you chuck out a concept doesn’t mean it wasn’t true. And just because you’ve chucked it out doesn’t mean that it isn’t ultimately helpful either.
It has often been said that you cannot legislate morality. Indeed, you can try to codify moral principles into a legal system. While you have to have some sort of legal code so that there are solid boundaries, the legal code does not create morals. People will always find ways around them. You can make the legal code ever more complex so as to close all the loopholes, but people will ever find ways around them.
And then there is the other side of legislating morality. Any overly rigid moral code will inadvertently hurt innocent people. The letter of the law may even become a trap that an innocent person cannot escape. Many a novel has been written about innocent people becoming victims inescapably trapped in social and moral codes.
You cannot legislate morality. Lots of legal things are immoral. And lots of moral things may fall on the wrong side of the law.
Sin is a good concept to engage all of this. We may say that sin and morality are the same things. We would be right in seeing many overlaps. But they are not necessarily the same. Morals are about right and wrong conduct. Sin, in its most basic form, is about relationship with God. It is a deeper category than morality. Sin is going against God’s designs for creation and human society.
It is with this understanding that we turn to our gospel reading, which begins with Jesus being asked about divorce. Or perhaps I should say he’s being trapped by some Pharisees by using the concept of divorce. You’ll remember that according to the Old Testament law divorce was okay. Or, I should say it was okay for a man to divorce his wife. There was nothing giving a woman the right to divorce her husband. Grounds for divorce could be anything. Anything at all. Any failing or shortcoming the husband perceived from his wife was legitimate grounds. I’ve joked before that if the husband got home from work and his wife put a burnt meatloaf on the table for supper that could be grounds for divorce.
In Jesus’ day there was a debate over the legitimacy of divorce between the more conservative Shammaites and the more liberal Hillelites. Sort of like trying to trap someone into being either a Republican or a Democrat based on how they answer a moral question, so was the Pharisees question to Jesus to see which label they could apply to him. And just like today, if you can put a label onto someone you can impose all sorts of other categories onto that person as well.
Jesus is being asked a moral question that is a trap. Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife? Jesus does not reply with a moral response. Jesus replies with a sin-based response. Jesus takes the issue back to relationship with God, God’s created order, and God’s designs for healthy human society. He says, “Have you not read that at the beginning the Creator made them ‘male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?”
This answer does carry moral implications, but you can see how Jesus frames it in terms of sin.
His opponents are not satisfied with this answer. They pull out scripture for their response, “Why then did Moses command us to give a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her?” Again, they are coming from a moral standpoint. They are asking about technicalities of right and wrong. They use the legal code to frame their question.
But Jesus refuses to be trapped into a moral argument. He once again responds from the point of view of sin, “It was because you were so hard-hearted that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.”
Do you see how this is again a sin category based upon God’s designs for relationships? Jesus’ ongoing response confirms that, “And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another commits adultery.” Now this can potentially open a whole new can of worms. That’s beyond the scope of this sermon. But again, we can see that he is rooting his thoughts in God’s designs for relationships and the fundamental breakdown of those relationships.
The relationships of a solid family were foundational to the early Christian church and the same is true today. Matthew’s text turns to that in a minute, but not before a somewhat bizarre aside from the disciples.
The disciples say in response to Jesus talking about God’s purposes in marriage, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”
That response makes no sense whatsoever. Jesus just put broken marital relationships into the category of sin and not just morality. The disciples somehow think it’s a statement against marriage in general!?! It is bizarre to be sure. And if it is an historically accurate account then it leaves us puzzled. But within the storyline of Matthew it sets up the next scene with children. Jesus’ response to them is basically that those who get married to form families and those who remain single both serve purposes in God’s design. Pressure should not be applied either way.
That becomes a stepping stone that takes us to the meaning of this whole passage.
Children were brought to Jesus but the disciples turned them away. Jesus says, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” We know these words well and we love them. Let’s make sure we understand them in context. In contrast to both Jewish and pagan religious life, the Christian community encouraged participation by the whole family. There were pagan religions exclusively for men or women, but families did not participate together. Within Judaism the practices of first century synagogues are unclear. They definitely did allow for some participation of women, but not children. Boys under age twelve did not participate in worship. Girls and young women did not at all.
In the church the entire family was welcome. All had a place. All participated. Man, woman, or child… all were worthy and regarded as important. Children, with their almost total lack of status outside the church, were regarded as models of how the kingdom of God is to be received.
The church needs all people, for all are God’s children. The church also needs sin; or perhaps I should say it relies on the concepts of sin in order to make sense of the world. We build the community of the church on the foundational relationships God designed into creation, human society, and the way humans relate to creation. Ideally it is all one united community. Any and every break from it is a sin.
I think we would do well to not categorize the actions of politics, military, business, and society in general in terms of morality. That just leads to ever more divisions, ever more judgments, and ever more posturing for the moral high ground. When we see the plight of our world in terms of sin, I believe we are taking a step of seeing it how it should be. We recognize our own sinfulness. And we recognize ways that we can and should work to bring things into God’s designs.
It is unlikely that we will solve everything, or even perhaps much of anything at all, but we will be working in the right direction for God’s kingdom.
Monday, March 9, 2026
March 8, 2026 Greatness in Heaven Matthew 18
I have been slowly reading the book We Have Never Been Woke by Musa alGharbi, who is an African American Islamic Sociologist. He sees himself as a left-leaning thinker. I find that helpful because it is from that perspective that he criticizes many left-leaning ideologies. In other words, he is allowed to say things that a white male Christian is not allowed to say. Or perhaps I should say a white male Christian would be categorically condemned by many in society for saying.
AlGharbi points out that many who would label themselves as woke may indeed consciously have their hearts -in a sense- in the right place. They are for equality and inclusivity and all sorts of things. However, in their subconscious is an opposing drive to be the elites in society. And their subconscious is the driving force. He says that in the check out line at a grocery store these elites will happily see themselves as advocates on behalf of the person working the cash register. But they would not want to be the person working at the cash register. What ultimately happens is the reverse. Despite all sorts of words and supposed policies on behalf of the have-nots, they are using the have-nots for their own personal gain. Things get worse. Not better.
Perhaps you like me taking a jab at the social progressives of our society. Perhaps you are upset that I’d make a jab at the social progressives of our society. The thing is, pretty much everyone does it no matter where they fall in the political and social spectrums.
I’ve heard it said a number of times that if you put a group of people who have never met each other before in a room together and you give them a task to do, the very first thing they do is not the task but establishing a pecking order. People jostle for higher rank. No one wants to be on the bottom.
We should not be surprised then when our gospel reading records the disciples asking Jesus, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Perhaps we should even recognize that such motives exist within ourselves even if we aren’t conscious of it. The disciples are coming to realize that the rules of the kingdom of heaven may be different from the rules of society. So they, being Jesus’ insiders, are asking for the rules of the kingdom of heaven. That way they can be great in it.
So then, how does eternal life work? Do you really want to be forever posturing for social status? It would be exhausting. It would be more like hell than heaven. I can’t answer how it works. I suppose it’s something we can’t understand this side of dying. But Jesus’ response to the disciples shows us that the whole way of thinking that we use in this life is irrelevant.
Jesus calls a child and puts the child in the midst of them. He says, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” (Matthew 18:3-5)
Does that mean a reversal of strategy? Does that mean that humility now leads to greatness in heaven? No. That’s still thinking using the same categories of status; and even the need for status.
In those days and in that culture a child had no status. There were no kids’ sports leagues and extracurricular activities. Although wealthy parents would invest in all sorts of schooling and development to make their child grow up to one of society’s elite. Most kids were just mouths to feed until they grew up enough to take up manual labor. Thus, a child was a burden. Helping a child was a waste of effort if you were planning to get ahead in life. It served no purpose. Children were needy. They had to rely on others for everything.
And so, becoming like a child is to accept that you cannot make it on your own. You need your family. And perhaps most importantly, you also have no status apart from the status your family gives you.
Ultimately then, if you’re going to live in this lifetime with the anticipation of the kingdom of heaven you’re not going to be motivated by social status. It isn’t ultimately important. You don’t really care. What you do know is that you are God’s child. You have been invited by God to be a part of the family. And so the status of being in God’s family is all the status you need. There is no social posturing in heaven. So if that isn’t our heavenly reality then it shouldn’t be a driving motive for our lives now.
Consider that as we look at the scenes in Matthew 18 that follow. Jesus uses graphic language to talk about cutting off hands or feet if they cause you to stumble. Or tearing out your eye if it causes you to stumble. The Greek work is actually scandal and not stumble. We’ve run into that word scandal again, just like last week and a few weeks ago when the cross was considered a stumbling block or scandal.
Jesus says that it is unavoidable that we will stumble at times. Jesus will talk about forgiveness a little later on. At this point though, all of this means that we should not trivialize the impacts of our shortcomings and sins. Whether the little ones in society are: children, or the weak, or recent converts to Christianity, or whoever they may be, mature believers need to ensure these little ones are entering the family of God with safety and certainty.
Jesus goes on with the parable of the lost sheep. Here we see that God doesn’t just consider one lost sheep, or one lost person, an unavoidable consequence of business. God will not rest until all are together. God doesn’t want any of us to ever go astray. And God does not somehow think more of the one that is found. But God just wants all of the family together.
Jesus continues on and talks about disciplining members of the family of God. Such things will be unavoidable. Notice that Jesus’ advice maintains healthy boundaries and relationships but does not shame a person who stumbles or goes astray. The goal is reconciliation and not excommunication.
Peter asks how often we should forgive. Given all that Jesus has been saying we understand why. Peter wants to know at what point we can give up on someone in God’s family who keeps sinning. At what point have they passed reconciliation? Jesus replies, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.” That’s a high number! The point is that we shouldn’t keep track. For if we are keeping track it isn’t really forgiveness in the first place. Again, keeping track is the stuff of social posturing.
Finally Jesus gives the parable of the unforgiving servant. The debt the king forgives is enormous – more than several lifetimes worth of earnings. But then the servant who has been forgiven demands immediate repayment of a relatively small debt. The king finds out and hands the initial debtor over to be tortured until he repays the impossibly high debt.
Again, see all of this in light of social posturing and who is better than another. That whole way of thinking is faulty in God’s kingdom. We need to remember that we all sin. We all stumble. We all fall short. Therefore we must be graciously forgiving as well.
Indeed, all of this can sound like bad people can get away with a lot. These texts have been used in a way that bad people have gotten away with a lot, and their victims keep on suffering and suffering and suffering and never stand up for themselves. But that is not Jesus’ intent at all. Jesus’ intent is to have us center our lives on being in God’s family.
Matthew 18 does create an accountability system for those who do wrong. But again, restoration to the family is the main goal. And when people are belligerent in their activities then they have basically removed themselves from God’s family.
We live now freed from what can easily be a life-consuming quest for status and greatness. But it is not so in God’s heavenly kingdom. So let those who do their social signaling and moral posturing do it. It’s not our problem and it’s not worth our energy trying to keep up with them. We are God’s children. We are God’s family. In that we live safely forever.
AlGharbi points out that many who would label themselves as woke may indeed consciously have their hearts -in a sense- in the right place. They are for equality and inclusivity and all sorts of things. However, in their subconscious is an opposing drive to be the elites in society. And their subconscious is the driving force. He says that in the check out line at a grocery store these elites will happily see themselves as advocates on behalf of the person working the cash register. But they would not want to be the person working at the cash register. What ultimately happens is the reverse. Despite all sorts of words and supposed policies on behalf of the have-nots, they are using the have-nots for their own personal gain. Things get worse. Not better.
Perhaps you like me taking a jab at the social progressives of our society. Perhaps you are upset that I’d make a jab at the social progressives of our society. The thing is, pretty much everyone does it no matter where they fall in the political and social spectrums.
I’ve heard it said a number of times that if you put a group of people who have never met each other before in a room together and you give them a task to do, the very first thing they do is not the task but establishing a pecking order. People jostle for higher rank. No one wants to be on the bottom.
We should not be surprised then when our gospel reading records the disciples asking Jesus, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Perhaps we should even recognize that such motives exist within ourselves even if we aren’t conscious of it. The disciples are coming to realize that the rules of the kingdom of heaven may be different from the rules of society. So they, being Jesus’ insiders, are asking for the rules of the kingdom of heaven. That way they can be great in it.
So then, how does eternal life work? Do you really want to be forever posturing for social status? It would be exhausting. It would be more like hell than heaven. I can’t answer how it works. I suppose it’s something we can’t understand this side of dying. But Jesus’ response to the disciples shows us that the whole way of thinking that we use in this life is irrelevant.
Jesus calls a child and puts the child in the midst of them. He says, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” (Matthew 18:3-5)
Does that mean a reversal of strategy? Does that mean that humility now leads to greatness in heaven? No. That’s still thinking using the same categories of status; and even the need for status.
In those days and in that culture a child had no status. There were no kids’ sports leagues and extracurricular activities. Although wealthy parents would invest in all sorts of schooling and development to make their child grow up to one of society’s elite. Most kids were just mouths to feed until they grew up enough to take up manual labor. Thus, a child was a burden. Helping a child was a waste of effort if you were planning to get ahead in life. It served no purpose. Children were needy. They had to rely on others for everything.
And so, becoming like a child is to accept that you cannot make it on your own. You need your family. And perhaps most importantly, you also have no status apart from the status your family gives you.
Ultimately then, if you’re going to live in this lifetime with the anticipation of the kingdom of heaven you’re not going to be motivated by social status. It isn’t ultimately important. You don’t really care. What you do know is that you are God’s child. You have been invited by God to be a part of the family. And so the status of being in God’s family is all the status you need. There is no social posturing in heaven. So if that isn’t our heavenly reality then it shouldn’t be a driving motive for our lives now.
Consider that as we look at the scenes in Matthew 18 that follow. Jesus uses graphic language to talk about cutting off hands or feet if they cause you to stumble. Or tearing out your eye if it causes you to stumble. The Greek work is actually scandal and not stumble. We’ve run into that word scandal again, just like last week and a few weeks ago when the cross was considered a stumbling block or scandal.
Jesus says that it is unavoidable that we will stumble at times. Jesus will talk about forgiveness a little later on. At this point though, all of this means that we should not trivialize the impacts of our shortcomings and sins. Whether the little ones in society are: children, or the weak, or recent converts to Christianity, or whoever they may be, mature believers need to ensure these little ones are entering the family of God with safety and certainty.
Jesus goes on with the parable of the lost sheep. Here we see that God doesn’t just consider one lost sheep, or one lost person, an unavoidable consequence of business. God will not rest until all are together. God doesn’t want any of us to ever go astray. And God does not somehow think more of the one that is found. But God just wants all of the family together.
Jesus continues on and talks about disciplining members of the family of God. Such things will be unavoidable. Notice that Jesus’ advice maintains healthy boundaries and relationships but does not shame a person who stumbles or goes astray. The goal is reconciliation and not excommunication.
Peter asks how often we should forgive. Given all that Jesus has been saying we understand why. Peter wants to know at what point we can give up on someone in God’s family who keeps sinning. At what point have they passed reconciliation? Jesus replies, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.” That’s a high number! The point is that we shouldn’t keep track. For if we are keeping track it isn’t really forgiveness in the first place. Again, keeping track is the stuff of social posturing.
Finally Jesus gives the parable of the unforgiving servant. The debt the king forgives is enormous – more than several lifetimes worth of earnings. But then the servant who has been forgiven demands immediate repayment of a relatively small debt. The king finds out and hands the initial debtor over to be tortured until he repays the impossibly high debt.
Again, see all of this in light of social posturing and who is better than another. That whole way of thinking is faulty in God’s kingdom. We need to remember that we all sin. We all stumble. We all fall short. Therefore we must be graciously forgiving as well.
Indeed, all of this can sound like bad people can get away with a lot. These texts have been used in a way that bad people have gotten away with a lot, and their victims keep on suffering and suffering and suffering and never stand up for themselves. But that is not Jesus’ intent at all. Jesus’ intent is to have us center our lives on being in God’s family.
Matthew 18 does create an accountability system for those who do wrong. But again, restoration to the family is the main goal. And when people are belligerent in their activities then they have basically removed themselves from God’s family.
We live now freed from what can easily be a life-consuming quest for status and greatness. But it is not so in God’s heavenly kingdom. So let those who do their social signaling and moral posturing do it. It’s not our problem and it’s not worth our energy trying to keep up with them. We are God’s children. We are God’s family. In that we live safely forever.
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