A look at the gaps in the lectionary.
This week: the gap between Proper 22A and 23A
The text: None [see Matthew 19, 20, and 21]
The lectionary has us reading straight from where we left off for the second week in a row. This is normally a good thing for our dear readers and preachers. There isn’t anything to catch up on in between Sundays.
The ongoing challenge for us at this point, however, is keeping ourselves connected with the moment in the gospel—something I’ve addressed the last two weeks.
We’re in Jerusalem. Jesus is being confronted by the Temple leaders and he is challenging them back.
God’ll get new people
The common theme from the two parables Jesus tells (from last week’s gospel and this one) is how replaceable the Hebrew people are. And how replaceable any of us are.
If we didn’t focus on this concept in the Wicked Tenets, then we certainly have that now.
This idea, especially when held as shown in two parables, not just one, is wonderfully orienting concept. As we might find ourselves focused on God or the leaders or what is right in some objective way, Jesus seems to be making the case for God’s mission. That mission itself is what is special, not the people.
The Special excuse
There’s the familiar trope of the famous person getting in trouble. And when the police officer pulls them over, they say
“Do you know who I am?”
Not “What is wrong?” or “How may I be of service?”
But a declaration of excuse. An almost admission of guilt. As if traffic laws need not apply. That fame/money/power allow a person absolute freedom from responsibility.
That means, in this case, that God’s command means nothing.
Jesus is telling the Temple leaders that, actually, they’ve got is skewed. It actually doesn’t matter who they are. Who their fathers are; who their mothers are. Which tribe or family or profession.
It doesn’t matter what they think God’s blessing means to them. It’s God’s choice. Nobody’s above the law.