Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the sermon I preached Sunday at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . The text was Matthew 21:23-32. I would like you to join me in listening to an exchange between Jesus and the religious leaders in Jerusalem. Jesus was in the middle of teaching in the temple and the chief priests and elders of the people interrupted him, saying, “Who do you think you are, Jesus? You’ve caused so much trouble lately.”  Talking among themselves, we hear, “Why didn’t he just stay put in Galilee?” while another chimes in, “He comes marching in here like he belongs here!” Then an elder says, “And the crowd! Not one bit of decorum among them! They kept crying out,  ‘Hosanna!’” “And if that weren’t enough, did you hear about the incident with the money changers? Jesus confronted them, tipping over their tables and making a huge scene.” “Then he said something about making it a house of prayer. What did he mean by that? This is God’s house. Of course, it’s a house of prayer.”“He called our money cha...

Here are some thoughts on this Sunday's gospel shared with the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church.   What are your thoughts?  Gospel: Matthew 21:23-32 23 When [Jesus] entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24 Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.   28 “What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to t...