C’mon now … we know the answer.

“The truth is, the tax collectors and prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you” (Matthew 22:31). There he goes, Jesus, getting the priests and elders all worked up again.  Better hide that bit of truth from church folk today, that God seems to favor the least and ”not so good” of society, lest they begin to wonder what’s the use in going to church, let alone the purpose in maintaining its current structure.  ”Surely God wouldn’t let those people in ahead of me after all I’ve done for my church.”  Jesus questioned the Temple keepers and what the Temple was up to quite often.  I don’t feel as though he necessarily wanted to do away with the places of worship and their leadership as much as he wanted to make sure they understood what they were actually supposed to be and do.  Imagine the leadership of your church, or The Church, huddling together to discuss a situation or challenge only to emerge and announce, “We do not know,” (verse 27).  Imagine the leadership of the Episcopal Church, huddled in Indianapolis right now (for General Convention) deep in their discussions about “restructuring” the church only to emerge and proclaim, ”We do not know!”  Actually, that could be good for us all given many of us in the church cling to the greater authority of the church above the authority of our life in Christ.  Dismantle the authority and structure of the church and everyone, both sinners and the righteous, will see only Christ Jesus and suddenly remember “what we do not know.”

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Tags: Matthew 21:23-32