Tuesday Lectionary Leanings -- Who has Authority? Edition

Agnus Day

Greetings to all!  Another Sunday cometh, and for those of us who are not going cruising that means another sermon is due in a few days.  The readings for Epiphany 4B can be found here.

It always seems to me that the best worship preparation is begun with prayer {prayer source}:

O God,

we puff ourselves up with accumulated knowledge,

but without love for you we have no wisdom.

We take advantage of the liberty you give us through grace,

and become bad examples to our sisters and brothers.

We alternate between fear of your authority

and denial of your authority.

We dread to face our demons,

and we are faithless in the presence of your power over them.

Save us Lord from the sins we know,

save us Lord from the sins we hide.

(pause for reflection and self-examination) 

Our Lord Jesus Christ, the son of God, has come into our world with authority. The authority to destroy the demons that haunt us: our past, or weakness, our sin, our grief, our loss, our frailty, our mortal nature. Through Christ’s faithfulness our loving God grants us the forgiveness of all our sins and the promise of eternal life. Through faith offered by the Holy Spirit we may count on God’s intervening power, and live redeemed lives in the name of the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit.

Amen. 

 A lot about authority this week.  Where does authority come from?  Who has it?  How do we respond?  Oh and along the way, what makes a true prophet?

Are you drawn to the Jewish longing for a prophet like Moses? Or maybe there are a few "prophets" you would like to experience the promise at the end of the Deuteronomy reading (yes, wishing such a thing is not "proper" but if we are honest...).

Jesus Teaching in the Temple

Or maybe you find yourself drawn to Paul and meat.  And it is a puzzling question about how we interact with the culture around us.  What would you say are the equivalent issues in our world today?  How would you respond if you were asked the same question?

And then we have Jesus, and the authority issue.  Not like the scribes.  And even the unclean spirits listen to him.  What sort of authority is this?  Something new is happening?

Where is worship taking you this week?  Is there an article or blog post that you want to share with the rest of us?  Maybe you aren't preaching but have a great thought about what you would do "if only".  Share in the comments so we can all learn together...