Holy Trinity Ankeny

Jesus tells a parable about five wise and five foolish bridesmaids. It is not about weddings, but about how we wait for the kingdom of God to dawn in fullness. We are to be prepared for a long wait and to be active in our waiting. The kingdom comes fully at the end, but it comes in pieces and surprising ways everyday as we actively anticipate it in our actions.

There is a chair at the table that stays empty. There is a phone that will not stop buzzing. And we keep being told that this is the whole story. But we know whose we are. Revelation 7:9-17 | 1 John 3:1-3 | Matthew 5:1-12

That we are made right before God by grace and not works, that forgiveness cannot be earned, is the central claim of the Reformation and Luther's theology. Grace, however, is about more than just forgiveness. Grace is the central principle of life. Amidst chaos, political and economic upheaval, natural disaster and even death, grace sustains us. Amidst it all, God is our fortress and strength.

When the Pharisees and Herodians try to trap Jesus with a trick question, he ends up revealing their hypocrisy and turning the tables on them. Being concerned about paying taxes to Caesar is not a central concern of life. Instead, a life of faith is about giving God what belongs to God – which is everything. He exposes this political posturing for what it is – unessential to the kingdom of God.

Some stories we wrestle with. Some wrestle with us. This one has been going round and round with us, and it ends with a closed door and a question nobody answers. We cannot walk away from it. We are not sure we want to. What do we do with this?   Matthew 22:1-14 | Isaiah 25:1-9 

We all have a view of how the world works. We have a mindset that guides our decisions and relationships. It is often shaped by culture, family, tradition. The Apostle Paul tells us that we should have "the mind of Christ." He demonstrates how his own life has been turned upside down by having the mindset of Jesus. It frees us. It saves us. It blesses us.

They asked him for his credentials. He never gave them. Not to the priests in the Temple, not to a prisoner sending word from a cell, not even to the crowd standing under a cross daring him to prove it. He answered a different way. He's still answering that way, at this table, today.   Matthew 21:23-27

We keep a ledger. Quietly, carefully. Who showed up, who's earned their place, who still owes something. Some of us keep it on others. Some of us keep it on ourselves. But grace was never good at math.    Jonah 3:10-4:11| Matthew 20:1-16 | Philippians 1:21-30

When Peter asks Jesus how many times we are to forgive someone, Jesus answers, "Seventy-seven – or Seven times seventy." What he means is, "Infinitely." Can that be right? Is there no room in the world for "enough is enough?" Are there not some things that are unforgiveable? Apparently not.

It is not news to say that the world and its inhabitants are divided, fragmented in a way that makes us give up hope. We just can't help ourselves from our desire for revenge, retribution, and winning the argument. Jesus called his people, his Church, to bear witness to another way of life which restores hope, to be a light in the midst of the divided darkness.