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Psalm 1,2,3; 4,7; Amos 2:6-16; Matt. 21:1-11; 2 Peter 1:1-11
The shock of the new liturgical year continues to ricochet through today’s readings. We see divine judgment in Amos, exhortations to holiness in 2 Peter, and Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem in Matthew as the crowd honors him with the title Son of David. All these are tinged with psalms that seek to clarify our expectations about those who will lead us, and what kind of people they should be.
Tread carefully, though. Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem isn’t necessarily the stuff of celebration. It’s a dangerously mocking moment of deeply political speech, and something that those around him would have loved even as they checked over their shoulders to see who else was looking. Surely the Son of David would have understood the peril he was placing himself in by poking fun at those in power in such a raw and direct way.
We know, too, from Matthew, that Jesus has conspired to conceive, design, and frame this moment, and to place himself within it as one places a target on one’s own back.
In this season of renewal and reflection—in this embittered and highly divided political moment—we have to ask ourselves how far we are willing to go in order to be faithful to the Gospel as we have received it. May we learn to love as tangibly as the one we acclaim as our king.
God, give us the courage of Christ. Amen.
The Rev. Canon Torey Lightcap, ’04
Canon to the Ordinary
EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF KANSAS
Torey Lightcap is Canon to the Ordinary in the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas.
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