Jesus -
You enter the temple to teach, and we ask, “By what authority are you doing these things?” You respond to our question with a question that points us toward baptism.
May we listen to and wrestle with Your question, and may we bold enough to respond with truth - even when that truth challenges us to change our minds because it does not align with how we think the world should be.
You tell us the tax collectors and prostitutes will enter God’s reign ahead of us because they believed the way of righteousness that came before them.
Forgive us when we claim to believe the way of righteousness, yet still do not go to work in Your vineyard. Forgive us when we judge today’s tax collectors and prostitutes instead of listening to their voices and joining with them in working Your vineyard.
Change our minds, Jesus, so we may fully live into our baptismal identities and join those on the edges who walk in the way of righteousness.
Amen.