Christ Shall Reign

November 8, 2017 Rory Grant Matthew

Readings: Micah 3:5-12    Matthew 23:1-12

Where: St Stephens  11.05.2017

Minister:  Rory Grant

• Last week – Jesus compared to the great Rabbis of Jewish tradition
• Went off on a different tack – comparing himself to the Messiah, comparing the Messiah to David, comparing David to God
• This week we move from that public moment, to a more private moment went Jesus is teaching his disciples.
  • “Listen to what those guys have to say, but don’t live the way they do. They don’t practice what they preach.”
  • It’s hard to imagine a more scathing assessment of the religious leaders of the day
  • Pointing people not to their leaders, but directly to God.
• Micah – historical context
  • Around the time of the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel
  • A country prophet, if we’re in Jerusalem, he lived in Albury
  • Around the same time as Isaiah, Amos and Hosea.
  • Things were not going well for Israel’s worship of YHWH
  • Micah is a contraction fo the Hebrew “Who is Like Yahweh?” Pointing people back to God.
• It’s the same story. Hypocrites and false prophets.
• It was the same at the time of the reformation. There was one church, but it was led by people like Leo X (Medici) and Johannes Tetzel – the one with that happy jingle
• Is anything all that much different now?
• A warning for leaders in the church
• A reminder that Jesus, alone is Lord
• No wonder we can never seem to get things right!
• Return of Jesus
• Festivals of the church year
• We’re left with a foot in both camps
  • Theodicy
  • Presence of God
• How then, shall we live?
  • Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
    To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God.
• Turn your face towards Christ the King, because he alone is your Rabbi. He alone is your teacher, your instructor, your leader.  God is our one true Father and through his Spirit he is with us always.