By what authority are you doing these things and who gave you that authority? Those are the questions on the table in this morning’s Gospel reading. Jesus is challenged by the temple authorities - the chief priests and the elders, the guardians of the religious institution and theological status quo. Who did Jesus think He is riding into Jerusalem like a messiah to the shouts of Hosanna? Who did Jesus think He is, turning over the tables of the money changers and chasing out the sacrifice sellers, calling the temple the house of His Father? Who did Jesus think He is, walking around the temple and teaching as though He owned the place?

You’re probably not going to like this parable. There. You’ve been warned in advance. This isn’t going to be one of those sermons you want to send off to the relatives. This one’s kind of embarrassing. Best keep it “in-house” so to speak. You won’t like this parable because you and I, along with the rest of the world, believe in fairness. An honest day’s wages for an honest day’s work. Those are the rules. We despise the slackers, those who don’t pull their oar for the full ride. We expect God to play by the rules too. We expect God to take notice of our blood, sweat, and tears. We expect God to run HIs Church much like an American Express card where there’s a little notice down in the corner - “member since 1968.”

“Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?” There’s a great question. There has to be limit, doesn’t there? The line in the sand. The point beyond which you will not go, and be justified in it. Yes, Jesus taught His disciples to pray as though forgiveness depended entirely on you - “forgive us our debts in the same way as we forgive our debtors.” Forgive us just like we forgive others, Lord. But there has to be a limit. The same sin, over and over, again. There must be a limit. The rabbis of Jesus’ day said three times. That was enough. Three times you forgive your brother for the same sin, but the fourth time all bets are off.

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God. (Romans 13:1)

We are talking about “life as liturgy”, today from Romans chapter 13. Your life is a priestly liturgy as you, a baptized priest to God offer your own body as a living sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to God, a holy and acceptable sacrifice to God by His mercies in Christ Jesus. This “life as liturgy” begins in the congregation, where your Baptism is located, where the Lord’s table of His Body and Blood are, where the Word is preached into your ears. It extends out from the congregation in love - sincere love that hates what is evil, that honors the other over one’s self, that never lacks in zeal, that is joyful in hope, patient in suffering, faithful in prayer, generous in hospitality.