All Saints Sunday—Pentecost 22

Series: Pentecost

Are false prophets among us to lead us astray? You hear them from time to time offering self-serving messages, subverting God’s authentic and authoritative voice, and taking our eyes off Jesus. Jesus calls people who are willing to lead by humble service rather than pursuing power. The inescapable reality of religion’s ambivalence to moral certainty is the backdrop to Matthew’s reading. Religious beliefs produce both saints and terrorists, offer the highest human values and undergird prejudice and hatred, and follow a divine path to God and assume titles for its leaders that should be reserved only for God. The truly powerful renounce prestige and live as loyal servants.

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