Gospel for 17 February, 2007

And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, "How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, inspired by the Holy Spirit, declared, `The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, till I put thy enemies under thy feet.' David himself calls him Lord; so how is he his son?" And the great throng heard him gladly. And in his teaching he said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to go about in long robes, and to have salutations in the market places and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation." And he sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the multitude putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came, and put in two copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him, and said to them, "Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For they all contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, her whole living."

My hometown paper, the Minneapolis Star Tribune this past week had several articles in it about a local pastor of a mega-Church who is being accused of making sweetheart financial deals through the Church. He's been preaching the so-called prosperity Gospel for years and his congregation numbers about 10,000. In the process, he's accumulated several homes in Florida, a vacation retreat in the lakes region of Minnesota, a Lexus, expensive clothing, and a private jet, which the Church sold to him and then leased back from him for more far more than what his payments on the plane contract are. His justification for this was that he preaches better when he's well dressed, so that he's really doing it for the sake of his congregation. He even went so far as to suggest that no one would listen to him if he had holes in his shoes.

The scribes and Pharisees are still among us. Nowadays they try to disguise themselves as ministers of the Gospel, but even Satan appears as an angel of light. We need tto seek to have eyes that really see and ears that really hear. We need to look to, and listen to, Jesus for our example, not some "pastor" in a hand tailored suit. Jesus said that "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head". Now you tell me which one is revealing the heart and mind of God.