The Curious Ministry of an Unlikely Leader

A pastor friend from seminary contacted me to lead her congregation while she was out of town in July last year. I was honored to be entrusted with them. The following is based on the transcript of the sermon I preached that morning. It is based on Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30, which can be found here . Today’s Gospel is all about perceptions. First, it speaks of people’s perceptions of others, then moves to our own perception of discipleship. In the first verses, it speaks of John being rejected because he was different. It then speaks of Jesus being rejected because of the people he spent time with. Jesus had a habit of spending time with people who were undesirable. He spent time with people who had been rejected from society, those we sometimes call the outcast or marginalized. The religious leaders of the day would not spend time with people who were deemed sinners. We recognize now that everyone sins, which is why we speak the order of Confession and Forgiveness every