Rev. Michael Holmen's Sermons

 Audio recordingSermon manuscript:“Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand!” In our Gospel reading the chief priest and elders are upset about Jesus. The chief priests and elders had never liked Jesus. Jesus wasn’t a part of their club. He wasn’t from Jerusalem. He didn’t go to the right schools. He wasn’t from the right families. What’s more is that he also appeared to them to be a dangerous heretic. He healed people on the Sabbath, for example. That’s work, is it not? That’s forbidden. And his disciples didn’t wash their hands before they ate. Every self-respecting Jew had been washing his hands a certain way from time immemorial! And here these cheeky disciples were flaunting the traditions of their people. So the chief priest and elders already didn’t like Jesus, but what had been going on lately was over the top. The day before our reading took place was Palm Sunday. Jesus entered Jerusalem amid shouts of joy: “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Jesus is the King like King David!