What are you hoping for? What are you looking forward to or eagerly anticipating? Right now, from an earthly standpoint, there doesn’t seem to me much and what available is slow either being cancelled or being replaced with decidedly “less than alternatives.” We are getting more and more disconnected and despondent. We need to be driven by a vision of a future that is hopeful and just plain better than now. There is a sifting and an unsettling going on that is leaving us disoriented. While there is much to grieve, and might be more, not all disruption is bad. 2,000 years ago there was “law and order” a “civil society” that left many hopeless in the face of the power of Caesars, governors, and systems. Fear and frustration ran high. Enter Jesus. He preaches, teaches, heals, and feeds. Comes to Jerusalem. Jesus then made his first order of business aggressively coming into the temple cleaning out the temple of corrupt dealers and restoring it to a house of prayer and healing. Jesus returned to the temple to teach and is confronted by the Chief Priest and elders of the temple about the nature of the authority. Jesus responds with challenging them on the nature of John the Baptist’s ministry. “Make a call, is John a prophet from God or is he a crazy person?” They gave an answer with best chance of keeping authority AND did not require them to submit to or recognize Jesus (who John held as the Son of God). Jesus continues teaching the leaders and the crowd with the parable of the wicked tenants of a vineyard and the gracious king reminding them where all authority rests and where all honor is due. In a world obsessed with power it is Jesus who is charge. If you continually reject the will of the king failing to recognize the authority of the King’s Son (Jesus) the vineyard/kingdom will be given to those who love the king. Jesus is going to give clarity and hope for many.