Assuming sin or assuming justice?
Sermon for Pentecost XXI,2022, delivered at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Louisville, KY Text: Luke 19:1-10 This morning, we find ourselves in Jericho with Jesus. Jericho is mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible, starting with Moses. The area across the Jordan river from Jericho, called Moab, was where Moses and the nation of Israel camped as they were led by God in conquering the area. Later, Joshua circled the walled city of Jericho for 6 days with his army, and on the 7th, blew horns that made the walls fall down. The people of Jericho were killed by Joshua’s army, except for the prostitute Rahab, because she had helped Joshua’s spies hide in the city when they first discovered it. Joshua then spoke an oath that anyone who tried to rebuild Jericho would be cursed. After Joshua’s curse, Elijah is taken up in a whirlwind before Elisha’s eyes, near Jericho, presumably having been rebuilt. Clearly, it is an important place in the Hebrew bible, and not having the best reputatio