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Ezekiel 18:1-4,25-32 |
September 29, 2002; Proper 21, Year A;
The Rev. Harold "Skip" Comer, Rector
Our Gospel reading for this morning finds
Jesus in the midst of a heated discussion the chief priests and the elders.[i] Jesus had entered the temple and was confronted by the
religious leaders who questioned his authority to teach there. In typical Jesus fashion he responds to
their question with a question. He
questions them about John the Baptist – was he sent by God or was he a
self-proclaimed prophet out to make a name for himself? The chief priests and elders realized
that Jesus had backed them into a corner.
John was very popular with the people and if they were to deny that God
sent him they would have a riot on their hands. Their response was to shrug their shoulder and say, “We do
not know.” [ii] To which Jesus responded,
“Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”[iii]
Jesus continued, “What do you think?”[iv] And went on to tell the
parable of the two sons. The chief
priests and elders took the bait when they stated that the son who initially
refused but then went into the vineyard and worked was the one who did what his
father wanted him to do.
Jesus then sets the hook. Here in front of him are the righteous
leaders of the Jews, the ones who have said yes to God, but when God sent his
prophet John the Baptist to proclaim the way of righteousness, they did not
believe him. “Why,” Jesus
continues, “the tax collectors and prostitutes had no problem in realizing that
John was sent by God. These
‘sinners,’ who by their lifestyle had turned from God, had said “no,” responded
to John and believed in him and his message. And when you (the chief priests and elders that is) saw the
people wailing as they waded into the river to be baptized, all you could do
was stand proudly on the bank and thank yourselves that you were so
good. You, you who stand so proud
in the temple, looking down your noses at the people, will be the last to be
considered for entrance into the kingdom.”
This morning we have a parable of Judgment. It is a parable about who enters the
Kingdom of God, who goes in first and who goes to the end of the line. The parable in St. Paul’s words is
“work(ing) (but not in the sense of performing good deeds) out your own
salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you,
enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”[v]
Robert Capon, an Episcopal priest, in his
book, The Parables of Judgment, reveals the depth of what Jesus is saying in
this parable by rephrasing Jesus’ question, “Which of the two did the will of
his father? To ask, “On which of
these two sons will judgment fall.”
The response is naturally on the second son, “because he did not do the
will of his father.”[vi]
The key phrase in this parable is “the will
of his father.” The father in this
parable is to be understood as being God, and “the will of the father” that
Jesus used in his question goes far deeper than going to work in the
vineyard. Jesus reveals the “will
of the Father” in the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John, where he says, “This
is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him
may have eternal life; and I will raise them up at the last day.”[vii] Everyone who sees Jesus Christ, accepts him as the Son of
God, and believes in him will enter the Kingdom of god. This is the “will’ of God, the Father.
Jesus was aiming this parable specifically at
the Jewish chief priests and elders who refused to accept him for who he
was. They had become more
concerned with fulfilling the law and maintaining the religious establishment,
so much so, that they were not open to any communication, any revelation from
God.
This parable still speaks to us today
whenever we get sidetracked into working out our own salvation outside of God’s
plan for us in Jesus Christ. This
parable speaks to us as Christians because we have said yes to God at our
baptism and confirmation. Whenever
we turn or drift away from Jesus Christ, we are not doing our Father’s will for
us.
This may be a bit abrasive to take this
morning – my stating that we are like the son who said yes and then went to do
what he wanted to rather than working in the vineyard. If you feel that I am pointing a finger
at you, let me reassure you that I am also pointing it at me.
On Monday the clergy of the Traverse Deanery
met with our new Bishop for Bible study and some general discussion. The readings that we discussed we the
readings we have heard this morning.
Part of the discussion we had about the Gospel reading had to do with
integrity. We all agreed that if
we say one thing and do another that we would quickly loose our integrity as
ministers of the Gospel. If we do
not believe and live the words we preach, we are frauds. Even though we might be able to hide it
from people, we cannot hide it from God.
I remember when our children were growing up
the comments they made about some people that they saw in church on Sunday and
then the way that they behaved the rest of the week. Children are often more frank and vocal about what they
observe, especially if it is confusing to them. What do you tell a child about people’s bad behavior when
they claim to be Christians? We
fall back on the old standbys – they have a lot of problems or no body’s
perfect.
But our Gospel this morning confronts us with
this question, what do we tell Jesus about our behavior?