20the Sunday after Pentecost [Pr. 21] September 28, 2008 “Series A”
Grace be unto you and peace, from God our Father and from our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Let us pray: Dear Heavenly Father, You sent your Son, Jesus the Christ, into our world to reveal your will for our lives and to redeem us from sin and death. Through the power of your Holy Spirit, open our hearts and minds to acknowledge the authority of your living Word, and to repent of our sins, that we might know the joy and peace of your redeeming grace. This we ask in Christ’s holy name. Amen.
Our Gospel lesson for this morning confronts us with what has become known as the “Parable of the Two Sons,” and the context in which Jesus told it. So let us first look at the situation that inspired this story of the two sons.
According to Matthew, Jesus had just entered Jerusalem, riding on a donkey to the shouts of “Hosannas.” We’ve come to refer to that day as Palm Sunday. But Matthew also tells us that not all of the people in Jerusalem understood the significance of this event. In fact, Matthew states, “When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, ‘Who is this?’ The crowds were saying, ‘This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.’”
And the first thing that Jesus does when he arrives at the Temple, is to cleanse it – to throw out the money changers and merchants, saying “My Father’s house shall be called a house of prayer; but you are making it a den of robbers.”
So, is it any wonder, that a day or so later, “when Jesus entered the Temple again, the chief priest and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, ‘By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?’”
After all, if someone paraded into our parking lot, amidst the cheers of a crowd on a Sunday morning, and then came into our nave and started to up-end tables and disrupt our services, I’m sure that your pastor and your council would be equally concerned. And I could just picture myself asking “Who gives you the authority to do this?” Although I may not be so polite in my use of words, I would want to know what was behind that action.
But Jesus doesn’t answer their question, at least not directly. Rather, he said, “I’m going to ask you a question and if you can answer my question, I will answer yours.” Of course, it proved to be an impossible question for them to answer, for it had to do with the authority by which John the Baptist conducted his ministry.
So they discussed among themselves, If we say, that John received his authority for his ministry of baptism for repentance from heaven, then Jesus will say to us, “Why didn’t you believe him.” With this first thought comes the idea that those who questioned Jesus, did not feel that they needed to embrace John’s message of repentance, or be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins.
On the other hand, if they answered that John’s authority was of human origin, hey were afraid that all those persons who had repented of their sins, and found new life in relationship with God, would revolt. And the religious leaders of the people certainly didn’t want to contribute to breakdown of the moral fabric of their society. And so they couldn’t answer Jesus, even though they still questioned not only the authority of John the Baptist, but also the authority of Jesus.
And so, Jesus tells them this parable, and he begins with these words: “What do you think?” To summarize the parable, Jesus tells us that a father asks his two sons to work in his vineyard. The one sons “No” to his father, but later goes and does what his father asked. The other son said “Yes, sir,” addressing his father with respect, but did not do as his father asked. And then Jesus asked, “Which of the two sons did the will of his father?”
Now, it doesn’t take a nuclear scientist to figure out the obvious answer to this story. The son that did the will of his father was the son that originally said he would not obey his father’s wishes, but later repented and went to work in the vineyard. But like all of Jesus’ parables, the truth of his message is often more difficult to ascertain, than the obvious answer. As Bernard Brandon Scott pointed out in his book, Hear Then the Parable: A Commentary on the Parables, [Fortress Press, 1989] this parable is not so simple. The truth is, in the society of Jesus day, honor of parents and elders was expected, and if you did not show honor, it was shameful. As a result, both of the Father’s sons sinned! They both brought shame upon their father, the first son by disrespecting his father’s request and saying “I will not.”
I don’t think I need to say too much to the parents of today about the impact of those words, even though it has been shortened to a simple, “No!” It is still disrespect for parental authority, and as grandparents, that word still sends shivers down my body, especially when I see my grandbabies doing something that could harm them. “No” is not just a denial of my authority, it is a denial of my ability to protect them and teach from experience.
But don’t we all rejoice, as parents or grandparents, when one of our children come to us and say, “I’m sorry Papa. I shouldn’t have said that to you. I’ll go pick up my toys, or I won’t throw my toys anymore.” It is an admission of guilt, and it enables us, as parents, to be more willing to forgive the lack of honor or insult that we initially felt.
However, as parents and grandparents, we have at times heard the words, “yes sir.” In other words, keeping with my grandkids as an example, “Papa, I’d do that for you.” But when their parents come to pick them up, the toys are still scattered about the house, and their parents wind up putting away most of the toys, while trying to get their children to get involved in the program.
Yeah, I can understand Scott’s point of view. Both of the vineyard owner’s sons disrespected their father, and sinned against him. “Who did the will of the father?” The point is, neither one of the sons showed respect for the father. But the one who knew that he had shamed his father with his answer, repented of his action, and went to work in the vineyard.
Jesus then concludes his parable with these words, answering his question about the authority of John the Baptist. “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your mind and believe him.”
The point is that the tax collectors and prostitutes knew that they had sinned and had shamed their relationship with God by their actions. They heard John’s call for repentance, and the offer of forgiveness that was offered to them through his ministry of baptism. And they turned their lives around and embraced a new relationship with God.
But the chief priests and elders of the Temple did not realize that they were also in need of repentance and God’s forgiveness. They enveloped a sense of arrogance as they considered themselves to be believers and servants of God, but failed to see the redeeming grace of God at work through John the Baptist’s ministry. And even now, they questioned the authority of Jesus’ ministry.
Jesus began his parable with the words, “What do you think?” According to Dr. Robert Kysar, in his commentary on our text, Published in New Proclamation, [ Fortress Press, 2005] “the question “what do you think?” immediately involves the listeners. They will be asked to make a decision at the end of this story… You cannot be only an observer of Jesus’ ministry. Something is demanded of you. By saying that it is the first son who is obedient, the chief priests and elders claim that actual service, rather than profession of intent, is important.” End quote.
However, the chief priests and elders not only misunderstood the ministry of John the Baptist and Jesus, they missed the opportunity to serve God in the process. By failing to embrace the kingdom of God that John and Jesus were proclaiming, it was if they were saying “Yes Sir,” to God, but failing to work in his vineyard. And what do you think? How many of us, are guilty of that?
As Kysar concludes, “We probably should never pretend that we fully understand any of Jesus’ parables, for they continue to stir up further reflections long after we have first considered them… Both sons are less than pure; neither is a model of obedience or faith. Both bring shame upon their father by their behavior. The parable suggests that none of us is a perfect servant of God, for in one way or another we do less than honor God. Maybe the point is that it is now what we say or even what we do that finally matters. What finally matters is that God has come into our world with an offer of a new relationship with our Creator.” End quote.
This, to me is the true significance of our Gospel lesson for this morning. God was at work, through the ministry of both John the Baptist and Jesus to bring his forgiving and redeeming grace into our world. And God’s grace was most perfectly revealed when Jesus the Christ, accepted the cross for our redemption. What do you think?
Amen.
