September 28, 2008

Scripture:         Matthew 21:23-32

Sermon:           “Unexpected Guests”

            I’d like to turn with you now to the Word of God.  As the scriptures speak to us this morning so does the Spirit of the Lord.  So, let us open our hearts and minds to the movement of God’s Holy Spirit.  And let us open our Bibles to the Gospel According to Matthew and encounter Jesus Christ.

            Turn with me to chapter 21 of Matthew where we will read together verses 23 through 32.  You can find that easily on page 31 of the New Testament in the pew Bible.

            It’s really a fiery text we have this morning.  Jesus has entered the Temple in Jerusalem, the seat of religious and political power.  And there he was teaching.  What he was teaching isn’t exactly clear.  But, Matthew wants us to know about the exchange that followed between Jesus and the chief priests and elders.  It wasn’t pleasant.

            Matthew tells us that a few high ranking officials tried to corner him and make him say something controversial.  “By whose authority do you do what you do and say what you say?”  What were they expecting?  Most likely they were hoping he’d say that God had given him the authority.  And that would’ve been the kind of thing they’d use in campaign commercials and such against him.  He’s a delusional heretic.  You can’t trust him.

            Jesus smelled what they were cooking.  What we’ll read here is how he instead cornered them with another question.  “By whose authority did John the Baptist dip people in the River Jordan?”  And we get some insight into the politics of the day, you see.  They are afraid to answer because of what other people might think of them.

            Then, Jesus goes on the offensive.  It’s debate season in our own political world, isn’t it?  Listen to how Jesus took control of the conversation and drove his point home in a way that must have just left those folks with hanging jaws.  Well, not just hanging jaws.  He left those folks with an axe to grind.

            This is the Word of the Lord…

When he entered the temple, the chief priests 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?” ²⁴Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ²⁶But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.” ²⁷So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

²⁸“What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ ²⁹He answered, ‘I will not’; but later he changed his mind and went. ³⁰The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, ‘I go, sir’; but he did not go. ³¹Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. ³²For 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 minds and believe him.

            Okay.  We get the picture, don’t we?

            There’s a man with two sons.  The two sons are both told to go and do their chores.  One of them refused at first, but then went ahead and did it.  The second son told his dad, “Sure.  I’ll go.”  But, he never went.  So, which one actually obeyed their old man?  That’s the question.  And the obvious answer is that the first one did, even though he first refused.  The second just acted like he was the good, obedient son.  He never lifted a finger, even though he said that he would.

            Now, Jesus is squaring off with some high-falutin’ folks.  And it’s pretty obvious that Jesus is comparing them to that second son.  You know, that’s the one who said he’d go out and do the work of the father.  In Jesus’ estimation, these chief priests and elders of the people were all talk and all show.  When it came down to the business of actually serving God, you know, Jesus says that they don’t really lift a finger.

            Then Jesus says something that’s just outrageous!  We’ve identified the second son in his little parable.  But, Jesus goes on to name such folks as tax collectors and prostitutes as those like the first son.  When ‘ole John was out in the wilderness baptizing folks, turns out that some unsavory characters came his way in order to repent and change their lives.  Tax collectors.  Prostitutes.  Who knows what?  And who knows who?  But, their were some dramatically changed lives as a result of all of John’s preaching and baptizing.

            So, you’ve got the respectable, established, powerful religious folks.  And Jesus says that there are none other than tax collectors and prostitutes who are entering into the kingdom of God before they ever even get to the doorway.

            It reminds me of that Jim Croce song.  You remember it back in the ‘70’s?  You don’t tug on Superman’s cape.  You don’t spit into the wind.  You don’t pull the mask off that old lone ranger.  And you don’t mess around with Jim.

            Well, Jesus has just gone and ignored all of that.  He’s messing around with Jim, so to speak.  Right there in the Temple, he’s insulting the chief priests of the place.  That kind of stuff will get you killed eventually.

            There’s a point here where we who say we follow this man feel like we’re watching our hero stand up and defend all that is right and good in the face of self-righteousness.  I mean here’s the guy who champions such folks as tax collectors and prostitutes and offers them the kind of grace that turns their lives around.  This is the Jesus we sinners love to read about, you know.  He’s the Son of God and has no qualms about the company he keeps.  Folks jeer at him about being a glutton and a drunkard for the kind of folks he mingles with.  And for the glutton, the drunkard, the tax collector, the prostitute, the whatever that resides down within each of us and in our own stories, we’re pretty attached to this Jesus.  He’s our Savior.  That shepherd came for our lost sheep once, too, didn’t he?

            So, we’re mostly impressed and comforted by all of this tax collector and prostitute talk.  I think.  Mostly.  That’s you and me in some way and that’s how we wound up here.  I think.  Forgiveness.  Transformation.  Renewal.  Healing.  God went and reached out to us in our despair and said, “I’m not giving up on you.”  And Jesus standing up to what sounds to us like judgmental people who never bothered to offer us grace when we were down and out?  Boy, that’s our Jesus.

            You ever been stuck in traffic when they’ve got all three lanes shut down to one?  You know like they do over on the Sherman Minton Bridge every now and again?  And you wait patiently for a while.  You get over in the open lane and wait your turn.  Your patience wears a little, but you’ll get to where you’re going.  After some time passes, you’ve creeped all the way up to point where the construction begins.  And that’s when somebody who hasn’t waited at all flies up beside you on the left and weasels his way in front of you.  You’ve been patient.  You’ve been delayed.  You’ve paid the price.  And this guy, who’s probably driving something you can’t even afford, decides he’s just too important to wait.  And, boom.  He slides right in front of you.  And that’s when you notice he’s got a bumper sticker for the guy you’re not voting for!

            That’s about what Jesus said was happening to the priests of the Temple.  Isn’t it?  You’ve got your run-of-the-mill sinner cutting in line to get into the kingdom of God.  And Jesus says that it’s the seemingly good folks having to give up their place.  More than that.  It’s the very God that they think they’re serving that’s arranged this big swap.

            What is it that he meant that the first would be last and the last would be first?  He means that if you were to peek into the window of this kingdom of God place, you’d probably be a bit surprised at who’s there.  Unexpected guests.  “What’s she doing there in the seat of honor?” you’d ask.  “She’s the one that had an abortion!”  “And what’s that fellow doing there?” you’d say to yourself.  “I heard that he was, well, you know.”

            What is it that led to all of this upheaval, anyway?  Something about doing the will of the father, wasn’t it?  The chief priests and all, they weren’t doing it, apparently.  And then these other folks who seemed like they were so lost got their acts together and did start doing it.

            There’s a Christian pastor who once had the chance to meet with this big rock star who calls himself Bono.  Now, Bono claims he’s a Christian.  He’s that guy in the huge band U2.  When he’s not singing you can catch him speaking about things like the AIDS epidemic in Africa and the injustices of poverty in the developing world.  This pastor said, “Before I met him I had my doubts that this was really a Christian.  And after spending one hour with him I doubted that I was.”

            This past week, in the middle of all that we’ve been following with our own economy and such, Bono said something rather remarkable.  He said, “It’s extraordinary to me that the United States can find $700 billion to save Wall Street and the entire G8 can’t find $25 billion to save 25,000 children who die every day from preventable diseases.”

            You know, it’s realities like that that’ll make you wonder just who is and who isn’t doing the will of the father.  There’s a lot of will that isn’t being done, isn’t there?  And I’m not so sure if I’m a rescued sinner or if I’ve become a condemned part of a complacent, religious-looking bunch of hot air.  Know what I mean?

            This man, Bono, he’s in New York as the United Nations is meeting.  He’s meeting with the likes of Sarah Palin.  He’s on the phone with Barack Obama.  He’s talking with John McCain.  This isn’t about politics.  It’s about our soul.

            I like Jesus a whole lot better when he’s my guy.  It feels pretty good to have an ally sitting at the right hand of God.  But, Jesus isn’t so friendly when I consider that I might just be getting nudged to the back of the line for all of this father’s will that’s sitting around undone.

            A few weeks ago I taught this little song to our children.  It’s a song about sheep.  And it’s a song about goats.  Do you remember it?  I just wanna be a sheep, baa-baa-baa-baa.  I just wanna be a sheep, baa-baa-baa-baa.  And pray the Lord my soul to keep.  I just wanna be a sheep, baa-baa-baa-baa.  And then:  I don’t wanna be a goat, nope.  I don’t wanna be a goat, nope.  ‘Cuz goats ain’t got no hope.  I don’t wanna be a goat, nope.

            Cute song.

            You know where it comes from.  There in the 25^th chapter of Matthew, just a few pages away.  Jesus describes the end of the age when the Son of Man comes in his glory.  All the angels will be gathered around as he sits there on a throne.  And he’ll separate all the people of the earth like this:  the sheep will be on the right side and the goats will be on the left.

            I just wanna be a sheep.  But, those are the ones that did things like feeding folks when they were hungry.  They gave something to drink to people who were thirsty, you know.  They put aside their anxieties and fears and opened the doors wide for strangers.  They made sure folks had warm clothes for the winter.  They sat with the sick and dying.  And when people wound up in prison, the sheep didn’t give up on them.  The sheep went and visited.

            Goats?  Well, they didn’t do these things.

            I don’t wanna be a goat.

Rev. David James Brown

Park Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)