Sermon Proper 21A September 28, 2008 Action from the Heart
September 30th, 2008 Posted in Sermons + In Nomine Jesu +
The Rev. Evan Gaertner
Proper 21A
September 28, 2008
Matthew 21:27-32
Action from the Heart
Our Congress is preparing to go on a vacation so that they can campaign for reelection this fall. We want to know our congressman our working for us and so they will often advertise when they have sponsored a bill that has hometown appeal. But there is an interesting realty to some of this hometown legislation these great bills do not always have attached to them the funding to accomplish what they propose. So the legislation becomes good publicity but doesn’t really do anything because no money has been attached to it. Some people will call this a bill without legs. It is without legs because the bill can’t go anywhere. It looks good but does nothing.
Our Gospel lesson for today includes a story from Jesus about two sons. One of the sons looks good but doesn’t do anything and the other son says the wrong thing but does the right thing. The father went to the first and said, “Son, go and work in the vineyard today.” The son said, “No.” He later changed his mind and went to work in the vineyard just like his father had asked him. The father went to the second son and asked of him the same. The second son said, “I go, sir.” But he did not go.
Today I want you consider with me the authority by which Jesus acts for you and the way that he transforms your life.
Jesus asked the Pharisees that had questioned his authority as he taught in the temple, which of these two sons did the will of the father. They answered, “The first.” These critics of Jesus understood that words don’t tell the whole story but they failed to see that Jesus was more than just words he is the word of God in action.
Which is more important in our life: That we use fancy words to describe our faith but live empty lives without the promise of God … or we may not use a lot big words and fancy dress to show our faith but simply believe and act with the hope and promises of Jesus?
The scriptures promise in Romans 10:10, “For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. ” Words spoken that have no foundation of faith in the heart are empty words, they are words without legs.
Our faith is called to be living and active. James wrote, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?”
A story is told of a dear old grandmother from Tennessee who was touring Westminster Cathedral. The tour guide was very specific in reviewing the detailed splendor of the cathedral. Finally, the little old woman could hold back no more. She politely but firmly broke into the guide’s memorized presentation and said, “Pardon me, but I have to know-has anyone been saved here lately?”
Recently I saw a t-shirt that said, “Don’t go to church, be the church.” We are the body of Christ, living and active in this world transformed by his love to make a difference.
There is a challenge from the woman in the cathedral and Jesus’ story of the two sons and the father’s vineyard. The challenge is the question of authority. By what authority do you act in your life? There are some things we may do because we are told to do them. These actions are short lived and will often last only as long as we are being observed or worried about the fearful gaze of another.
Consider a supervisor who directs his workers to put up a new shed in the backyard of a house they are working on. The men go to work but as soon as they notice the supervisor has moved on to another site they sneak into the backwoods and hangout. Obviously these men had no internal motivation but only worked under the scary gaze of their foreman.
The Pharisees and other church leaders in Jesus’ time were directing people to action because of the worry of the judgment of God and not out of thanksgiving for the blessings received in God’s mercy and love.
Parents have found in their children that they can force them to go to church for only so long and at some point their children will withdraw from that fear. At that point they will often either embrace the transformative love of Jesus Christ or give up on God thinking he is just about judgment and fear and doesn’t have anything to say about their daily life. We pray that our children will believe in their heart and confess with their lips that Jesus is Lord. We want the people will love and care about to give a witness by their actions to the hope that lives within their hearts. But the truth is that children that are raised with the fear of God being a louder voice then mercy of Jesus will struggle.
Our Gospel lesson began with Jesus teaching in the temple and the chief priests and Pharisees going up to question him. They wanted to know, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”
Jesus never answers the questions that are asked him, but answers a different question that they should have asked him. He asked them about John the Baptist and what they thought they were going out to see. John the Baptist was a man that was not motivated fine clothing or eating expensive meals. John the Baptist had an internal motivation that could not be bought or sold or silenced.
Christ gets these guys to start thinking about authority that comes from heaven being different than the authority that comes from the powers on earth. This contrasting of power is essential for us to understand the transformative power that Christ brings by his love and mercy. What Christ brings to my life is completely different then anything I can do for myself or what anyone else can do for me. Christ alone is able take away my sins and make one once again with the kingdom of God.
The contrast between the power of heaven and the earthly powers is one that we often deny or ignore. Too many people place their trust and hope in the amount of earthly power they may hold. We also may feel useless or without hope because we lack earthly power. But consider by what authority do you have hope? By what authority do you trust? By what authority do you love? By what authority do you forgive?
The power to transform your life and bring you into the kingdom of God is a power that does not come from any earthly power. No government can legislate hope, trust, love, or forgiveness. Nobody can tell you to love and you will love because you have been told.
Christ came under the authority of his heavenly father. He did not come for you and me because someone told him he had to or else. Christ came with the authority of love and mercy that descends from heaven and becomes flesh in him. By his authority we are able to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the very ends of the earth.
Soli Deo Gloria
