The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 26, Year A

The Vineyard is a Mess! What Will You Do About it?

Readings: Exodus 17:1-7; Psalm 78: 1-4, 12-16; Phil 2:1-13; Mt 21:23-32

The Israelites are on a wilderness journey. Since leaving the oppression of Egypt, they have lived a nomadic lifestyle. These city folk have had to adapt to a very different life. They have traded their comfortable home for the life of the Bedouin. Furthermore they have no idea where the journey is leading them. And so they journey on by stages. I can imagine how that happens. Each night as they camp the leaders sit together to plan the next part of the journey. Scouts are sent ahead to search out the territory. They look for safe sites where nomadic people can camp in the wilderness. They look for fresh water and signs of available food. They head back to report on conditions, and the people take up the journey once again, trusting that God is leading them to the Promised Land.

We journey through life by stages. As we undertake new initiatives in our lives we plan the next stage of our journey. We may go to school and study or take courses to improve our work prospects. We may carefully plan for our retirement. We check our benefits. We save for the time when we will not be working. We consider our housing needs and where we want to live.

In our personal lives we sometimes find it necessary to plan for change. We may need to move on from a bad relationship. We may be beginning a new one. We carefully plan a way forward.

That is certainly your experience here at St. Matthew’s as you work through a time of transition, as you search for a new priest. You have set up a selection committee to assess the ongoing needs and strengths of the parish. You are beginning to talk about those needs, considering not only the needs of the parish, but also of the surrounding community. You have looked at the challenges that come as parishes age and community needs change. You continue to challenge people to share their time, talents and treasures. You consider how you might grow in faith.

Planning is important. However, sometimes things do not work out the way we have planned. That is certainly the case with the Israelites. Had we used the lections, last week we would have heard the Israelites complaining about the bad food. This week there are more complaints about the lack of water. At such times, it is the leadership that bears the brunt of the complaining. So it is with Moses. Moses must deal with the complaints. He strikes the rock at Horeb and water gushes out. Just as God provided manna for them to eat, now God provides water in the wilderness. Still they ask, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

What is it that causes them to wonder if God is with them? God gave them food when they needed it. God supplied them with water. Yet they are so caught up in their neediness, in wondering whether they will have enough to eat or enough water to drink, to even remember that God has been with them in the past and to trust that even now God is with them.

Paul speaks to the Philippians. “Work out your own salvation in fear and trembling.” He is speaking to a community for whom he has a great deal of admiration. However, he suspects that some of their motives are self-serving. There are rumblings that make him suspect that there may be some conflict in the community. He reminds them that their relationship with Christ should encourage them. It should be an incentive in their lives. It is through seeking Christ in others, through allowing the love of God to work through them, that they will experience God with them. It is by reaching out to one another, by walking the walk, by living every moment in God’s love, that they will experience that close relationship with God. It is that sense of commitment to the gospel that will enable them to access God’s grace. Otherwise they will just be asking as the Israelites did, “Is the Lord among us?” If God is not providing you with compassion and love, then you need to discover why not. Otherwise your faith will simply dry up and disappear.

On our journey through life we travel by stages. We are bound to go through times when we are simply wandering aimlessly. There are times when we simply cannot satisfy the hunger pangs that assault us. What do we do when we are parched and feel as if there is no water? In our journeying through the wilderness there are times when we feel as if our resources are at a low ebb. We may even feel as if we cannot access them at all. We may feel as if God has totally abandoned us. Like the Israelites we may be asking, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

As we worship we utter precious words. Through our singing and praying, through the affirmation of our faith, we proclaim love and loyalty to God. We bring our children to be baptised. But none of those things mean that we have made a commitment in our own lives.

And so Jesus relates a parable. He is responding to the chief priests and elders of the synagogue. They are religious beyond a fault. Their good works are broad and their theological discussions are long. They like getting dressed up. But Jesus sees a disconnect between what they preach and their actions in the community.

“A man had two sons,” Jesus tells them. “He went to the first and asked him to work in the vineyard. The son said that he had better things to do, but later he changed his mind and went and did as his father had asked. The father went to the second son and asked him the same thing. He told his father that he would go and work in the vineyard. But he didn’t show up.”

“What do you think?” Jesus asks them. “Who did the will of the father? After all, ” Jesus is saying, “What counts is not making the promise; it is following through on it.”

God called on a certain priest. “The vineyard is a mess!” God said to him. “Will you go into the vineyard and work on it?”

“Of course I will,” said the priest. And off she went to the vineyard. She held a worship service. She preached a wonderful sermon. But the vineyard was still a mess.

And so God called on the Parish Council of a large congregation. “The vineyard is a mess!” God told them. “Will you go into the vineyard and work on it?”

They were gratified that God would call on them. “Of course we will,” they said. And off they went to hold a meeting to decide what to do about the mess. They talked for months, finally deciding to raise some funds so that they could hire a company to clean up the mess. Months later the vineyard had not changed one iota.

And so God called on some prostitutes lounging around on a street corner. “The vineyard is a mess!” God said to them. “Will you go into the vineyard and work on it.”

They felt uneasy. Why was God calling on them? At first they said no, they just couldn’t see themselves dealing with that mess when their lives were such a mess. “Who do you think we are that you would ask this of us?” But then they went into the vineyard. They found all sorts of things to do. They fed some hungry people. They looked after the sick. The vineyard began to look much better.

If we are to know that God is amongst us, then it needs to be about more than words. We need to preach the gospel with our lives, because we want others to see the gospel in action. We want to experience the water gushing forth from the rock. We want to drink deeply of the waters of salvation. We want to feel that encouragement in Christ, that consolation from love, that sharing in the Spirit, that compassion and sympathy. Amen.

Is the Lord Present Among Us?

The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost,
Proper 26, Year A

Is the Lord Present Among Us?

Readings: Exodus 17:1-7; Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16; Philippians 2:1-13; Matthew 21:23-32

The parable in today’s gospel reminds me of a saying that goes something like this. Some people change when they see the light. Others change when they feel the heat. It is a parable about two brothers. It follows a debate between Jesus and some of the elders. Jesus’ consternation comes through as he relates the story.

A man had two sons. He went to the first and asked him to work in the vineyard. The son said that he had better things to do, but later he changed his mind and went and did as his father had asked. The father went to the second son and asked him the same thing. He told his father that he would go and work in the vineyard. But he didn’t show up. Jesus goes on to tell the elders that the very people they look down on, the tax collectors and prostitutes are living out their faith better than they. What counts is not making the promise; it is following through on it. It is a story that I suspect resonates in us.

Perhaps we find ourselves rather like the first son. We have better things to do than to waste our time reading the Bible and saying prayers. Church is boring, and we have no intention of going. There are simply too many rules to follow. We live our lives for ourselves. And yet somewhere along the line we realize that it is not working for us. We find our way back. We ask God for forgiveness for the kind of life we have led. We allow God’s forgiveness to transform our lives.

Or perhaps we are more like the second son. We are familiar with the faith. We go to church. We bring our children to be baptised. But somehow or other we never really let it touch us. It is something reserved for Sundays. The rest of the week we live as if God does not exist. We don’t let it inform our attitudes and actions. We talk the talk, but never walk the walk.

I want to opt for a third option, a third child. Let’s face it! Most of us are somewhere in between. We would like our faith to make a difference, but not too much. We may go away on a renewal weekend and truly get something out of it. It may be one of those mountain top experiences that lift us for a time from our dry, everyday existence. We begin to see God in a new and exciting way. But we get back to the cares and frenzied pace of our daily lives, and over time the experience fades. We think about God once in a while. We may even remember the excitement of that experience, but it fades over time. We go to church. But we want it on our own terms. We begin to wonder, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

The Israelites are like my hypothetical third child. They are not happy with their nomadic existence in the wilderness. They are complaining. In fact, they never seem to do anything else. Don’t you feel sorry for Moses in his hapless leadership role? It is especially puzzling when one considers how much God has done for them. They have had the ultimate mountain top experience. God led them out of slavery, parted the Red Sea, gave them food to eat when they were hungry and made water gush out of a rock in a veritable fountain when they were thirsty. Yet still they question, “Is the Lord present among us?” Where is this question coming from? Their fears lie, not in the lack of food or water but in their lack of faith. Even the most astounding miracles have failed to transform them. They are still not ready to be the people that God intends them to be.

Paul is forever challenging the people to whom he writes about letting God make a difference in their lives. “Work out your own salvation in fear and trembling,” he says to the Philippians. He is speaking to a community for whom he has a great deal of admiration. However, he suspects that some of their motives are self-serving. There are rumblings that make him consider that there might be some conflict in the community. He reminds them that their relationship with Christ should encourage them. It should be an incentive in their lives. It is through seeking Christ in others, through allowing the love of God to work through them, that they will experience God with them. It is by reaching out to one another, by walking the walk, by living every moment in God’s love, that they will experience that close relationship with God. It is that sense of commitment to the gospel that will enable them to access God’s grace. Otherwise they will just be asking as the Israelites did, “Is the Lord among us?”

So what about us! Do we see ourselves in these stories? We have experienced the miracle of salvation through God’s grace. Have we allowed it to transform our lives? Do we really trust God’s word? Is the Lord present among us or not? How do we go about living it out in our lives? If God is not providing you with compassion and love, then you need to discover why not. Otherwise your faith will simply dry up and disappear.

In our worship we offer up not only words, but ourselves. As we sing and pray, in our creed and confession, we proclaim love and loyalty to God. Promises are important, but we can so easily fail to keep them. We can find all sorts of excuses for not getting out to church or spending time in prayer. We can tell ourselves that it is not even all that important. God will understand that I need family time. God will understand that my life is busy. I am going through a rough patch in my life. I need to deal with this myself. God will understand.

Jesus must be so fed up with church folk who say, “I go, sir!” and then never do what Jesus tells them to do. Yet even when we fail to keep our promises, Jesus never stops reaching out to us, seeking to restore us to a loving and obedient relationship with God.

And what is it that we are to do? The great commandment is to love one another as God loves us. It is to look to each others interests and not merely our own. It is to reach out to those in need. It is to know that the Lord is surely present among us. More to the point, it is to know that we are with the Lord.