Go to the Vineyard!

In today’s gospel, Jesus enters the temple.

He’s been teaching and healing.

He’s been challenging the religious establishment.

Then, the chief priests and elders ask him a question that I imagine most of us have asked at one time or another:

“Who put you in charge?”

A UCC pastor named Martin Copenhaver actually went through the Bible and did a survey.

He found that Jesus is asked a question 183 times.

He only answered three of them directly.

On the other hand, Jesus asked 307 questions.

This was not one of the times that he answered directly.

Instead, he asks a question: “What was the origin of John’s right to baptize? Was it divine or was it human?”

And, whether it was Jesus’ plan all along or just the way things unfolded, the chief priests and elders are trapped.

If they say, “divine”, Jesus will follow up by asking, “Then why didn't you believe him?”

If they say, “human”, they are afraid the crowd will become violent because the people regard John as a prophet.

So, they gave a non-answer: “We don’t know.”

And Jesus says, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

Chalk one up for Jesus because he outsmarted them.

But Jesus isn't finished.

He continues with the parable about the two sons.

A father says to the first, “go out and work in the vineyard today.”

But the son refuses. And the son says: “No, I won’t”.

But as so often happens with disobedient children, he soon regrets it and decides to go anyway.

Then, the father asks the second son to go out and work in the vineyard.

And the second son says, “I’m on my way”.

But he lied; he never went.

Then Jesus asks the chief priests and elders what seems like a simple question.

“Which of the two did what was wanted?”

On the surface, the answer seems obvious.

The first son, although he initially refused, did what the father asked.

But Jesus adds something that would have been deeply insulting to the chief priests and elders:

“The truth is, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the Kin-dom of God before you.”

That was harsh by any standard.

What Jesus is asking us to understand is that the issue isn't simply that one son is “good” and the other is “bad.”

And he isn't implying that tax collectors and prostitutes are automatically in right relationship with God.

The issue Jesus is asking us to see is that there is a difference between appearing obedient and actually responding to God.

One son says the right thing.

The other does the right thing.

One looks obedient.

The other becomes obedient.

We often have a rather narrow understanding of obedience.

We think obedience means following orders.

Someone tells you what to do.

You do it.

No questions.

No resistance.

No discussion.

Just obedience.

Most of you know that I am a novice in the Order of Lutheran Franciscans.

Next week, at Blessing of the Animals, will be one of the few times you will see me in my Franciscan garb.

The Franciscan tradition has a much deeper understanding of obedience.

In fact, as a condition of my novitiate, I spent the last year reflecting on my vow of obedience.

The word obedience has its roots in listening attentively.

For Franciscans, obedience begins with listening.

Obedience is not about surrendering to another person's authority.

It is about being attentive to God's voice and being willing to respond—even when that call is inconvenient or challenges what we thought we knew.

And that is exactly what happens in Jesus' parable.

At first, the first son says, “No”.

But then he listens again.

He changes his mind.

He changes direction.

And he goes.

The second son says, “Yes”.

But he doesn't listen deeply enough to incorporate the command into his life.

So perhaps we should consider that the question Jesus poses to us is not just, “Are you obedient?”

It is also, “Are you listening?”

Are we listening for God’s voice?

Are we listening to Scripture?

Do we hear the cries of our neighbors?

Do we see the people our society has taught us to ignore?

Are we listening when the Spirit challenges our assumptions?

Are we listening when God calls us to go somewhere we would rather not go?

Because sometimes, obedience begins with listening to something we would rather not hear.

We don't obey God so that God will love us.

We will not get in right relationship with God by getting everything right.

We cannot do enough good deeds to make ourselves worthy of God's grace.

God loves us before we have done anything to deserve it.

God's grace comes first—always.

Before obedience.

Before repentance.

Before we get our lives together.

God says, “You are my beloved.

I have called you by name.

You are mine.”

Christian obedience isn't about fear.

It isn't about proving ourselves to God.

Christian obedience is our response to grace.

God says, “I love you”.

And our response is, “Then, show me what to do”.

God says, “You are my beloved child”.

And our response is, “Then, teach me how to love my neighbor”.

God says, “You are forgiven”.

And our response is, “Then, help me forgive”.

Grace comes first.

And then grace goes to work.

The purpose of this parable is to fill us with hope.

Maybe you've said no to God.

Maybe there have been moments when you resisted what you knew what God was calling you to do.

Maybe you didn't want to forgive someone.

Maybe you didn't want to admit that you were wrong.

Maybe you didn't want to welcome the stranger.

Maybe you didn't want to stand up for someone who was being treated unjustly.

Maybe you simply weren't ready.

What Jesus is telling us in this parable is that no doesn’t have to be the final word.

The first son changes his mind.

He goes into the vineyard.

That is repentance.

Repentance is more than feeling guilty.

Repentance means changing direction.

Learning that our first response doesn't have to have to be our final answer.

That is the good news of this parable.

God is never finished with us.

Our resistance doesn't have the final word.

Because God is persistent.

God keeps coming to us and giving us new opportunities to listen.

The second son shows us the flip side.

The danger of the easy yes.

“Yes, I hear you.”

We can say the right things.

We can sing the hymns, recite the creeds, and pray the prayers.

We can come to church every Sunday and call ourselves Christians.

And still never go into the vineyard.

Still never obey God’s call.

The question we need to ask ourselves is, “what are our actions saying?”

Because faith cannot just be something we say.

Faith has to be something we embody.

Faith loves.

Faith serves.

Faith gets its hands dirty.

Faith goes into the vineyard.

So, what does it mean for us to enter the vineyard today?

The vineyard is wherever God's love is needed.

The vineyard is not only this congregation, but also the neighborhood that surrounds us.

It is the person that sits by themselves because they’re not sure they are welcome.

It is the immigrant family that fears leaving their home because of ICE abductions.

It is the trans person who can’t get ID because the government denies their existence.

It is the person whose poverty has made them fall between the cracks of society.

Jesus is calling.

And he is telling us to go into the vineyard.

Not because, if we do, God will love us.

We already have God's love.

We go because we are beloved children of God.

We go because God has called us by name.

We go because God has claimed us as God’s own.

We go because we have received God’s grace.

It all sounds very simple, doesn’t it?

But we all know that things are rarely as straightforward as they appear.

Sometimes, obedience is really hard.

Sometimes, God will ask us to change.

Sometimes, God will ask us to relinquish our privilege.

Sometimes God will ask us to speak out.

Other times, God tells us to keep our big mouths shut.

Sometimes, God will ask us to apologize.

Other times, God will tell us to forgive.

Sometimes, God will ask us to welcome someone that society has told us to fear.

God will call us to go into the vineyard when we would rather stay safe and warm in our comfort zone.

That is why obedience cannot simply mean doing what we're told.

It means listening for God’s voice.

It requires humility and the willingness to admit, “Maybe we don't have all the answers.”

And that, my friends, is an important spiritual discipline.

We want to judge people.

We want to sort people into obedient and disobedient.

Worthy and unworthy.

Good people and bad people.

But Jesus keeps inviting us to a different vision.

Because God is always calling people we didn't expect.

God is always reaching across boundaries to people we thought were outsiders.

God is always making room.

The church was never intended to be a place where people say the right things.

The church exists to be a community where God's grace becomes visible.

Where lonely people are welcomed.

Where immigrants are treated as neighbors, rather than problems.

Where people without homes are not invisible.

Where hungry people are fed.

Where forgiveness is practiced.

Where justice is pursued.

Where reconciliation is always possible.

Where people don't have to pretend to have everything together.

This community is not supposed to be a place for people who have perfected obedience.

It is a vineyard full of people who are still learning to listen.

Some of us may have said yes immediately.

Some of us probably said no.

Some of us are still saying no.

Some of us are in the process of changing our minds.

Some of us have been working in the vineyard for years.

And some of us have just arrived.

And that is wonderful because, you know what?

Grace makes room for all of us.

So, come to the vineyard.

Jesus is calling.

Come, learn humility.

Come, practice obedience.

Come, love your neighbor.

Come, welcome the stranger.

And hear this:

If your answer has been no, it doesn't have to remain no.

You can turn around.

It’s never too late to start listening.

You can begin again.

And if your answer has always been yes, make sure it hasn’t been the easy yes.

Make sure it is the yes that translates to action.

May our Emanuel community be people who listen.

People who are willing to change.

People whose faith moves beyond our lips and into our hands and feet.

People who understand that grace comes first.

And because grace comes first, we are free.

Free to listen.

Free to change.

Free to love.

Free to serve.

Jesus is calling.

Will we listen?

He is asking us to go to the vineyard.

Will we go?

May this meditation on God’s word keep our hearts and mind on Christ Jesus. Amen.