“Love God, Love Your Neighbor, Change the World”

Proper 21A: Matt. 21:23-32 St. Paul’s, Smithfield 10/1/2017

Jim Melnyk: “Love God, Love Your Neighbor, Change the World”

This Sunday we find Jesus immersed in debate with the chief priests and elders who are questioning the authority of his teaching.  When challenged by his detractors, Jesus responds with his own challenge – “Did the baptism John practiced come from heaven or from human imagination?”  Score one for Jesus. 

You see, they can’t answer what they suspect might be true – that it was from heaven – because then they’ll have to explain why they had refused to believe.  They can’t answer the way they want it to be true – that it was all a figment of John’s hyperactive imagination – because the crowds all believe John came from God, and they’re afraid they’ll have a riot on their hands.  It’s like they know Jesus put a “kick me” sign on their backs, but they can’t get it off.

Then Jesus asks them, “What do you think?” and they’re probably saying to themselves, “But I don’t want to think – not the way Jesus wants us to think!”  “What do you think,” Jesus asks.  “A man has two sons. He says to the first, ‘Go out into the fields and work.’  The son says, ‘No, I’m almost up to level 84 on Legend of Zelda – gotta keep playing!  Maybe tomorrow.’  But a short time later he changes his mind, hits pause on the game, and heads out to the fields.  The father asks his second son to go out to the fields and work.  The second son says, ‘Sure thing, Pop! On my way now!’ and then heads into town to spend the day with friends.  Which of the two did their father’s will?” asks Jesus.

Well, the chief priests and the elders who have been trying to bait Jesus into some sort of theological faux pas are shaken.  And rather than refuse to answer they respond rather meekly, “The first son.”  They don’t want to do so, but it’s the only possible answer. 

The Greek word used in conjunction with the son who blatantly resists the will of his father at first can actually mean “regret” or even “repent.” The first son, who resists his father’s will, has a change of mind, or a change of heart, and is obviously more faithful than the one who talks a good talk, but in the end never lives out what he promises to do (Bill Brosend, Conversations with Scripture: The Parables).  Jesus’ challengers convict themselves by recognizing the faithfulness of the first son – the one who had repented.

Now, I’m pretty sure they aren’t the least bit happy with what Jesus says next, “Tax collectors and prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you – for they heard and believed John, and recognized their need for repentance.  You also heard John, and did not believe.”  Now, an interesting thing to note, here.  Jesus tells the leaders that the so-called bad guys will go into the kingdom of God “ahead of you,” not “instead of you.”  They still get in! Just not at the front of the line. And even that should be Good News for those of us who realize we’re not always on our best game.

Those who constantly stand in opposition to Jesus and his proclamation always have a choice to make.  They, like each of us, can choose to isolate themselves from the love of God made known to them in their faith tradition, or they can hear the Good News and embrace the love of God found so clearly, and pronounced so boldly, in both the Torah and the Gospel.  In the end, it’s all about the choices we make.  Talk is cheap.  Actions speak louder, and more profoundly, and more truthfully, than words.

Like the brothers in the parable, the chief priests and the elders, confronted with Jesus, have choices they can make.  And like them, we are free to make choices with our lives as well.  Brother David Vryhof, a member of the Society of St. John the Evangelist, reminds us, “Every time we make a choice we are turning some deep and inner part of ourselves into something a little different than it was before. We are slowly turning this inner part of ourselves into something that is in harmony with God and with God’s purposes in the world - or into something that is contrary to them. Each of us at each moment is progressing one way or the other” (Brother, Give Us A Word, 9/27/2017).  Going back to the parable about the two sons, it’s all about how we live out our calling – it’s how we choose to act – it’s about how our actions speak so much more clearly and honestly than our words.

This year the theme for our Every Member Canvass is “Love God.  Love Your Neighbor.  Change the World.”  When you think about it, the phrase is shorthand for the Great Commandment with a hopeful outcome added at the end.  It’s also shorthand for our Baptismal Covenant, isn’t it?  And it’s quite similar to the blessing I so often use – in part because I heard Presiding Bishop Michael Curry use it so much when he was our Diocesan Bishop.  “Go forth into the world in peace.  Be strong and of good courage.  Hold fast to that which is good.  Render to no one evil for evil.  But love the Lord your God: love your neighbor; and love yourself.”  Who we are as people of God – who we are as stewards of the faith – who we are as followers of Jesus – can be summed up in the words of that blessing – and can be summed up in the words of our theme for this year.  As a colleague of mine has said, “Judgement Day is not going to involve SAT scores and résumés, but showing the dirt under our nails…[that  choosing] is about our actions, not our words”  (Brosend).

So, we might ask ourselves, “What does Love God, Love Your Neighbor, Change the World look like for each of us?  I’m guessing we might have a plethora of answers – many very similar to each other, and perhaps many very different, perhaps in some ways even contradictory. 

For me it involves seeking to allow the Spirit of the Living Christ the freedom to shape me and move me in how I live out my life in the world around me.  To be more caring.  To be more loving.  To be more generous with the currency of the kingdom of God – willing to pass along forgiveness, goodness, and grace – even when a good part of me wants to be stingy about it all.

What does it look like – what does it mean for you?  I want to ask you to do something after the sermon, or after the service today.  In your bulletin, at the back of the church and in Lawrence Hall, you’ll find some index cards. There are pencils in the pew racks, and markers at the back of the church or in Lawrence Hall.  Take a minute in the silence after the sermon, or before leaving church, to write a sentence or two – or even just a phrase or a word – about what it means for you to love God, love your neighbor, and for you to work to change the world.  You can write more than one card.

You can put your name on the card or not, it doesn’t matter.  You can leave your card on the table at the back of the church or by the poster in Lawrence Hall.  We might use a few comments in our stewardship brochure – and use the rest to make a poster for everyone else to see…. It’s up to you...

I think it would be cool to see in writing what our hearts, minds, and spirits say to each of us when for just a few seconds, or even a minute or so, we hit the pause button long enough to write down our thoughts.  If we take a moment to share with one another the choices we’re willing to make – if we share with one another how we are each being called to love God, how we are each being called to love our neighbor, and – in the end – how we each see ourselves called to help change the world!!