Pentecost 18

We are WEEKS deep into hearing Parables from Matthew’s Gospel.
And today’s parable is yet another illustration of what God is like.
It’s also an illustration that reminds us what WE are like.

In a conversation with the Chief priests and elders in the temple,
Jesus tells a story about a father and his two sons.

The father asks both of his sons to go to work in the family vineyard.
The first son says something like, “Sure! I’ll get right on that!”
But in the end, he doesn’t follow through.

We know what that’s like.
We ask our spouse or child to take out the trash, or empty the dishwasher, and
they say “Sure! I’ll get right on that:

Just as soon as its halftime.”
Or “Sure! After this chapter is over.”
Or “Sure! At the end of this episode.”

If we’re honest, more than a few of us have surely been guilty of that response
ourselves.
We all know the first son because we’ve all made promises or commitments that,
for whatever reason we fail to keep.

But then there’s this other son.
This is the son who gets most of Jesus’ attention.
Unlike his brother, the second son initially says he won’t help out in the vineyard.
But then he winds up doing so in the end.

Now, we can ask all sorts of questions about why the second son changed his
mind.
Preachers and biblical scholars have been asking those questions for centuries:

But that’s not what we’re going to dig into today.
The truth that this parable brings to bear has nothing to do with the second son’s
hesitation:
And EVERYTHING to do with the fact that in the end:
He showed up.

In fact, the pattern of this parable is the pattern of our life with God.
No matter what we’ve done,
Or what may have initially prevented us,
God is always extending an invitation to us.
We are constantly being drawn into a new place--
To new depths of faith.

No matter if this is the first time we’ve heard the Gospel,
Or if we’ve been faithful Christians for decades:
This parable shows us one significant fact:
That God isn’t done with us yet.

Although we might wish for God to say to us,
“Okay. You’ve gone far enough:
You can retire now and spend the rest of your days relaxing in the back pew”
The truth is that the Christian life has no top status.

And in order to live into God’s invitation:
We must be willing to leave the past behind--
No matter how comfortable or familiar or profitable--
And turn toward the future:
Complete with all of its uncertainties and questions and anxieties.

And that’s HARD!

Consider the Chief priests and the elders of Jesus’ time.
They had quite a bit invested in the status quo.

Leaving the past behind,
Meant forfeiting their claims to power and position:
Which had become a part of their identities.

Stepping into life with Jesus meant leaving all of that behind in favor of a future
they couldn’t fully predict and couldn’t control.

One can’t help but wonder if the first son had similar thoughts.
After all, saying “yes” is the easy part--
Particularly when we don’t pause to consider the costs.

But actually doing the work?
Actually showing up?
That’s a different story.

God isn’t satisfied with just letting things stay the way that they are.
There’s always more work to do;

More kingdom to build,
And we hear that, and we get excited and we say,
“Yes! Sign me up! That’s what I want!”

But then reality sets in and we look around and we think.
“Hmmm… The status quo really isn’t all bad.
My life is okay the way it is now.
I don’t need to do the extra stuff.
I’ll just settle back in.

Plus: Who knows if I’m going to like the work that God is calling me to?
And more importantly, who knows if I’m going to get along with the OTHER
people who show up to work in God’s vineyard?
So… I know that I said yes, but I’ve thought about it, and well…”

Then there’s the other son.

And for as much as preaches and scholars have wondered why he changed his
mind, I can’t help but wonder what made him say “no” in the first place.
Could it be that he himself had been told “no” so many times that he thought
himself unworthy?
When all you’ve ever known is oppression, why in the world would you trust that
this time would be any different?

But as our parables usually show us:
God isn’t like you and me.
God doesn’t take no for an answer.

Although institutions and structures and people do their best to wall off and box
in:
God is always breaking barriers and crossing lines and pushing boundaries to
invite us to new and abundant life!
The parable that Jesus tells is universal because at one time or another,
Every single one of us has found ourselves in that thin place between the relative
ease and comfort of saying “yes,” to God:

And actually putting one foot in front of the other and walking along the rocky
and dirt-paved path to the vineyard.

We’re all caught somewhere between the excited “yes” of the first son,
and the slow conversion, change of heart of the second son.

Much like the first son,
We’ve all been fed one of the biggest lies ever told in the name of Christianity:
That following Jesus would be easy.
And much like the second son,
We all know what it’s like to feel as if too much has been asked and that its too
far to go.

But at the end of the day, one thing remains true:
There’s more kingdom to build,
More vineyard work to be done:
And God has put out the call to all who dare to join him.
​
So Come to the vineyard for work!
Show up!
Even if you show up late:
Even if you don’t want to come the first time your invited. (or even the second or
third time.)
God CONTINUES welcomes you to the vineyard:
And you can walk in and join in on the work at any time.

Amen.