Yes, Sir

(First Presbyterian, Union, SC)

Sermon

Evangelism Sunday

“Yes, Sir”

Sunday, 25 September, 2011

Jesus is telling is we have to keep it

R...E...A...L

Text:  Matthew 21.23-33

NRSV Matthew 21:23 When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?" 24 Jesus said to them, "I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?" And they argued with one another, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?' 26 But if we say, 'Of human origin,' we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet." 27 So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And he said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 

28 "What do you think? A man had two children; he went to the first and said, 'Child, go and work in the vineyard today.' 29 He answered, 'I will not'; but later he changed his mind and went. 30 The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, 'I go, sir'; but he did not go. 

31 Which of the two did the will of the father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.

There is a lot going on in the passage of scripture, and we will deal with it in a minute, but for me the part I always hear loudest is the story of the two kids in the vineyard. The first refuses to do what he is asked to do, yet later on goes and does it; and the second child who says he will, but never shows up. 

I feel like I have to deal with this part in the interest of full and honest disclosure, because it’s about me. This parable carries me back across time and space to stand in a big field of corn, okra, tomatoes and cantaloupe under the blazing South Carolina sun. To this day I remember that morning. I was 19, just home from my first year at Winthrop college and had been ordered out of bed 45 minutes earlier to weed and hoe and rake in the hot June sun. As the sweat tricked down my back and my eyes squeezed into tiny slits, I just snapped. Out of no where I heard my own voice snarl “I am NOT going to do it. and lo and behold, the hoe flew smack into a row of corn all by itself and my feet stomped all by themselves through the dust and grass back into the house. What followed was an argument of monumental proportions. Even today, if I could freeze that moment in time and walk around inside it; prod my emotions , open up my soul and ticker with what was there, I still don’t think I could fully understand why I behaved the way I did.  I could easily be a bulletin illustration for this bible story. All I know is that it was just too much. It was the ultimate unbearable thing and I just couldn’t deal with doing the task.

What a strange story for Jesus to insert in this passage! It’s pretty easy  hear this parable and to say, “Oh that’s just kids for you--they change their minds like remote controls change TV channels”. It’s easy to hear this parable and miss what else is going on. But, in the end, we know that Jesus  wasn’t really talking about kids and chores...He was talking about US and the complicated sets of actions and reactions that adults deal with every day. He was answering the real question of the scribes and chief priests: ““Why are the people listening to you and to John and not us? WHY? TELL US!!”

The leaders were asking questions about authority, but that was really a fancy way of asking what have  you got that we don’t?” 

And you know, those are really good questions for Evangelism sunday. Why is it that people aren’t listening to what we as a church are saying? What would possess a hardened prostitute to give up a lucrative job and throw herself headlong into a new one? Or a tax collector to promise to repay 10 fold what he had stolen? What would lead an out of work mother to quit dealing drugs and start a rehab center? Why would lead a lesbian christian to open her life to serve a church that is hostile and vicious to GLBT people? Why would a muslim bomb maker lay down her tools and work in a refugee hospital?

John was an authentic witness to who God is. That’ s why the tax collectors and prostitutes listened to him. Jesus is an authentic image of who God is. That’s why the drug addicts and terrorists listen to him. The answer is that John and Jesus are REAL.  In the study of evangelism the acronym R. E. A. L.  stands for four things that that all effective christians are. 

First of all “R” reminds us to relate to people. Not from up here in a pulpit, but being where others are. At work, at MacDonalds, at our child’s swimming lesson. Jesus was completely like that. He was where the action was, he was with people who were often fun, but sometimes sad and sometimes hurting, but he was right there with them. And it is entirely true that the most effective way to share our faith is through our relationships. 80 percent of new followers of Jesus said that their decision was because of a friend, family member, or acquaintance. That makes sense because God has created us to be relational; it’s wired into our genes to be social.

the “E” in REAL is that quality of Jesus, and John for that matter, that EMBODIES their faith. Jesus didn’t only talk, his every action was a sonnet on the love of God and truth of the Kingdom of Heaven. John talked a bit more and a bit louder than Jesus, but his unique gift of prophecy embodied his words and made his witness authentic.

Then there’s the “A” which stands for authenticity. John the Baptist wore weird shirts woven out of smelly camel felt and ate desert bugs dipped in honey. He didn’t conform--he rebelled! he said “NO, I’m not going to waste God’s time worrying about  how many fringes are on my coat or whether I’ve walked one mile or two miles on the sabbath. Let’s talk about what obedience to God really means; doing justice, loving kindness and walking humbly with God.”

So often we think that Christians have to be cookie cutter conformists. We have to dress "right" on Sunday, we have to know certain passages of the bible, we have to espouse certain doctrines and beliefs. But that’s not being authentic. Being authentic is being who God has made you and speaking the words that God has put in your mouth and heart to share. So what if you have doubts about the Virgin Birth or only feel truly yourself in blue jeans? Faith sharing must come from the joy and transformation that we continually receive from a vibrant idiosyncratic relationship with God. No one else has the same perspective as you, and the wonderful thing about the church is that there is room for all of us, and we learn joy in the gifts of those who are different from us.

Finally we get to the “L” word. What made Jesus different was that he was LED his whole life through by the Holy Spirit, and so must we be.  Being a faithful authoritative evangelist does not mean we force things to happen; we cannot change hearts, God does. Allowing ourselves to be lead by the Spirit simply means we make ourselves constantly available to try and figure out what God is already up to in in our life and ask God to lead us in how best to be a witness of the gospel.

So there in a nutshell is what made Jesus and John different, and what perplexed the leaders and pharisees. Jesus and John were relational; they met people where they were in their lives, and accepted people for who they were.  They embodied and represented with DEEDS the truth they told.  They were AUTHENTICALLY themselves, camel hair, bugs and all. And lastly, they accepted the Leadership of the Holy Spirit. 

Why didn’t the scribes, pharisees and elders see what was right before their eyes? They were the ones standing in God’s vineyard  saying: “We will do what you say”--but then not doing it. 

The answer is that  at the very bottom of it all, they were afraid of humans and afraid of God and didn’t really understand the things they were playing with. They were afraid to be authentically themselves. They were afraid to give up control to God. They were afraid to do anything for fear they might make a mistake. They looked at the misery of the people around them and were afraid that they would catch it by association, but poor little rich folks, they never realized that they were miserable as well... but the people knew. Their lives were stripped so bare that they didn’t have the luxury of playing with words and concepts. they needed a change and answers and help--and John and Jesus provided that.  

But what about us? On this evangelism Sunday can’t we be honest and say that we too  are just as afraid as the leaders of Israel. A deep part of us is afraid of that label “Christian” and wear it like ill fitting suit, or worse yet,  a halloween costume. But the truth is that your life can’t help but be a witness to something. Maybe it’s the power of Nascar, or the effects of a really good weight loss plan, or maybe the wisdom crooned by Kenny Chesney, or the power of the US army, but God would prefer for all those things to be vehicles for a wider witness to the love and reality of Christ Jesus.

In the beginning of this sermon I said that this story is about me. And it really and truly is, but it’s about you too. For most of my life I thought about myself:  “No one is going to listen to a short bald guy with a squeaky voice talk about Jesus.” You need to be this tall to ride this ride, not to mention handsome,  conservative and an encyclopedia of biblical knowledge. But when God gave me my witness it wasn’t like anyone else's. It was a passion for hospitality and an interest in foreign cultures, a too lively imagination and even something as simple as baking bread. And through these strange things God has woven a path between me and others. God is not done with me yet, so I don’t know how effective my evangelism is, but if I follow Christ’s pattern I will end up where I’m supposed to be. 

And your witness won’t be like any one else's. Soon all of you together will be beginning the work of revitalizing this congregation and refreshing the fabric of this church into something new and beautiful for a whole new generation of believers. There will be things for everyone to do, young and old, rich and poor, ordained and non-ordained. We can see it as tedious hurdle or an exciting adventure. God is giving each of us a choice. To each of us the voice of our parent in heaven comes to us in every morning: “Child, go and work in the vineyard today.” And you will answer......?

Amen.