St. Matthew 21:23-32
Observing the church, one would notice that her dynamics are great and
varied. The church can be likened to a family. Many people, varied
personalities, different interests, and behavior patterns are readily
evident. Life may sometimes look like a clip from the Family Circus
comic strip of old. Thinking back to your own days of raising
children, you may recall that your children had very distinct
personalities from early on.
Some children are easy going. Others may be full of energy. Some
may be very cheerful, while others are very disputatious. Each one
had his or her own strengths and weaknesses. In most cases, those
strengths and weaknesses follow people as they grow up and enter into
adult-hood, while others are able to work on their weaknesses and
makes their strengths even more precise and advantageous.
Each of us, as human beings, understand what it means to have to make
decisions and judgment calls. Sometimes we make good decisions, and
sometimes we make bad decisions. Living our lives in Christ, we know
what it is like to face temptation and fail. We also know what it is
like to say no to sin and to live seeking Christ's protection.
Jesus talks about two sons. He tells the story to a group of chief
priests and scribes. The one son is asked to do something. In
defiance, this son says no, he will not do it. He refuses to be led
and walk to the beat of someone else's drum. But because of remorse
and regret for how he treated his father, God's love gets the better
of him and he does the task that he was asked to do. The other son is
asked by the father to do a task and he says yes right away. He will
do it. But in his words he has no intention of doing the task and
goes off failing to do what he had promised to do.
Jesus, in telling this parable, gets to the heart of the holy
Christian church. It is doctrine repeated throughout the scriptures
and fundamental to salvation. It is seen in Cain and Abel. Both give
sacrifices and offerings to God, but one gives the best that he has
out of love for God. The other gives his leftovers to God because he
has to give it. Jacob and Esau are good examples. Esau, while
possessing the birthright, gives it away just to feed his stomach.
Psalm 1 lays out the two roads more clearly: "Blessed is the man who
walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of
sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in
the law of the Lord, and in His law He meditates day and night." The
psalm also gives us the other road, "The ungodly are not so, but are
like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly
shall not stand in the judgment nor sinners in the congregation of the
righteous."
It is a fitting example, that the ungodly are like chaff which the
wind drives away. This is the son who tells his father he will do the
task but goes off failing to do so. His heart is not right. He lacks
love for his father and is ruled and governed by the flesh which
wanders from here to there almost on a whim, wherever the sinful flesh
shall lead him. The first son, though he is unhappy with the request,
feels regret and sorrow for his uncharitable response to the father,
and his heart gets the better of him. What we see in this first son's
heart is very profound. We see that he wrestles with sin and the
flesh just like the second son, but with a difference.
This first son does not get driven like chaff in the wind. In this
first son's heart is the teaching that his father had taught him. He
was taught to love and it is deeply rooted in this young man's heart
and it leads him in spite of his gut reaction to follow the sinful
flesh. Jesus is trying to point out that there are two very different
hearts in these two sons. What the difference is comes to light by
Christ's statement to the scribes and chief priests at the conclusion
of this story: "Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and
harlots enter the kingdom of God before you." Hard words but with a
profound point. Harlots and tax collectors in the midst of their sin
and sadness because of sin, have come to experience the Father's love.
Experiencing the Father's love in the midst of their unfaithfulness,
these people come to see what true love is and they are overwhelmed
with love, compassion, and respect for the Father. The second son
seemingly has no need for his Father's love because he finds his
pleasure within himself. Jesus is showing us the two ways. We see
this in the blessings and woes of the Beatitudes: Blessed are you who
weep now, for you shall laugh…but woe to you laugh now, for you shall
mourn and weep.
What this all does is makes you stop and ponder which son you most
represent. Are you the first son, who lacks love and gratitude for
God's gifts, but become remorseful and therefore seek the forgiveness
of Jesus? Or are you the second son, who goes through the motions,
externally showing your obedience to God, but in reality you follow
the sinful flesh and desires? Do you tell God that you love all that
He has done, but in practice you have no intention of loving others or
God for the sacrifice of His Son?
Sometimes it is difficult to know which we may be, but it all comes
back to looking to Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith to
forgive us and console us. Jesus has died on the cross for your sins
even in spite of your own failures. He is the Lord Who loves you even
when you rebel, as He teaches you that true love is always here for
you. He is at home waiting to embrace you when you fall, and His
loves encourages you to be steadfast in the faith and endure the
temptations of the flesh.
Jesus Christ died on the cross in order to set you free from sin, but
also to show you what mercy, truth, love, and devotion is all about.
He will not leave you, but He continues to teach you and implant into
your heart the solid teaching that His love endures forever and
abiding in Him, you have many joys and blessings ahead. Jesus reminds
you that you are a part of a special family which has a wonderful
heritage, with riches that are spiritual and enduring. We are like a
family, and God desires to have all of His children gathered around
His Holy table in order to partake in the blessings that were secured
on the hill at Golgotha and unite us all together. Amen.
--
Rev. Chad Kendall
www.frchadius.blogspot.com
Trinity Lutheran Church
Lowell, Indiana
___________________________________________________________________________
'CAT 41 Sermons & Devotions' consists of works that are, unless otherwise
noted, the copyrighted property of the various authors; posting of such
gives members of this list implied consent for redistribution _with_
_attribution_ unless otherwise specified by the author, as well as
for quoting or use in a congregational setting
_with_or_without_attribution_.
Note: This list's default reply is to the *poster*, NOT the list.
Do *not* reply to the list with your comments, but to the poster.
Subscribe? Send ANY note to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Unsubscribe? Send ANY note to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Archive? <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/>
For more information on this or other lists offered by Confess And Teach
For Unity, you can contact the CAT 41 list administrator at:
Rev. Fr. Eric J. Stefanski <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
