“What do you think?” Jesus asked the chief priests and elders. Well, what do YOU think about the behavior of these two sons? Is it better to be a hypocrite or a nay-sayer?
Spoiler alert: this parable was kind of a trap for the temple authorities, because Jesus was using it to reveal their own hypocrisy. They gave the answer that was ethically correct, but that made them look worse than the despised tax collectors and prostitutes. Which was a dangerous business at the point in the Matthew’s Gospel.
Just prior to the verses we heard today was Jesus triumphant entry into Jerusalem and the cleansing of the temple. Even before Jesus tells the provocative story of the two sons, the narrative is fairly crackling with tension.
And although his question to the authorities appears rhetorical, there is actually another answer. In the honor-shame culture of Jesus’ day—and frankly even in ours—there are lots of good reasons to give the agreeable answer to an authority figure, even if we’re not sure we can follow through. Its might be the safer thing to do. Its certainly the more respectful thing to do.
So it occurs to me that of the many dramatic reversals that could emerge from this parable, one is that Jesus has given us permission to tell the truth. We can—and must—say no to legal and political authorities when they are wrong side of God’s justice. We can tell the truth to God. Truths like “I don’t understand,” or “I’d like to say yes to you but I’m scared.”
We can say no to the ultimate authority without risking shame because God is not in the business of shaming, and because Jesus shows us the God who cannot be dishonored because God forgives. We can say no to God’s call. We can also say yes. And better yet, we can do yes. This parable reminds us that Jesus’ authority—and our own— is in the doing.
Right now, we’re on the verge of saying a bunch of very traditional prayers to God. And then we’ll make Eucharist, our enacted thanksgiving to Jesus for overcoming even the dishonor of a shameful execution. Are these just a bunch of words that we say to the ultimate authority, and then don’t follow up on? Stanley Hauerwas, a Christian ethicist, would say no. He has written—
“These rites, baptism and Eucharist, are not just “religious things” that Christian people do. They are the essential rituals of our politics. Through them we learn who we are. Instead of being motives or causes for effective social work on the part of Christian people, these liturgies are our effective social work. For because the church is rather than has a social ethic, these actions are our most important social witness. It is in baptism and Eucharist that we see most clearly the marks of God’s kingdom in the world. They set our standard, as we try to bring every aspect of our lives under their sway.”
Come to the table to practice God’s kingdom. Then lets go out and make it happen.
Two comments: First, thanks for providing a homily on communion. Way too often the sermon or homily will have little or nothing to do with communion and we move thru the service to the Eucharist and do it as if it were a bit like tying our shoes in the a.m.–a necessary bit of the day’s preparations, done without thinking. Second, thanks for putting Hauerwas’s “in your face” labels for the ritual right there where we have to notice them: “the essential rituals of our politics” and “our effective social work.”