Sunday, October 1, 2017

Sermon on Matthew 21.23-32



The Rev. Joseph Peters-Mathews
St. Joseph-St. John, Lakewood
1 October 2017
Proper 21, Pentecost+17
Matthew 21.23-32

In today’s gospel text
            we have two blurbs
about Jesus interacting with
            Matthew’s favorite foil: the Pharisees.
Whenever Jesus
talks to and about the Pharisees
                        it’s important to take it
with a little grain of salt.
Matthew was pretty angry.
It shows in his writing,
            particularly when Jesus
condemns the pharisees. 

The first half of our text
            is a challenge
to Jesus’ authority:
“By what authority are you doing these things,
and who gave you this authority?”
The way the lectionary is set up
            we’ve missed some pretty crucial information.
What are the things that Jesus is doing? 
Why are the Pharisees upset?
This excerpt from Matthew’s gospel
            happens at the peak of the narrative drama.
Jesus has returned to Jerusalem
            and is on his way to the cross.
Just before today’s text,
            Jesus has
entered Jerusalem with a parade
            mocking the empire with whom the Pharisees are colluding;
turned over the tables of the money changers in the temple;
healed the blind and lame in the temple;
and said that the Pharisees are the blind leading the blind.
Now he’s rolled up in to the temple
            and started teaching.

I can understand
            why the Pharisees would say
                        “Who said you can do this!?” or
                        “Just who do you think you are?!”
And Jesus?
            Doesn’t indulge them.
Jesus asks a question himself,
            “When all those people
were following John the Baptizer
to the desert
                        was that from God or humanity made?
            When a voice came from heaven
                        saying I was the voice’s son
                                    with whom the voice was well pleased,
                                    to listen to me
                        was that from God or humanity made?”

The Pharisees are stuck.
In their positions of power and authority,
            like most leadership positions,
                        they have to have a pulse
on they vision
and those they lead’s expectations and hopes.
The voice said to listen to Jesus.
If they say it’s from God,
            why aren’t they listening to Jesus?
If they say it’s a deluded cult
            the crowd that makes up that deluded cult
            will completely ignore the Pharisees
                        for guru Jesus.
They take the calculated way out,
            the way that too many leaders forget is an option
                        and a better option than faking it all the time.
They say,
            “We don’t know.”

Jesus helps them out,
            and not very politely.
He says,
            “Clearly this is from God
                        and if you make it
into the kingdom of heaven
                                    expect the people
you consider the worst sinners
            ahead of you in line.
            They heard John,
                        repented,
                        and returned to being faithful.
            You heard John
                        and didn’t believe.
            Even when you saw
                        people coming back to the faith
                        you still didn’t believe.”

That’s a lot packed into nine verses!
From a challenge
            to a secret conference
            to a story about children
who do and don’t work
as their father asks
            to Jesus saying that the Pharisees
                        aren’t helping anyone.
As followers of Jesus,
            what are we supposed
to do with this text?
What’s the Good News?
How does it apply to us?
How are our lives changed?
Right now
            I think our lives are changed
            by answering the Pharisees’ question,
                        “By what authority
are you doing these things,
and who gave you this authority?”

To answer those questions
            we have to figure out “these things.”
Last week I talked about
            discerning and sharing
            how we’re tending the vineyard.
In my notes to many of you
            I mentioned
looking forward to learning
the way’s we’re serving Jesus together.
The things, the works, we’re called to be doing
            are rooted in our baptismal promises:
                        continuing in the apostle’s teachings,
in the prayers,
and in the breaking of the bread;
                        persevering in resisting evil, and,
                                    whenever we fall into sin,
                                    repenting and returning to the Lord;
                        proclaiming by word and example
                                    the Good News of God in Christ;
                        seeking and serving Christ in all persons,
                                    loving our neighbors as ourselves;
                        striving for justice and peace,
                                    and respecting the dignity of every human being.
The actions that these promises lead to
            change the world.
They bring people to Jesus
            and his love for all people.
The break down systems of racism
            and other ongoing powers of oppression.
They are a hope
            for seeing Jesus’ return.

By what authority do we do these things?
By what authority do we change the world,
            starting with St. Joseph-St. John
            then on in to Lakewood?
That’s rooted in our baptisms too:
            We have the authority
of Jesus the Resurrected Christ
to whom we were joined in our baptisms.
            We have the authority of the Church,
                        who when we were baptized said,
                                    “We receive you into the household of God.
Confess the faith of Christ crucified,
proclaim his resurrection,
and share with us
in his eternal priesthood.”

We have a busy time in the coming months,
            with lots of ways to share in Christ’s eternal priesthood.
All Saints Sunday is a month away,
            at which we’ll recommit to those baptismal vows —
                        I invite you to meditate on them in the coming days.
They’re on page 305 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Our pledge ingathering is in December,
            and I trust you’re already considering
                        how your financial gift to St. Joseph-St. John
                                    does help to change the world.
Our annual meeting and elections will be in January,
            and invite you to continue in the prayers
                        for this church,
for the people who will be elected,
and of discernment about whether you should run.

Confess the faith of Christ crucified,
proclaim his resurrection,
and share in his eternal priesthood.
Change the world
            with the authority of Christ. 

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