good news / bad news

Matthew 21:23-32


"Which of the two did the will of the father?"
(Matthew 21:31)

Jesus is back in Jerusalem, back in the temple, after a little conflict with a fig tree... and the conflict with the chief priests and elders builds. Today we hear the first of three parables in a row that Matthew records that contribute to the religious leaders' increasing opposition to Jesus and his ministry.

These leaders come with a question challenging Jesus' authority to teach, heal, upset things in the Temple, and receive praise as the Son of David. He asks them a question, saying if they tell him the answer then he will answer them, "The baptism of John, from where did it come?" These people out to get Jesus recognize a trap and refuse to answer, knowing that if they said John's ministry came from heaven that Jesus would confront them, "Why then did you not believe him?"

So Jesus tells the parable of the two sons who are told to go work in the vineyard by their father. One says he won't go, but then changes his mind and goes. The second says he'll go, and doesn't. And so Jesus answers the question of the chief priests and elders in this way. "The tax collectors and prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him."

Wow, the priests are told that "tax collectors and prostitutes go into the kingdom of God" before them. What a slam. Blatant sinners go in before the holy ones, corrupt traitors before righteous collaborators. How hard it is for not only the rich (19:23f), but also the religious, to enter the kingdom of God.

But the parable and real-life story here speak of good news, of grace and mercy. It also seems to show that the gospel will soften and progressively heal the receptive who recognize they need the message, and it will harden and progressively lead to destruction the resistant who insist they don't need it, who demand that God deal with them on their terms.

And yet, I think I might still hear an echo of an invitation here, even as Jesus indirectly answers their question and "backdoors" them with their continued rejection of the message of the way of righteousness and of the kingdom.

Several times a year we renew our Baptismal Covenant. It's a series of questions of what the new life looks like, both in terms of belief and behavior. One of the questions is:

"Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?" (1979 BCP, p. 304)

There is a way home, there's always a way home. There's a way back to the kingdom way if you go astray. It's the same as it was when you started the journey. Living a "baptized life" means this call to "repent and return" is part of our pattern for spiritual living.

It's not bad news that we have to repent and return, it's good news that we can.
Thanks be to God.