Matthew 21.28-32

ACTIONS, NOT WORDS

(Matthew 21.28-32)

'Truly, I tell you, the tax collectors and prostitutes are going into the Kingdom of God ahead of you.' [21.31]

Tom was my churchwarden when l was appointed as Vicar of my first parish in Devonport back in the 1970s. He very kindly offered to arrange for the parishioners to decorate the vicarage before I arrived. This I had welcomed since the vicarage was painted from top to bottom in battleship grey! My predecessor had been a Commander in the Royal Navy before being ordained, and obviously wanted to feel at home!

Therefore, four months before I was due to take up the appointment, I visited the vicarage with a friend to decide upon the colour scheme of each room.

Imagine my surprise and disappointment when I finally took up the appointment to find the relevant tins of paint in each room but no walls or woodwork actually painted.

Tom, I was to discover, was a man of words and not action.

In order to prioritise my work, I asked the churchwardens what were the three most important things I should direct my attention to. Their reply was, firstly, whether to use bread or wafers at the Eucharist, secondly to reintroduce processions and finally, to increase the giving by parishioners!

As regards the latter, Churchwarden Tom went further and suggested I should encourage people to give via a Deed of Covenant whereby the treasurer could claim back from the Inland Revenue the tax which had been paid upon the gift.

This was before the days whereby one can claim back the tax on any gift placed in the offertory envelope.

The only stumbling point was that a Deed of Covenant had to be taken out for a minimum of seven years and it was a legal document which could be enforced through a Court of Law, though I cannot imagine any church pursuing a person who defaults.

So, towards the end of the financial year, I decided to go round to a handful of parishioners and invite them to consider giving under a Deed of Covenant.

Needless to say, the first parishioner on my list was Churchwarden Tom, who had been so enthusiastic about it.

Guess what? I failed.

And I failed not just in the first year, but also the second year, the third year, the fourth year and the fifth year.

Tom simply would not sign a Deed of Covenant. He was happy to encourage other people to do so. But would not do it himself.

Upon reflection, I should not have been too surprised or disappointed in view of the experience with decorating the rectory before my arrival in the parish.

ooOOOoo

Now, I was reminded of Churchwarden Tom when I read the above gospel passage.

Let me remind you of it. A man had two sons. He asked the first son to go and work in the vineyard. Although he initially refused, he did eventually go.

Assuming that the first son was not going, the father then asked the second son to go and work in the vineyard. This he gladly agreed to do, saying 'Yes, Sir', but did not go.

And Jesus concludes the story with the question: 'Which of the two did the will of the father?'

The listeners replied: 'The first’.

However, he goes on to warn them that tax collectors and prostitutes are going into the Kingdom of God ahead of them.

In other words, the religious leaders of the day, to whom he addressed this parable, the chief priests and the elders of the people, were full of words but no action like the second son.

They readily used words of flattery to impress Jesus. However, elsewhere the evangelist recalls, ‘Not everyone that saith unto me, "Lord, Lord” shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven’ [7.21].

Now it is interesting to note in passing, that the Greek word used for 'sir' in the parable, is the same word translated as "Lord".

In contrast to the chief priests and elders of the people, the tax collectors and prostitutes, not only heard the word of God, but also acted upon it. They heard the voice of John the Baptist telling them to 'repent' and they did, whereas the religious people did not think that the instruction to 'repent' applied to them.

ooOOOoo

Although, the first evangelist recalled these words of Jesus because they were particularly relevant to the life of the church, for which he wrote his gospel narrative at the end of the first century, they are equally relevant to us today.

It is all too easy to let slip the words of piety from our lips, in order to impress other people of our commitment to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. It is much more difficult to put those words into action.

So we say at the end of the service to the Vicar, 'Very good sermon, Vicar, I hope others heard it'.

Incidentally, do you know why Anglicans have sloping shoulders? It is to allow the words of the sermon to slide off into someone else's lap!

The reason why Jesus spoke with authority is because his actions matched his words. Words by themselves are not enough. We need action with which to interpret those words.

Hence, St Paul reminds us that Jesus emptied himself of his divinity and became a human being like you and me, taking on the form of a slave. And this we see being put into action at the Last Supper, where Jesus did the most menial of all household jobs, namely, the washing of the guests’ feet.

oo OOOoo

Let us never fall into the trap that Churchwarden Tom fell into, and also which some of the early Christians fell into, of thinking that pious words are enough. God expects also actions to interpret those words.

As I have often said, it is no good uttering the most beautiful words with our lips in prayer, unless we are prepared to roll up our sleeves and put those words into action.

And now to God, who in Jesus Christ demonstrated his love for us by permitting him to be crucified, be all honour and glory, today and always. Amen.