Being Church, Doing Church
Sunday, October 2nd, 2005
Pentecost + 20
Jerusalem Baptist Church, Emmerton VA
Matthew 21:33-46
Sunday, October 2nd, 2005
Pentecost + 20
Jerusalem Baptist Church, Emmerton VA
Matthew 21:33-46
33 ‘Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. 34When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. 35But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. 37Finally he sent his son to them, saying, “They will respect my son.” 38But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.’ 39So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ 41They said to him, ‘He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.’ 42Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scriptures: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes”? 43Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. 44The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.’ 45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. 46They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.
”If the preacher don’t step on my toes, don’t tell me what I’m doin’ wrong, then I don’t want to hear him. I won’t go back. That’s what I go to church for, to be told what I’m doin’ wrong!” this, from a man just this past week, in a conversation following my being introduced AS ‘the preacher from Jerusalem’.
The comment prompted the thought, “do I do that enough?” quickly followed by, “Do I WANT to do that more?” It goes without saying that there are a multitude of views of what a Minister or Preacher is supposed to do when he or she gets up to preach on Sundays. But I think we can all agree that the primary purpose is to bring God’s word to God’s people. And we find it all, don’t we? We run the gamut, from praise and encouragement to … pretty severe tongue lashings. Today’s passage is a continuation of Jesus giving the Pharisees and Sadducees as severe a tongue lashing as they ever received.
Remember from last week, we’ve jumped ahead into Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem before his crucifixion, and as the week progresses, the confrontations between Jesus and the religious leaders grow more pointed and more heated. Note, there is no ‘the Kingdom is like’ at the beginning of this parable, just as there wasn’t at the beginning of the parable of the two sons in last week’s parable. Jesus isn’t presenting an image of the Kingdom, he is presenting one of the day in which he was speaking, and to this day as well.
Jesus was using everyday language and imagery – terms and characters that ANYONE could understand and identify with – to get his message across. Vineyards were a common sight in first century Palestine. Most everyone knew what was involved in setting up a vineyard, knew that a fence was needed, knew about the pit to be dug, and the tower to be built, and landowners and tenants. That is even familiar to us today. Edward Markquart, a Lutheran Pastor in Des Moines, Washington, summarizes it like this:
The meaning of today’s parable was clear in Jesus’ day: That is, the religious leaders killed God’s prophets in the Old Testament and soon would kill God’s own Son. The kingdom will be taken from those who do not produce good fruit (righteousness, goodness, mercy, gentleness, self-control) and be given to those people who do (the tax collectors and prostitutes we read and heard about in last week’s passage.)
The meaning of this parable is also clear for our lives today. That is, nowadays people often silence the messengers of God, in order that we can live our lives the way we want to, in order to pretend that the vineyard is ours. We want to run OUR vineyard the way WE want to. We human beings often silence God’s messengers, including the voice of his Son, in order to live a lie that it is MY vineyard and that MY vineyard belongs to ME.
As we do so, we often do not produce good fruit or healthy lives of loving service to others. The Lord God says that he/she will find people who live a life of loving service to others and THEY will become God's people.
Pastor Edward F. Markquart, Grace Lutheran Church, Des Moines, Washington 98198
http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/
How much harder and more pointedly can you step on someone’s toes than to tell them that they will be responsible for God passing their people by if they don’t grasp the concept of true righteousness and a repentant, loving heart, and teaching it and, much, MUCH more importantly, LIVING it?
Today’s message comes from the Gospel of Grace, but it is a heavy word for us if we are on the wrong side of the parable.
So here’s the (hard) word of the Lord for today: each of us, are, have been, or will be on the wrong side of this parable at some point in our lives. That is what it means to have a hard heart. It is what happens when we settle into the idea that we know and understand EVERYTHING about what God is all about, WHERE God is going, and WHAT God is doing. We must learn our lesson from those Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus’ day, and those who would be the modern-day Pharisees and Sadducees, who would tell us that they alone guard and hold the truth of scripture, those who sit and make pronouncements on where God is and where God is not, what God is blessing and what God is not blessing.
Last night we had supper with Doug and Lea and Karen Coppage, who will be returning to Hungary a week from today, to continue working with the deaf population there. In the course of the evening’s conversation, Lea mentioned a joke that she’d been reminded of, and it seems appropriate to mention it here.
The Cowboy and Church
One Sunday morning an old cowboy entered a church just before services were to begin. Although the old man and his clothes were spotlessly clean, he wore jeans, a denim shirt and boots that were very worn and ragged. In his hand he carried a worn out old hat and an equally worn out Bible.
The Church he entered was in a very upscale and exclusive part of the city. It was the largest and most beautiful church the old cowboy had ever seen and the people were all dressed in expensive clothes and accessories.
As the cowboy took a seat, the others moved away from him. No one greeted, spoke to, or welcomed him. They were all appalled at his appearance and did not attempt to hide it. The preacher gave a long sermon about Hellfire and brimstone and a stern lecture on how much money the church needed to do God's work.
As the old cowboy was leaving the church, the preacher approached him and asked the cowboy to do him a favor. "Before you come back in here again, have a talk with God and ask him what He thinks would be appropriate attire for worship." The old cowboy assured the preacher he would.
The next Sunday, the cowboy showed up for the services wearing the same ragged jeans, shirt, boots, and hat. Once again he was completely shunned and ignored.
The preacher approached the man and said, "I thought I asked you to speak to God before you came back to our church." "I did," replied the old cowboy. "If you spoke to God, what did He tell you the proper attire should be for worshiping in here?" asked the preacher.
"Well, sir, God told me that He didn't have a clue what I should wear. He says He's never been in this church!"
It’s funny, isn’t it, unless we feel more like the preacher or the parishioners than the cowboy? If on some level we identified with THEM rather than the outsider, then we have SOME idea of how the Pharisees and Sadducees felt when Jesus started telling these parables and it was clear to everyone present that THEY were the bad guys.
Jesus told THIS parable in the same sitting as he did the ones we heard last week – about the two sons, and the comments about the prostitutes and tax collectors. There was no mincing around. The truth he spoke to the religious leaders facing him then is the same message he has for us all now, here, today.
What does this mean for Jerusalem Baptist Church in Emmerton?
We are, by virtue of our presence here this morning, religious leaders. Because we choose to be here, we stand in the tradition that has been carried out for centuries and centuries. We mark the week by dedicating at least a portion of this first day to God, and to the public practice of faith. So here is the rest of that message from Jesus: if being a religious leader is defined simply by those two acts – BEING here and going through the ritual – following the order of service in our worship bulletin, and then going home and living the rest of our week as if we’ve done our duty, then someone else is going to get the baton, because although this is an important part of what it means to be a Christian, it means NOTHING unless the faith we speak of, the love and grace and joy and suffering and sharing we sing about or read about or hear about gets demonstrated on the outside.
The title for today’s message, “BEING Church, DOING Church” contains a couple of implied questions. They’re not “either-or” questions. They are “both-and” questions.
As a family of faith, how well are we ‘BEING’ church? This speaks to how we are … ‘internally’. How are we “being” loving to each other, lifting each other up in prayer, recognizing, respecting and honoring the presence of Christ in each other? These are about how WE are individually, in our heart of hearts, growing to be more like Christ.
The next question is now more outward, but it doesn’t start down the road, once we get into town, or across the Rappahannock, it doesn’t start beyond a certain point in either direction up or down route 3, it doesn’t start outside the walls of this building. It starts on the other side of our skin. Some things are admittedly easier to do in a small congregation like ours than they would be in a larger congregation. Let’s recognize those, acknowledge and celebrate them, but at the same time, realize that we are probably more challenged to do those things that make us uncomfortable; the outreach, the speaking kindness to strangers, the open invitation to receive from us what service we can offer. When someone asks why we do this, many times I have stammered something along the lines of ‘Oh, we just want to help’. A church in South Korea, in extending the blessing by offering help and assistance to members of their community, realized they needed to have a more complete answer ready when someone asked them why they were doing these intentional acts of kindness. Here’s how they answer the question:
“I am a disciple of Jesus. I am serving him by serving you, because that’s what HE came to do.”
So how do WE answer the question? Is our Christianity about being a member here, or being a witness outside ourselves? Is our faith a combination of words and motions that are simply part of the routine of being a church member, or is it an expression of what Christ has done in our lives and continues to do on a daily basis in us and through us?
Remember the quote from Frank Stagg last week:
“Radical demand and limitless mercy come together in the teaching and manner of Jesus”
So we are again faced with that radical demand from Jesus: to follow, to serve, to submit and take his yoke. To take his cross and follow him.
How will we answer?
Let’s pray.
How much harder and more pointedly can you step on someone’s toes than to tell them that they will be responsible for God passing their people by if they don’t grasp the concept of true righteousness and a repentant, loving heart, and teaching it and, much, MUCH more importantly, LIVING it?
Today’s message comes from the Gospel of Grace, but it is a heavy word for us if we are on the wrong side of the parable.
So here’s the (hard) word of the Lord for today: each of us, are, have been, or will be on the wrong side of this parable at some point in our lives. That is what it means to have a hard heart. It is what happens when we settle into the idea that we know and understand EVERYTHING about what God is all about, WHERE God is going, and WHAT God is doing. We must learn our lesson from those Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus’ day, and those who would be the modern-day Pharisees and Sadducees, who would tell us that they alone guard and hold the truth of scripture, those who sit and make pronouncements on where God is and where God is not, what God is blessing and what God is not blessing.
Last night we had supper with Doug and Lea and Karen Coppage, who will be returning to Hungary a week from today, to continue working with the deaf population there. In the course of the evening’s conversation, Lea mentioned a joke that she’d been reminded of, and it seems appropriate to mention it here.
The Cowboy and Church
One Sunday morning an old cowboy entered a church just before services were to begin. Although the old man and his clothes were spotlessly clean, he wore jeans, a denim shirt and boots that were very worn and ragged. In his hand he carried a worn out old hat and an equally worn out Bible.
The Church he entered was in a very upscale and exclusive part of the city. It was the largest and most beautiful church the old cowboy had ever seen and the people were all dressed in expensive clothes and accessories.
As the cowboy took a seat, the others moved away from him. No one greeted, spoke to, or welcomed him. They were all appalled at his appearance and did not attempt to hide it. The preacher gave a long sermon about Hellfire and brimstone and a stern lecture on how much money the church needed to do God's work.
As the old cowboy was leaving the church, the preacher approached him and asked the cowboy to do him a favor. "Before you come back in here again, have a talk with God and ask him what He thinks would be appropriate attire for worship." The old cowboy assured the preacher he would.
The next Sunday, the cowboy showed up for the services wearing the same ragged jeans, shirt, boots, and hat. Once again he was completely shunned and ignored.
The preacher approached the man and said, "I thought I asked you to speak to God before you came back to our church." "I did," replied the old cowboy. "If you spoke to God, what did He tell you the proper attire should be for worshiping in here?" asked the preacher.
"Well, sir, God told me that He didn't have a clue what I should wear. He says He's never been in this church!"
It’s funny, isn’t it, unless we feel more like the preacher or the parishioners than the cowboy? If on some level we identified with THEM rather than the outsider, then we have SOME idea of how the Pharisees and Sadducees felt when Jesus started telling these parables and it was clear to everyone present that THEY were the bad guys.
Jesus told THIS parable in the same sitting as he did the ones we heard last week – about the two sons, and the comments about the prostitutes and tax collectors. There was no mincing around. The truth he spoke to the religious leaders facing him then is the same message he has for us all now, here, today.
What does this mean for Jerusalem Baptist Church in Emmerton?
We are, by virtue of our presence here this morning, religious leaders. Because we choose to be here, we stand in the tradition that has been carried out for centuries and centuries. We mark the week by dedicating at least a portion of this first day to God, and to the public practice of faith. So here is the rest of that message from Jesus: if being a religious leader is defined simply by those two acts – BEING here and going through the ritual – following the order of service in our worship bulletin, and then going home and living the rest of our week as if we’ve done our duty, then someone else is going to get the baton, because although this is an important part of what it means to be a Christian, it means NOTHING unless the faith we speak of, the love and grace and joy and suffering and sharing we sing about or read about or hear about gets demonstrated on the outside.
The title for today’s message, “BEING Church, DOING Church” contains a couple of implied questions. They’re not “either-or” questions. They are “both-and” questions.
As a family of faith, how well are we ‘BEING’ church? This speaks to how we are … ‘internally’. How are we “being” loving to each other, lifting each other up in prayer, recognizing, respecting and honoring the presence of Christ in each other? These are about how WE are individually, in our heart of hearts, growing to be more like Christ.
The next question is now more outward, but it doesn’t start down the road, once we get into town, or across the Rappahannock, it doesn’t start beyond a certain point in either direction up or down route 3, it doesn’t start outside the walls of this building. It starts on the other side of our skin. Some things are admittedly easier to do in a small congregation like ours than they would be in a larger congregation. Let’s recognize those, acknowledge and celebrate them, but at the same time, realize that we are probably more challenged to do those things that make us uncomfortable; the outreach, the speaking kindness to strangers, the open invitation to receive from us what service we can offer. When someone asks why we do this, many times I have stammered something along the lines of ‘Oh, we just want to help’. A church in South Korea, in extending the blessing by offering help and assistance to members of their community, realized they needed to have a more complete answer ready when someone asked them why they were doing these intentional acts of kindness. Here’s how they answer the question:
“I am a disciple of Jesus. I am serving him by serving you, because that’s what HE came to do.”
So how do WE answer the question? Is our Christianity about being a member here, or being a witness outside ourselves? Is our faith a combination of words and motions that are simply part of the routine of being a church member, or is it an expression of what Christ has done in our lives and continues to do on a daily basis in us and through us?
Remember the quote from Frank Stagg last week:
“Radical demand and limitless mercy come together in the teaching and manner of Jesus”
So we are again faced with that radical demand from Jesus: to follow, to serve, to submit and take his yoke. To take his cross and follow him.
How will we answer?
Let’s pray.
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