"Talk is Cheap"

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Who gives me the authority to stand here before you and teach the message of the Bible this morning?

Could be our Sr. Pastor, Rev. Moore… it could be God. Like the Chief Priests who asked Jesus the same exact question, my answer is the same…. I don’t know.

The passage that Lindsey read this morning from Matthew reminds me how much I really like Jesus, how awesome I think he really is, and by all accounts how awesome every Christian probably thinks he is. I read this passage and I remember the one right before it. Jesus has just entered into the Temple and pretty much just tore the place to shreds. He’s pretty disgusted at the market place that has taken over the temple. It was no longer being used as a place or worship, but more of a place of profit. Jesus was mad and felt it in his power to shake things up a bit.

When we look at this text as modern Christians, we have this tendency to scoff at the Chief Priests with anger. What gives them the right to ask JESUS, the MESSIAH who gives him the authority… I mean, we all know that God has given his utmost authority to him. He is the son of God, sent to free us from our sins. Who gives those priests the authority to question Jesus???

And there’s the problem, by Jewish tradition and law, the priests had the authority to ask Jesus outright… who gives you the authority? In addition to this, we have to really try to understand where they were coming from. Let’s set this up really quick. At the time that Jesus begins his teaching, he is living in an era when Jerusalem is under Roman rule. I watched a documentary a few weeks ago about Roman rule during the first century. They drove home the fact that the Romans were ruthless rulers and their specialization was in killing people. They were good at it and it’s how they kept order.

We see a few chapters earlier in Matthew 14, that John the Baptist had been beheaded under the order of King Herod.

Herod, although a Jew himself was ultimately loyal to his Roman masters. And to teach other Jewish “rebels” a lesson, he used John as an example.

It was a privilege that the Jewish population could keep their temple and still worship there. I mean, not only was John just beheaded for creating too much attention, here comes Jesus overturning merchant stalls in what I’ve always imagined to be a tirade! So, the priests have it in their best interest, and in the best interest of the Jewish population to ask Jesus who gave him authority.






And this is why I love Jesus so much… he always answers questions with questions. He is the ultimate riddle maker.






In fact, his responses remind me of when teenagers talk back to their parents. I don’t have kids, but I remember being a kid. You all think I was probably some sweet kid, and I was for the most part, but I could give my mother a real run for her money. Plus I’ve worked with kids a few times to know that they know how to work it. They are natural pros at rhetorical questioning.






And Jesus is too smart to be trapped by the priests. He knows a trap when he sees it and he riddles those priests. He asks them, Who gave John the authority? Them or God?






Did they think John’s baptism was from heaven? Or, did they think it was just something that he dreamed up? They couldn’t even come up with an answer, they knew the political ramifications of giving an answer. If they say he got his authority from God, then Jesus could retort with, then why didn’t you believe him? If they answered that he made it all up, they had the people to deal with because John had been overwhelmingly popular. Like Jesus he was an interruption to the status quo. So, they play it safe… “We don’t know.”






And this isn’t some kind of first century biblical phenomenon. I see this kind of thing happening in modern politics all the time. They are walking this really flimsy tight rope every day. They can’t say *this* thing because that would anger a particular constituency. And yet, they can’t say this *other thing* because it would set off yet another constituency.






Politics becomes this game of throwing stones one night, and then next day downplaying what has been said so they don’t upset the electorate.






So Jesus riddles them again. Who did the will of the Father? The son who says he won’t help tend the vineyard, but then decides to. Or the son who says he will, but doesn’t? They answer with the most obvious answer, the first.






And that is why the prostitutes and the thieves will go before you to heaven. What a blow to the Chief Priests.






How do we get to be first then?






Jesus’ question addresses what the sons DID, not on what they SAID. And thereby cracks open the disparity between what is said and what is done.






Now, it is we who are sitting in church who SAY (and sing and pray) many things. But this text puts the focus on what we actually DO. Just exactly what is it that we do after we leave church on Sunday? I’ll tell you what I do, SUNDAY NAP DAY! Why not? I come here, I wear my fancy clothes, I sing the pretty songs, I’ve read the scriptures, I’ve prayed, I’ve done my Christian duty. Now on to Sunday nap day.






This parable tests our integrity, about putting our money where out mouth is, it’s reminding us that talk is cheap. I can talk all day about God and spirituality, but what is it that I’m doing to further the kingdom of heaven here on earth.






While I was preparing for this task of sermonizing today, I read an article about false presumptions meaning that if we are practicing the right way, practicing the right beliefs that we will be okay in the eyes of God, that we’ve secured our spot in heaven. The reverend writing the article told about an older couple he went to see who hadn’t been able to come to church on a regular basis, but considered themselves an integral part of the church. During the visit, the husband remarked, "I don't know if you are aware of this pastor, but my grandfather was one of the sixteen founding members of our church." Somehow, this covered all the bases. They would be okay with God because the grandfather helped begin the church.”






That’s telling and hits home for me because my grandparents are charter members of this church. What’s important is that this is pretty much the thought of the chief priests when they questioned Jesus.






They are the descendents of Abraham, all they have to do is follow the laws, read the holy scriptures and make sure everyone stays within the lines.






Jesus tells a story that turns all the assumptions and presumptions inside out. It is not the one who says but the one who does. It is our walk and not our talk that counts with God. All those rejects -- the tax collectors and sinners -- who turned their hearts to God were the ones who go first with God.






Let me offer a bit of a disclaimer because Jesus’ parable telling us to be doers can be pretty stressful. Taking an hour every day out of your life to go and spread the Good News, I don’t think is what Jesus is telling us to do. Some of us have heavy workloads, some of us can’t get around very well anymore, but what I think Jesus is telling us is that what we learn here is what we need to apply in our daily lives, whether it’s lending a dollar to someone who is needing a caffeine fix, or living up to something that we commit ourselves to. I know for myself that I’ve said I’m going to do something and then flake out and don’t do it. You can ask Sara Scheil (our garden coordinator) how many times I’ve said, sure I’ll come and help pull weeds and then don’t show up.






But this commitment can only be achieved with balance. It is equally important for us to take care of our families, do our bills, pay our taxes. So, our integrity is based on how we can balance our lives. All of us are capable of doing something, not everyone can go down to Grand Avenue Temple and serve food on a daily basis, but we can all find the little things in life to improve the life of our neighbors. Loving each other is the commandment that Jesus gave to us, and I believe through that love, even in the smallest of ways is how we become doers more than talkers.






The Chief Priests lacked integrity; they were merely talkers. They had lost trust and moral standing with the people and because of that, Jesus had no need to defend his authority to them.






Jesus’ question to the chief priests challenges their integrity, will their words match their convictions? Will their deeds match their words?






And that is still Jesus' challenge to us religious folk today. Do our words match our convictions, and our deeds match our words?