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Matthew 21:28-32 “Go and Work in the Vineyard…” – Go and Do Christ's

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Matthew 21:28-32 “Go and Work in the Vineyard…” – Go and Do Christ's THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF THE REDEEMER, FRANKLIN, MA Matthew 21:28-32 “Go and work in the vineyard…” – Go and do Christ’s work in the world September 25, 2011 In the second century, a man by the name of Polycarp was the bishop of Smyrna – a city in the Roman province of Asia Minor – present-day Turkey. Polycarp was a disciple of John, one of Jesus’ twelve disciples, and was known as a sincere and devout man. There’s a well-attested account of his martyrdom that occurred on the 23rd of February in the year 156. It tells of Polycarp’s courageous witness to his faith in Christ that took place in an amphitheater at Smyrna. When the proconsul, the Roman governor of the province, demanded that Polycarp curse Christ, he replied: “Eighty-six years I have served him, and he never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” Although the proconsul was reluctant to kill this gentle, harmless old man, the mob clamored for Polycarp to be thrown to the wild beasts – the fate of several other Christians that same day. Although you and I may not face martyrdom, we, like Polycarp and all Christians, are called to “go and work in the vineyard.” We’re called to be engaged in the work of Christ in the world. Christians are to contribute not just to consume. The Bible is clear: you were created to serve God; you were saved to serve God; and you were gifted by the Holy Spirit to serve God in His Church and in the world. Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:10: “…we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” [NIV 1984] In the parable we just heard the father sends his two sons out to work in the family’s vineyard. The first son told his dad that he wouldn’t go, but later changed his mind and did what was asked of him. The second son said, “I will go” but then failed to do it. The great theologian, Woody Allen, once said, “Ninety percent of 2 life is just showing up.” Unfortunately son number two didn’t even meet that standard. The parable can be summarized with three main points: First, just as the father sent his sons out to work, God commands all believers to carry out His will and plans; Second, like son number one who said no, but then obeyed, some of us first rebel but later submit to God’s will for our life and are faithful to His plans; and Third, like son number two who in the end disobeyed his father, some people make promises but don’t follow through with what they commit themselves to do and thus run the risk of ultimately being rejected by God. In telling this parable Jesus demonstrates the difference between a profession of faith and the practice of faith. He expects His followers will actually do and not just agree with the will of His heavenly Father. The Apostle James wrote: “…faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.” [2:17 NLT] William Taylor, writing in the late 1800s, offered this application of the parable. Although the wording is somewhat dated, Taylor offers us food for thought. He wrote: “The father is God; the vineyard is the church. The sons are two classes of men to whom the command to labor in the church comes from God; the first is the type of openly abandoned and regardless sinners, who on receiving the command of God defiantly refuse obedience, but afterward, on sober second thought, repent and become earnest in working the work of God; the second is the representative of the hypocrites who in smooth and polite phrase make promises which they never intend to keep, and who, never changing their mind, take no further thought either of God or of his service.” i 3 So what does this look like for us as Christians living in Franklin and the surrounding communities? What does it mean to take up your cross and follow Jesus? Are you simply giving thanks to God for your blessings or are you seeking to surrender your life to Him and to the work of His holy Church? Last week I said, “God is an equal opportunity employer. He has a job for each one of us.” In other words, God calls every believer to a ministry – a work of service – in and for His Church and He gives us spiritual gifts to do this. It says in First Corinthians: “To each [to every Christian] is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” [12:7 ESV] and in Ephesians it’s clear that the gifts are given “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” [4:12 ESV] Spiritual gifts are not given for our personal benefit; they’re for the benefit of the Church, the Body of Christ in the world. There’s an interesting question at the beginning of this morning’s Gospel reading. Jesus said: “What do you think?” “What do you think?” The authority of Jesus had just been challenged by the chief priests and elders and His question likely was aimed at those who were about to hear the parable of the two sons and how they responded to their father’s instruction to go into the vineyard and work. But I think Jesus’ question also is an important question for each of us to ask ourselves about what God is calling us to be about. As Christians we’re called to be about His work – the mission and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ – and generally we serve Him by serving others. Any time you use your spiritual gifts, your talents or your abilities to help another person in the Name of Jesus or to help build up His Church that is called ministry; it doesn’t matter if it’s a big thing or a little thing. In the Bible the word “ministry” and “service” are actually the same word. When most people hear the word “ministry” they think of a priest or a minister – a person with a funny collar. But the truth is that if you are a follower of Jesus you also are a minister. It doesn’t 4 matter if you’re old or young, male or female. We pray in the service of Holy Baptism: “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.” In your baptism you become a “priest” – a person called to serve God and that’s ministry. Jesus willingly came to die for our sins but He also came to show us how to serve God. He was totally obedient to the will of His Father. In essence Jesus said, “I’m the model. This is important! You’re going to do it forever so I want you to learn how to work with me now with the right attitude.” Paul wrote about this “right attitude” in this morning’s epistle reading, “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant….” Have you ever thought about why you’re here at Redeemer? You’re not here by accident. Of all the millions of people God could have put in this parish, He brought you here and I’ll tell you why. You’re not here to just sit on Sunday morning and enjoy the music, the teaching and the liturgy or to go to the coffee hour. God brought you here to make a difference. You’re here because you have something this parish needs – something that God wants you to do to build up His Kingdom. It may involve the use of a skill, ability, talent, gift, contact, resource, hobby or interest that you have. If you’ve ever put together a jigsaw puzzle and found one piece missing, what did you notice? The missing piece! God brought you here because He wants you to give something back – to make a contribution. The bottom line is this: in our lives we have two options. We can “spend” our life or we can “invest” our 5 life. The best use of your life is to invest it in something that’s going to outlast it, because you are made to last forever. Your career isn’t going to last forever. Your hobbies aren’t going to last forever. Sports won’t last forever. So what does? – your service to God – it has eternal significance. Remember Polycarp’s words: “Eighty-six years I have served him, and he never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” Our parish mission is printed on the inside cover of your bulletin. Our mission is “To celebrate the Christian faith acknowledging Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, uphold Scripture as the unchanging Word of God, and lead others into a saving relationship with Him through Biblical teaching and fellowship.” It’s about growing deeper in our faith and our relationship with Jesus so that we share Him with others.
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