{"id":642194,"date":"2023-09-14T09:32:11","date_gmt":"2023-09-14T13:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/?post_type=sermon&#038;p=292194"},"modified":"2026-08-24T18:11:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T22:11:26","slug":"questions-and-answers-pentecost-18-a-october-1-2023","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/sermons\/questions-and-answers-pentecost-18-a-october-1-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Questions and Answers, Proper 21 (A) \u2013 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-green-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-green-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm\/?e=DFMS4310093117&#038;light=true\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-green-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-green-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>[RCL] Exodus 17:1-7; Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16; Philippians 2:1-13; Matthew 21:23-32<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Pr21-2023-Cover-FB-1024x536.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-292199\" style=\"width:512px;height:268px\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Someone with a lot of time on their hands once estimated that during his ministry, Jesus asked 307 questions, was asked 183 questions by others, and gave direct answers to only three questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">John the Baptist asks Jesus early on in his ministry, \u201cAre you the one we\u2019ve been waiting for, or should we keep looking?\u201d Then the chief priests ask Jesus one question after another. They ask about divorce; they ask about taxes; they ask about the role of the 10 Commandments and on and on it goes until finally, Jesus is standing in the court of the governor himself, as Pilate asks him, \u201cAre you the King of the Jews?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Questions asked but seldom answered are one of the defining characteristics of Jesus\u2019 ministry. Matthew chapter 21 is no different. The chief priests and the elders were shrewd politicians, and they knew how to spring a rhetorical trap. What mattered to them wasn\u2019t the right answer, but whether the answer served their purposes. They couldn\u2019t make up their minds about how to respond to Jesus\u2019 question, so they said, \u201cWe don\u2019t know,\u201d at which point Jesus launches into a parable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jesus tells of a father and his two sons. The father asks both of his sons to go to work in the family vineyard. The first son says something like, \u201cSure! I\u2019ll get right on that!\u201d But in the end, he doesn\u2019t follow through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We know what that\u2019s like: we ask our spouse or child to take out the trash or empty the dishwasher, and they say, \u201cSure! I\u2019ll get right on that, just as soon as halftime gets here&#8230;\u201d or \u201cLet me finish this chapter and then&#8230;\u201d or \u201cThere\u2019s only one episode left, but after that&#8230;\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If we\u2019re honest, more than a few of us have surely been guilty of that response ourselves. We all know the first son because we\u2019ve all made promises or commitments that, for whatever reason, we fail to keep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But then there is the other son. This is the son who gets most of Jesus\u2019 attention. Unlike his brother, he initially says he won\u2019t help out in the vineyard but winds up doing so in the end. Now, we can ask all sorts of questions about why the second son changed his mind\u2014preachers and Biblical scholars have been doing it for centuries. But just for now, let\u2019s side-step that bit of homiletical quicksand and stay with the text that is before us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The truth that this parable brings to bear has nothing to do with the second son\u2019s hesitation and everything to do with the fact that in the end, he showed up. In fact, the pattern of this parable is the pattern of our life with God. No matter what we\u2019ve done, or what may have initially prevented us, God is always extending an invitation to us. We are constantly being drawn into a new place\u2014to new depths of faith; to a new plane of divine discovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No matter if this is the first time we\u2019ve ever heard the Gospel, or if we\u2019ve been faithful Christians for decades, this parable lays bare one incontrovertible fact: God isn\u2019t finished with us yet! Although we might wish for God to say to us, \u201cOkay, you\u2019ve gone far enough; you can retire now and spend the rest of your days ensuring that the back pew doesn\u2019t float away,\u201d the truth is that the baptized life has no <em>emeritus<\/em> status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In order to live into God\u2019s invitation, we must be willing to leave the past behind\u2014no matter how comfortable or familiar or profitable\u2014and turn toward the future, complete with all of its uncertainties and questions and anxieties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And make no mistake: That\u2019s hard!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Consider, for example, the chief priests and the elders of Jesus\u2019 day. They had quite a bit invested in the <em>status quo<\/em>. Leaving the past behind meant forfeiting their claims to power and position, which had become their entire identity. Stepping into life with Jesus meant leaving all of that behind in favor of a future they couldn\u2019t predict and couldn\u2019t control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One can\u2019t help but wonder if the first son had similar thoughts. After all, saying \u201cyes\u201d is the easy part\u2014particularly when we don\u2019t pause to consider the costs. But actually doing the work? Actually showing up? That\u2019s a different story. God isn\u2019t satisfied with just letting things stay the way they are. There\u2019s alwaysmore work to do; more kingdomto build. And we hear that and we get excited, and we say, \u201cYes!\u201d \u201cSign me up!\u201d \u201cThat\u2019swhat I want!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But then reality sets in and we look around and we think, \u201cHmm. The <em>status quo <\/em>really isn\u2019t all bad\u2026 I make a decent wage\u2014of course, I\u2019m always ready to make more\u2014but I make enough. My family has what they need to get by. My life is okay the way it is now. Besides, who knows if I\u2019m going to likethe work that God is calling me to? And more importantly, who knows if I\u2019m going to get along with the otherpeople who show up to work in God\u2019s vineyard? So, I know I said \u2018yes,\u2019 but I\u2019ve had some time to think on it, and well\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then there\u2019s the other son. And for as much as preachers and scholars have wondered why he changed his mind, I can\u2019t help but wonder what made him say \u201cno\u201d in the first place. Could it be that he himselfhad been told \u201cno\u201d so many times that he thought himself unworthy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When all you\u2019ve ever known is oppression, why in the world would you trust that this time will be any different?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But God isn\u2019t like you and me. God doesn\u2019t take nofor an answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although institutions and structures and people do their best to wall off and box in, God is alwaysbreaking barriers and crossing lines and pushing boundaries to invite us to newand abundantlife! The parable that Jesus tells is universalbecause at one time or another, every single one of ushas found ourselves in that thin place between the relative ease and comfort of saying \u201cyes\u201d to God, and actually putting one foot in front of the other and walkingalong the rocky and dirt-paved path to the vineyard.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We\u2019re all caught somewhere between the excited \u201cyes\u201d of the first son and the slow conversion of the second son.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Much like the first son, we\u2019ve all been fed one of the biggest lies ever told in the name of Christianity: That following Jesus would be easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And much like the second, we all know what it\u2019s like to feel as if too much has been asked and that it\u2019s too far to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But at the end of the day, one thing remains true: There\u2019s more kingdom to build, and God has put out the call to all who dare to join.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I\u2019m headed to the vineyard\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2026I\u2019ll see you there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>This sermon was written by <strong>the Rev. Marshall A. Jolly<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-54987fd1-13b1-4de8-a446-ee96f23f4b03\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Sermon-Proper-21A-English.docx\">Word \u2013 Proper 21 (A) Sermon<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Sermon-Proper-21A-English.docx\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-54987fd1-13b1-4de8-a446-ee96f23f4b03\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-7e312724-6ae7-4322-b70f-213eb7fff907\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Sermon-Proper-21A-English.pdf\">PDF \u2013 Proper 21 (A) Sermon<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Sermon-Proper-21A-English.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-7e312724-6ae7-4322-b70f-213eb7fff907\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[RCL] Exodus 17:1-7; Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16; Philippians 2:1-13; Matthew 21:23-32 Someone with a lot of time on their hands once estimated that during his ministry, Jesus asked 307 questions, was asked 183 questions by others, and gave direct answers to only three questions. John the Baptist asks Jesus early on in his ministry, \u201cAre you&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":201212,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[43,52,33,3],"tags":[107],"class_list":["post-642194","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sermons","category-sermons-that-work","category-the-season-after-pentecost","category-worship-and-prayer-menu","tag-proper-21a"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":43,"label":"Sermons"},{"value":52,"label":"Sermons That Work"},{"value":33,"label":"The Season After Pentecost"},{"value":3,"label":"worship_and_prayer_menu"}],"post_tag":[{"value":107,"label":"Proper 21A"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/642194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/sermon"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/642194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3485569,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/642194\/revisions\/3485569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=642194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=642194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=642194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}