For God’s Kingdom (Matthew 21 & Philippians 2)

It must be very frustrating if your sibling is the perfect child, who always responds appropriately and fulfils your parents’ expectations, and be so very tempting to go in the opposite direction, and refuse to do anything right. I wonder if that is what is going on in the parable of the two sons whose father asks them to go and work in his vineyard (Matthew 21:23 – 32). One refuses, but then thinks better of it and goes; the other agrees to go, but doesn’t. It is only a parable, and what happens next is not the point, but I can’t help wondering if the father realised what had happened, or whether he assumed the second son had done the work; what the relationship between the two brothers was like, and whether the one who agreed to go, but didn’t, was one of those people who look shining bright on the outside, but whose inside does not match up. But I also wonder which child are we? Are we like the child who answers correctly, but does not put it into practice, or we like the child who answers honestly, but actually does the work required?

The parable is told in the context of a discussion between Jesus and the Pharisees, about where Jesus’ authority comes from. Jesus’ response goes into his questioners’ realm. The parable is pointing out to the religious people of their day that those they thought of as sinners were going into God’s kingdom first. Are we, as the religious people of our own day, aware of the implications of this parable? Not only for which child are we most like, but for how we, as the religious people of our day, respond to those who are not. For those like the first son, who say no, but then go and do the work; for those who may be completely ignorant of the way to behave in church, or how to sing hymns, or follow the liturgy, but are, possibly, seeking and hearing God more than we are; who are doing the work of God’s kingdom, whether they realise it or not.

It is, of course, a parable, and the reality is more nuanced. It is not a straight choice between the two sons in the parable, but, nevertheless, Jesus’ point in saying it is something we need to take on board now, as well as then. Jesus was warning the pharisees about their attitude, to him and to the sinners and tax collectors around him; pointing out that they heard John’s message, and saw those who believed, but still they did not. But there is One greater than John the Baptist here; we have the words of Jesus in the gospels. Do we believe those words, and do we put them into practice, or are we like the second son saying ‘I do believe; I will go’ and then ignoring them? Do we put our faith in God first and foremost in our lives, or is it just an add-on?  

In the letter to the Philippians, Paul calls us to put on the mind of Christ Jesus, who did not seek equality with God, but emptied himself (see Philippians 2). Unlike the first son, who refuses to go but does, and unlike the second son, who says he will go but does not, Jesus goes. He is not seeking to advance his own interests, or even seeking to hold on to who he is, but empties himself of everything, becoming a servant. It is for that action, that emptying of himself until death, that God raises him on high; it is for that action in not clinging to who he was that every tongue confesses that Jesus is Lord. We are called to do the same: not to cling to our own identity; not to seek our own interests; but to empty ourselves out for Jesus’ sake. Paul shows us how. He had every reason to trust in who he was, but sees it all as loss for the sake of knowing Jesus (see Philippians 3: 4-14).

We can come to God saying ‘this is who I am, look at me’ or we can come saying ‘this is who You are’; we can miss approaching God by being too busy looking out for ourselves or we can approach God and find ourselves. We can follow Jesus in emptying ourselves, and discovering that is where we are meant to be, or we can say we are following Jesus, only to realise that we’ve missed the entire point. Which child are you? Do you acknowledge that you fail, but go ahead and do as God asks you? Or do you say the right words, look good on the outside, but miss hearing the crucial question from God. “Will you, too, go and work in my vineyard? Will you, too, go and work for my Kingdom? Will you, too, work to spread the message of my love among those who need it? “