the will of God?

Which of these is doing the will of God?

A married couple,who had an extravagant and beautiful wedding, wrote and spoke vows of loving devotion to each other; but whose marriage was full of verbal and physical abuse, as well as infidelity. 

Or a couple who never marry, but they live together faithfully, adoring each other and honoring each other? 

Or how about this:

A teenager who tells his parents that he was invited to a party where there will be drinking.  His parents tell him he is not allowed to go and he tells them that he respects their decision.  On the night of the party, however, he sneaks out the window, goes to the party, and drinks with his friends.

Or a teenager who lies to his parents, tells them he is sleeping over at a friends house, but goes to the party.  After being there for an hour and drinking one beer, he realizes he doesn’t want to be there.  So he leaves, goes home, and sneaks into his room. 

The gospel of Matthew has a story in it, Jesus tells it to some religious leaders, who were questioning Jesus' authority as a teacher and healer. A man had two sons.  The father goes to his son and tells him to go into the vineyard and work.  The first one tells his father to his face that he will not go, but later has a change of heart and goes.  The second one knows the right answer and says that to his father’s face, but does not go into the vineyard to work.  Which of these obeys his father? This parable is about respect and integrity.  Respect for authority first.  It all started with a question about Jesus’ authority. Who authorized the work he was doing?  What were his credentials?  What leader gave Jesus permission to do what he was doing and say what he was saying?   Of course this question is coming from people who know the answer, an answer that threatened their own leadership and authority.  They know that Jesus would say it came from God.  And if they choose to believe that, they are submitting themselves to Jesus as God’s prophet and messiah.  If they reject his claim, they will lose the popular vote.  He had many followers.  He could lead a revolt against the temple, undermining their authority over the people.  The problem they had with Jesus was that his message and his actions were empowering and life-giving for the masses of humanity who lived on the edge of survival; his message and work gave hope to people living on the margins; outsiders, the powerless, and the poor.  This undermined the hierarchy and threatened the status of the wealthy and the powerful.  Doing that is dangerous.  Jesus was unafraid.  He did not play by their rules.  

Autonomy is the rule of the day in our culture.  Self rule.  And yet we authorize certain people to make decisions.  We authorize government to make and enforce a rule of law, for better and for worse.  But most of us are not seeking approval or permission to live our lives.  Most of us do that when we are younger.  We seek the approval of parents, teachers, etc…but then we grow up.  And we do not often ask for permission.    

For the observant 1st century Jew, the authority question was no question; they deferred to the authority of God, God’s Word, the Torah; and held deep respect for the rules.  Honor your Father and your Mother.  IN response to Jesus' question, they say that the one who went into the vineyard did the will of the Father.  The change of heart seems to gain the favor of the religious leaders.  And yet, Jesus uses this parable against them.  He uses this story as a way to show that they were not seeking to know the mind of God, the will of God, the heart of God on matters of faithfulness.  Therefore, they could not discern if God had authorized John the baptist’s ministry.  If they couldn’t see the work of God at work in John’s life of spiritual discipline, they would never see God at work in Jesus.  Jesus did not fast. He feasted with sinners and tax collectors—those who chose to make a living in ways that were not permitted by God’s law.  Jesus claimed that law-breakers, who repented, were going to get into heaven ahead of righteous and pious Jews. The "bad" ones are received ahead of the "good" ones. 

Second, this parable is about integrity.  Do what you say.  I suppose we live in an age where integrity has lost its meaning.  Who doesn’t say that they are going to do something and then not do it sometimes?  Every politician who opens his or her mouth.  But we are all guilty of that.  “I will call you later.” I’ll be home by 6:00 pm.   Integrity is not about proving one’s self, though.  And integrity is about more than words.  It is about living wholly, an integrated self whose actions and speech are congruent.  Or maybe, we might say, one whose actions and speech are consistent with the will of God.  Jesus had integrity like no other.  Because he knew God’s mind and heart and did it.  Like John the Baptist, he was killed for his integrity.  He would not let politics or men of power dissuade him from living according to the will of God.  He opposed them to their faces.   

In the parable, neither son acts honorably.  Either in word or deed.  It appears, however, that one’s actions are more important than one’s words.  That is characteristic of Jesus, who says that you know a person’s heart by their fruit.  Their actions, what they do.  Also, he claims that there are people who call him Lord, Lord, but do not do the Father’s will.  I think there are whole Christian communities who have lost the ability to listen to God.  And there are some that just don’t know how. 

What is God’s will?  Is it not to live our lives seeking to comprehend the immeasurable goodness of God, seeking to openly receive the love of God, and to return that love in worship and in service to others?  Is it not to live wholly and fully, embracing the good work to which God calls us all?  Is it not to enjoy creation as one created by the creator of all things?  Is it not to give thanks to God by calling God's name and living in ways that please God and give life to others?  I don't know the will of God, exactly.  And I am as capable of dismissing it as obeying it. Maybe the will of God is the way of the cross and resurrection, the way of forgiveness, the way of love.  A love and grace we cannot return or repay. I guess I am hoping for that. Amen.