Last night some of us were at the Cathedral for the Pastoral Workers’ Licensing service. It was an interesting experience, going to church on a Saturday night. (As I said to the Archdeacon, some of us have to work in the morning!) Have you been in Chester on a Saturday night lately? I saw my first Hen Party at about 6:00PM. The streets were full of groups of people. I suspect that some of the people walking the streets had been drinking. So, there we were in the Cathedral, while all around us, the streets were full of ‘sinners’.

What none of us in the cathedral thought to do was to start criticizing the Bishop, the Archdeacon or the Dean! In today’s gospel, Jesus enters the temple and addresses the religious leaders of his day.

This happens after Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey on the day we call Palm Sunday. Matthew tells of Jesus ‘cleansing’ the Temple, by throwing out the money changers and turning over their tables. Then, he curses a fig tree, a Parable of an unfruitful people. (God’s people are supposed to bear fruit – good works and the like – but God’s people are often a barren lot.)

His criticism is of religious leadership that is not connected with God. (Not Judaism, or Jewish people. What Jesus says and does applies equally to Christian religious people).

By What Authority?

The chief priests and elders ask, By what authority does Jesus teach? Jesus pulls a fast one. He sets them a question to which there is no right answer: was John’s baptism human or divine? If it was divine, why didn’t you believe him? If you say it was human, there’s a whole crowd of people who believe it was from God and they are going to cause you trouble.

They refuse to answer and Jesus refuses to answer them. He’s tricky!

The Parable of the Two Sons

So, Jesus tells this Parable. A man has two sons. He tells them both to work in the vineyard. One says he won’t but does. One says he will but doesn’t. The one who does his father’s will is not the one who says he’s doing it, but the one who actually does it.

You, the religious leaders, say you’re doing God’s will. But you’re not. The sinners who went to be baptised by John, never claimed to be doing God’s will. But they did it. And they are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you.

Doing the will of God.

What does that mean, ‘doing the will of God’? What does it look like? You can bet that going to church is not a very big part of it! Here we talk the talk. Out there, we have to walk the walk. (As I believe young people say.)

As church people, we are those who say we are doing God’s will. But are we? Are we doing any better than the unchurched ‘sinners’ around us?

Conclusion

Don’t get me wrong: we don’t do ‘good’ in order to get into heaven. We get into heaven because God loves us. We know that, don’t we? But as those who know that they are loved, surely we would want to do good?

As we left the cathedral, walking through the streets of Chester, I saw a group of Street Pastors – a Christian organisation that puts people on the streets in the places where the crowds are. They wear distinctive sweatshirts so that if someone wants to talk or needs a bit of help, they are there. They are doing the will of God. We’re not all called to be on the streets at night, but what would it look like for you and me to be doing the will of God? Being in church, even on a Saturday night or a Sunday, might be part of that. But it sure enough isn’t all of it!

We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.
How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?

Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.

1 John 3:16-18