Summary
In this week’s service at Fairhaven United Methodist, Pastor Steven McIlvaine led the congregation through a reflection on Jesus’ encounter with the religious authorities in the temple, focusing on the parable of the two sons and the question, “By what authority are you doing these things?” Rev. Mclaine drew a vivid parallel between the leaders’ challenge to Jesus and our own internal questions to God—”Who do you think you are? Why should I do that?”—arguing that questions of authority are ultimately questions of trust. He reminded the congregation that Jesus often answers with a counter-question, as He did when He asked whether John the Baptist’s baptism came from heaven or human origin, exposing the leaders’ avoidance of truth in favor of self-protection.
In this week’s service, Pastor McIlvaine went on to unpack the parable of the two sons—one who said no but later went to work in the vineyard, and one who said yes but never went—emphasizing that God is more concerned with what we do than with what we say. He challenged the congregation to examine whether their words of love and faith are translated into visible action: forgiving, serving, reaching out, and giving others a second chance. Weaving in the startling declaration that tax collectors and prostitutes would enter the kingdom before the religious leaders, Rev. Mclaine affirmed that God’s grace reaches every person who has wandered, made mistakes, or said no to God, and that “no” is never the end of the story. He closed by inviting the congregation to answer the Father’s ongoing call—”Come, work in my vineyard”—and to trust that it is never too late to change one’s answer from no to yes.
Good morning, everyone.
Our scripture today takes us into an interesting conversation between Jesus and the religious authorities. Jesus had entered the temple, and the chief priests and the elders come to him with a question: “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?” Now it sounds like a reasonable question, right? But if you dig a little deeper into what they’re doing, we realize that they weren’t looking for an answer. They are challenging Jesus on what authority is he doing these things. They wanted to know who gave him permission to teach the way he does, to heal, to welcome sinners, and to speak about God the way he does.
In other words, they’re basically asking him, “Who do you think you are?” Right? Yeah. And isn’t that something? Sometimes a question that we ask God: “Who do you think you are? Why should I do that?” Right? Maybe He’s telling me, “What should I do? Why should I do that? Or or why should I? Why should I listen to that?” Perhaps maybe I don’t know if I can forgive that person. Why should I forgive that person? Why should I? Why should I trust you when I don’t understand what’s happening? How can I trust you? The questions of authority is really a question of trust. Yeah.
So Jesus, he doesn’t answer them directly, does he? He answers them with another question. He likes to do that. I like that he likes to do that too. He said, “Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or did it come from human origin?” Now the leaders, they have a problem here. It’s a big problem, really, because if they say that that if they say that John’s authority came from heaven, well, then Jesus is going to ask them why didn’t they believe John? Well, if they say that John’s authority was merely human, well, there’s another problem because they were afraid of the people. The people believed that John was a prophet sent by God. So they answer. We don’t know. Seems like the easy way out, right? What was for them? So Jesus knows that they’re really avoiding the real issue here. They aren’t interested in discovering the truth. They’re interested in protecting themselves.
Now, and sometimes we can do the same thing too. There are moments when we know exactly what God is asking us to do, and then, but we don’t want to admit it because that might mean that we have to change something, and well, we don’t like to change. So we say, I’m not sure. I don’t know if I heard you correctly. God, do you sure what you’re asking me? But sometimes we’re really not confused, are we? We we heard it correctly. We’re just avoiding it, and sometimes we’re just uncomfortable.
Yes, you know. Twenty years ago, he asked me to get up here to preach. I couldn’t do it. I was too afraid, and I said no. But the no was the end of it. Obviously, I’m here now. Sometimes we just don’t always like the answer that God’s giving us.
So then Jesus, to help things along, he tells them this parable or this story about two sons. Okay, so the father has two sons. He goes to the first and he says, “Son, go out into the vineyards and work today.” And the son says, “No.” Well, we’ve heard that before, haven’t we? Parents, no, right? But later, he changes his mind and he goes, which was really good, right? So then the father goes to the second son and he says the same thing, and the second son says, “Yes, sir, I’ll go.” But then he doesn’t. We’ve heard that before too, huh? Yeah. Go clean your room. Okay. Never gets done.
So Jesus says, “Which of the two sons did the will of the father?” Well, the answer is obvious, right? The first son, because he went and did what the father asked. Now, I think most of us parents can really relate to this story because we’ve we’ve been there, we’ve done that before, we’ve gone through all of that stuff. Sometimes you ask your child to just do something, and the first response is no. Not today. Not right now. I’m busy. I’m playing video games or something like that, or maybe later. Okay, and that’s what they do. And then sometimes you think, after some time, they they think about it and they’re like, ah, okay, I guess I better go do that right now, and I’ll go and do it. And then there are other times when you hear, yeah, sure, sure, I’ll I’ll do the dishes, no problem, absolutely. And then it never gets done.
Jesus is reminding us here that God is not as concerned with what we say as with what we do. Let me say that again: God is not as concerned with as what we say as if as if what we as excuse me. Let me say as He is with what we do, meaning our actions speak louder than our words.
Now there’s something, an important lesson for us to learn here as a church, as a people. It is possible to say all of the right things and still miss what God is doing. We can say, “I love Jesus. I love God. I want to serve. I want to help people. I want to be a better Christian.” Those are all good words, but Jesus asks us to take another step, go a little deeper. What are you doing with those words? Is what he’s asking. Are we loving our neighbor? Are we forgiving? Here it is again. Are we are we serving? Are we finding ways to serve? Are we reaching out to someone who maybe feels forgotten? Are we willing to change when God shows us something in our lives that needs to change? Faith isn’t simply something we say. Faith. It becomes visible through the way we live. Action.
Well, the Jesus says something that must have shocked these religious leaders. These are pretty, pretty religious guys, and they think that they’re doing everything right. And what he says completely shocks them. He tells them that the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom before them. Boy, that must have infuriated them. All their lives, they’ve lived in the way that they thought was by the laws of Moses, and yet here they are—prostitutes and tax collectors are entering the kingdom of God before it. How dare he say that? These are the people who that the religious leaders thought had failed—people that had made choices that they just did not approve of, and people who were on the outside.
But Jesus says something remarkable. He says that they believed John. They believed that the Messiah was coming. They responded to God’s call. They were they changed direction and went in the way that the kingdom was leading them, and that’s really the heart of this passage. God’s grace is not limited to people who haven’t always gotten it right, or who have always gotten it right. Excuse me. God’s grace reaches to people who’ve made mistakes. People who’ve seen the downs and the lows and the highs, and those are the regular, normal, everyday people. That’s what God’s grace is for. People who have wandered, people who have said no to God, people who have wasted time, people who have made choices that they regret. People who are sitting in church today, wondering if God could possibly still have a place for them. The answer is yes. Jesus still has a place for you. It’s not too late.
Maybe one of the most beautiful messages in this passage is the first son said no. Now, how does that seem like that’s a beautiful thing? Well, no wasn’t the end of the story, was it? He said yes a little bit later on. He changed his mind. He went to work. That means that our past does not determine our future with God. So whatever happened before does not determine what happens next.
Maybe you’ve said no to God before. Maybe you were ignoring a call in your life. Maybe you’ve walked away. Maybe you’ve made a mistake. Maybe you’ve been angry with God about something in your life, but the story doesn’t end with the word no. There is always the possibility of turning around. There is always the possibility of coming home. Jesus is always saying, “Come, come back.” There is always the possibility of saying, “Lord, I’m ready now. Use me to do Your will.” That is grace.
Sometimes we Christians make Christianity more complicated than it needs to be. I’m guilty. I’m guilty of it. We want to know exactly what God wants us to do. We want a detailed plan as how everything is laid out, so we can understand it. We want every question answered. But sometimes God’s invitation is just very simple: come, work an avenger, love somebody, help somebody, forgive somebody, visit somebody, pray for somebody, encourage somebody who’s going through a moment in their life, and give somebody another chance. Stand beside somebody who’s hurting. Tell somebody that they are loved, that Jesus loves them, that you love them. Be the hands and feet of Christ. The vineyard is all around us. As soon as we leave these doors, we are in the vineyard. And every morning, God continues to invite us into His work.
The truth is, there are probably times when each of us has been both sons. If we admit it, sometimes we said yes and not did it, and then other times we said no, and then we’ve gone ahead and done it anyway. That is why this story really isn’t about judging the two sons. It’s not a comparison as much as it is about the father who keeps calling us, a father who who doesn’t give up on us, a father who keeps saying, “Come, come, work with me.” The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Come, be a part of what I am doing. Come and bring love into this world. And even after we’ve even said no before, if you’ve said no before, doesn’t matter. God continues to give us the opportunities to say yes.
I think one of the most important questions that we can ask ourselves today isn’t “What have I said to God?” but instead asking “What am I doing with what God has asked me to do?” Because the Christian life isn’t just about having all the right words; it’s about allowing those words to become action, to be lived out. It’s about allowing our faith to become visible so others see it. And maybe there’s something that God has been placing on your heart—a call, a ministry, a mission, something. Maybe there’s someone you need to forgive. Maybe someone you need to give a call to. Me. Maybe there’s something that you’ve been avoiding. Yeah. Maybe there’s just something you’ve been saying not yet to. I’m not ready for that quite yet. Today, Jesus reminds us that it’s never too late to change our answer. The son who first was first said no, eventually went. And perhaps that’s where some of us are today. Maybe our answer to God hasn’t always been yes. But today, we can say, “Lord, I’m ready. I’m ready to do Your will. Show me where You want me to go. Show me who do You want me to love. Show me where You want me to serve. Because the vineyard is waiting, and the Father is still calling. Amen.
Let us pray. Almighty Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you for your stories. In your stories, they reveal great truth. Lord, I thank you for the two sons: one who said no but then went and did the will; one who said yes but did not. Lord, I know in my own life, I’ve been both sons. Lord, I, I know that in our lives as a church, we have been both sons. So, Lord, I ask that you forgive us, forgive us for the noes. But yet, Lord, make ready, available for more yeses. Help us to align with your will. Help us to have that courage, that strength that we need in order to do your will, to further your kingdom here on this earth. Lord, we ask for your blessings to be upon us, that we may bless you in return. In your name, we pray. Amen.
