Father grant that what we say with our lips
We may believe in our heart
And what we believe in our heart
We may show forth through our lives
Through our Lord Jesus Christ
Amen, Amen, Amen
That song is one of my favorites from my days as a camp counselor. I never knew the official title to it; we only referred to it as “Father Grant.” Now I know the lyrics are not politically correct, but I think we can understand the sentiment.
This song always reminded me of the struggle that goes on in our lives between what we want to do and what we do actually do. Or perhaps between what we say we will do and what we do actually do. First, the song makes not of the struggle between what we say to the world and what we truly believe. Then the second part speaks of the struggle between what we truly believe and what we do in our lives and in our actions.
These two struggles can be likened to the two brothers Jesus speaks about in the parable in our Gospel reading. The first brother says that he will not go into the vineyard and work for his father. But after some thought, he changes his mind and goes and works.
Now the second brother appears to be better than the first. When his father asks him to go into the vineyard and work, he immediately agrees. But this son never seems to fine his way into the field. So in the end, although the son says he will do the work, no work is ever done.
Then Jesus asks them, “Which of the two did the will of the father?”
I think we would answer like the chief priests and the elders; we would say that the first did the will of the father. Most of us would agree that we would rather be surprised by expecting to have to work and finding the task finished than by expecting all the work to be done and arriving only to find nothing had been done. Jesus tells us that this, too, would be God’s response.
Jesus aims this parable at the chief priests and elders. He points out how they proclaim to have such high holiness but yet they were not able to follow through on the words of truth they heard from John. Jesus compares these priests and elders to the prostitutes and tax collectors. The prostitutes and tax collectors were the supposedly “bad” people, but these were the people heard the words of John and believed them and lived them out. It wasn’t the ones who professed to be high and holy who were pleasing to God, it was the ones who lived out God’s truth in their lives.
Frankly, I don’t think we are either one brother or the other. I think we often act like both brothers. Sometimes we put on a show of our faith for all the world to see, but when we are away and alone, it is then that we as we will not as God wills. Other times we may not want to even consider that God would have any plans for our world. We just want to do what we want when we want. We don’t want to think about what would be right and just, we just want to be comfortable. But then, after some time, we realize that what is right and just is also what is best for not just us, but for all involved. We decide to follow through with our understanding of God’s plans for the world and go out and do what we had previously said we would not do.
As I said, I don’t think we are one or the other, I think we are, at various times, both brothers. Sometimes we get the words right, but we don’t follow through. Sometimes we finally figure out what is right but might not have the will to say it. Sometimes we eventually get it right, but just as often we don’t.
But there is a third son in this parable, one the Biblical people may not have known about but the audience Matthew was writing to would have known about: That third son is the son who not only responded affirmatively when asked to work in the vineyard, but also went out and did the work. That third son was the son that was pleasing to the father in not just word, but in word and deed. I am sure you have figured out that I am talking about The Son, Jesus the Christ.
In the person of Jesus, we have the salvation we search for. In Christ’s death and resurrection, we are made right with God. Whether we say “yes” and then go about our own thing or say “no” and change our minds, Christ’s sacrifice of self is given on behalf of all of us.
Now it would be easy to just then assume that we can bypass what God asks of us and just do our own thing; you know, as long as life is good for you that is all that matters, right? Well, that is not what Paul is telling us in the epistle reading for today. Paul has something different to say.
Paul reminds us that we are to follow the example that Christ set for us. “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.” Yes, our salvation is assured, but we are not to keep this salvation to ourselves. Jesus tells us and Paul reminds us that we are to look after each other and not just for our own interests. We are to work in the Lord’s vineyard to help bring in the harvest. We are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.
Now this doesn’t mean that our salvation is dependent upon our works; but it does mean that we are to bring our faith to life through our works. We are to be about the work of Christ in our community, in our work, and in our world. Like our Savior, we are to strive to have the words of our mouths and the work that shows forth in our lives be the same thing.
One of my favorite lines from the Lutheran Baptismal service exemplifies this though: It said, “My your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and praise you God in heaven. That is what we, as Christians, are to strive for. And as I have said over the past few weeks, this is not easy.
That is why we have been given the gift of the table. That is why we are called from our daily lives to be here in this place and be nourished at this table. Each of us is called to be refreshed and to be strengthened. And this is not something we do ourselves, this is something that God does for us through those around us.
In the song I sang at the beginning of the sermon, there is recognition that we cannot do this alone. The song begins with a petition to God the Father and concludes with a petition to God the Son. And finally we would sing in rousing agreement: AMEN! Lord thy will be done.
Father grant that what we say with our lips
We may believe in our heart
And what we believe in our heart
We may show forth through our lives
Through our Lord Jesus Christ
Amen, Amen, Amen
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