Traps, Countertraps, and the Good People

Matthew 21:23-32

When Jesus entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?" Jesus said to them, "I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?" And they argued with one another, "If we say, `From heaven,' he will say to us, `Why then did you not believe him?' But if we say, `Of human origin,' we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet." So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And he said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

"What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, `Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' He answered, `I will not'; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, `I go, sir'; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him."

As you can see, there are two parts to this week's gospel. In the first, we have a confrontation between Jesus and the chief priests and the scribes. In the second, he uses an extended parable to explain himself. Let's take a look at the first part.

If we were to diagram the first part, it might look something like this:

A) Chief priests & elders (CP&E) ask a question.
B) Jesus grees to answer if they first answer his question.
A) Chief priests & elders refuse to give an honest answer to Jesus's question.
B) Jesus therefore does not answer the earlier question.

Another way to look at this interaction is to include the interesting requirements both have for each other. We might look at them like this:

CP&E ask:

1. By what authority are you doing these things?
2. And who gave you that authority?

Jesus responds:

1. Did the baptism of John come from heaven?
2. Or did it come from humanity?

CP&E:

1. If we say "heaven" we'll look like hypocrites.
2. If we say "humanity" then we'll be unpopular.
3. So they lie and say "We don't know".

Jesus:

1. If you won't be honest with me
2. I don't need to answer you.

In some ways, Jesus is coming off as being pretty tough on these church leaders, doesn't he? They weren't being as rude to him as he is to them, right? Well...not exactly.

They start by trying to trick him with their original question. Jesus then turns it around by laying his own trap. If they both speak the truth, then they could get into legal trouble: as they are doing God's work. But if either of them appealed to human authority, they would be alienating themselves from their followers.

What is further interesting is that Jesus not only recognizes the trap set for him and therefore sets an identical trap for them, but he also knows that they will be forced into a third option: not to answer. This does get Jesus off the hook, and is important for that, but there is something else, isn't there? These are the chief priests and elders: the highest and most respected people in the Jewish church. Jesus has not only set a verbal trap for them, but forces them to feign ignorance--to pretend that they don't know and don't understand. In some ways, this is actually more damaging for them than if they had answered Jesus's question. These are the people that are supposed to know this stuff and what do they say? "We do not know." Jesus's trap is sprung by their avoidance of his trap. They look like idiots or liars--equally damaging options.

Then Jesus actually piles it on, by using an illustration that is pretty interesting: A man has two sons that make statments and do something different. The first says he won't work in the field and then does while the second says and does the opposite. They then highlight that the former son is preferred by God. Jesus then says that prostitutes and tax collectors will go to heaven before them (still the chief priests and elders) because they don't claim to be perfect, but they are trying to do God's work, while these churchfolk are claiming to be perfect while misunderstanding God's work.

The beauty of what Jesus promises us is that God's grace is available when we are doing the right thing, regardless of how we think or feel about ourselves. In fact, when we feel the best about ourselves, when we get the most self-righteous, God is less interested in us. This isn't to say that God abandons us, but that God's first priority is to those that aren't perfect, that aren't always getting things right, and aren't in a position of authority to tell others what to do. God is there for those that represent imperfection.

In the first part of the gospel, Jesus sets a countertrap for the chief priests and elders.
How does this effect the way you see Jesus?
Does he seem any different?
Does Jesus as tricky say something about the way we should be?

The countertrap is sprung when the chief priests and elders claim to not know the answer to Jesus's question.
If you were one of the people watching this exchange, what would you be thinking about?
How would you see this stranger (Jesus) and the authorities (chief priests and elders)?
Is Jesus cool, a rebel? Or is he a vagrant who goes too far?

Lastly, when Jesus highlights who gets to be first in line (a familiar theme in this gospel), who does he refer to? He refers to prostitutes and tax collectors. These two represent those with low social standing--those with bad reputations. This doesn't necessarily mean economic poverty, since tax collectors were often quite wealthy. In both cases, however, the Jewish society shuns them. Prostitutes are ritually impure because of their sex practices while tax collectors were ritually impure for both the handling of money and for their place in supporting the Roman Empire. In this society, these people both represent the bad people, while the chief priests and elders were the epitome of good.
How does it feel to know that you don't need to be one of the "good people" as long as you are doing right by God?
When do you feel like one of those "good people" and when do you feel like one of the "bad" ones?
Do you ever feel like both?

Overcoming the evil eye

Matthew 20:1-16

(Here: 8-16)

When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, “Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.” When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” But he replied to one of them, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?” So the last will be first, and the first will be last.’

In this week's gospel, Jesus tells the disciples a parable or story. He tells them about a landowner that has a vineyard--a piece of land that grows grapes. And this landowner goes out into the marketplace to find some people to do the work. When he gets there, he finds some waiting for work, so he cuts a deal with them. He says if you work for me today, I will give you the normal day's wage--the going rate. They agree and the laborers head off to work.

Well, then a little while later, the landowner, looking for more workers, heads back into the marketplace. He finds more laborers hanging out, so he says to them "if you work in my vineyard, I'll pay you what you are owed." And they think that's a pretty good deal, so they go in, too. Then, with about an hour's time left before the end of the day, the landowner finds one last group of laborers hanging out in the marketplace. He asks them why they're just sitting around. And they say "nobody's hired us yet." So the landowner says "go inside; I've work for you."

All this takes place before the excerpt above. In this story, the landowner brings in a total of five different groups one early in the morning, one at 9:00, one at noon, one at 3:00, and one at 5:00. When the day ends at 6:00 pm, he flips around the expectations by suggesting that the crew that has only been there for one hour goes first, then the 3 hour crew, the 6 hour crew, the 9 hour crew, and the all day crew go last.

The landowner shows mercy on the last crew, justice to the middle crew, and fulfils the agreement with the earliest crew--giving each group what they were promised. The group that had been there all day think this isn't fair because they think they deserve more.

What do you think? Do people that work longer deserve more? What of mercy for those that weren't picked to go in at work at 7:00 am?

What experiences do you have with times you have put in a lot of effort and someone else gets the same? Have you ever been in a group in which you worked really hard and "carried" your team? How did you feel about your teammates? What do you think Jesus is trying to say about this?

According to the author, John Shea, a more direct translation of Jesus's question above ("Or are you envious because I am generous?") is "Is your eye evil because I am good?" That has something of a ring to it, doesn't it? Actually, what it suggests is the dichotomy between the emotion that laborer feels and the expressed emotion of the landowner. You can see that because of the use of evil and good; that the emotion expressed by the laborer is evil, while the landowner is going what is good.

Jesus seems to be telling us to alter our expectations. That we shouldn't compare ourselves in the ways that we do: how many presents we get at Christmas, what kind of affection we get from loved ones, how well someone else does in sports/drama/schoolwork, etc.. That we should be charitable and merciful as God is.

In what ways might you find the means of being merciful? Would it help to try out what they're going through (either figuratively or literally)? Have you ever tried to spend extended time doing tasks as if you were blind or forgoing dinner because many people will go to bed without eating today? What does that experience do to the way you feel you are treated?

What do you think this will do for the way you experience the blessings of your life?

A Turning Point

Text: Matthew 16:13-28

In Matthew, we have been following Jesus's teaching of his disciples: a common theme in all of the gospels. There is a definite arc during the middle chapters in which we see Jesus laying the groundwork for how we are supposed to live in community. How we treat each other.

In chapters 14 and 15 we have episodes of matters of faith and action. We have TWO feeding stories: the feeding of the five thousand and then a later feeding of four thousand. Jesus then uses these events to demonstrate how to listen to the authorities. There are also lessons of faith. One has Peter walking on the water (he has "little" faith) and the other has a woman who debates with Jesus about healing her daughter (she has "great" faith).

All of this brings us to chapter 16, which we covered a couple of weeks ago in the gospels. Peter reveals the nature of Jesus as "the Messiah, son of the Living God", for which Jesus rewards him with a new name and responsibility. Then Peter, newly entitled, chastises Jesus for suggesting that He was to go to Jerusalem to die.

This sequence, which may seem pretty theologically dense, is actually a turning point for us in the gospel and in the way we can approach our relationship to Jesus.

Peter (previously Simon) gets a new identity that doesn't elevate him or making him better or get him more power: he was already sort of the de facto leader of the disciples. Instead, Peter becomes the foundation of the church, the soul. He becomes the guy responsible for helping the church see who Jesus is. This is a much bigger and more profound responsibility.

It is also the moment that the church even enters the story. Up until this point, it was just a bunch of dudes (and the many men and women and children) that were following Jesus. They listened to stories and learned to act like him. From this point on, Jesus is also beginning to frame the church, the means of getting the message out and sustain it. For the first time, Jesus isn't looking like a random vagrant, living off of the gratitude of strangers, but a marketer and designer.

These paired gospels (Matthew 16:13-20 and 21-28) also highlight how easy it is to lose sight of what God asks of us and what we want to be doing instead. If we were in Peter's shoes, told that we are to be the soul of the church, told that we have done well, we would have felt justified in doing exactly as Peter does: he only intends to sustain this movement that will lead to the church over the next century. Who doesn't try to protect what s/he finds most important?

But this isn't what Jesus told him to do. It wasn't how Jesus identified Peter--how Jesus reveals Peter's identity--just as Peter revealed Jesus's. It wasn't what God wants of Peter. He is not a protector, but a nurterur, a feeder. Peter is to be the gardener, chef, and planner for God's banquet of sustaining food. This is Peter's identity.

There are many things that I would have us examine in this sequence. It shows us how easy it is to be fooled by our own understandings of things. How easy it is to ignore God's call to us in favor of the easy route. It shows us many things. But Jesus's identity and the church's identity are the two most important elements of these stories.

So who is Jesus to you? What is he? Can you even describe him?
And what about the church? What is it about? Who are we? What do we do?

These aren't intended to be easy questions, but if you find them too easy, then I would challenge you to probe a little deeper. Pretend that the person asking the question knows nothing about this stuff. Or better yet, pretend that s/he wants to know what's in your heart--who Jesus is beyond all of the churchey language.

Or if you find the questions too hard, step back and think about what it means to go to church or to even put your faith into words. What is stopping you?