Lectionary Challenge: Matthew 21:28-32

Matthew 21:28-32

"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.

Earlier in the week I asked us to examine which character in the Exodus story best fit who each of us is. That is a question we could ask ourselves as we read this passage, too. Are we the son who said he would do the will of the father and then didn't? Or are we the son who refused to do the father's will, and then did?

The deeper question is this: are we willing to see God in the world around us? Are we willing to believe? We say that we do. We go to worship, we recite the words of our faith. We say we are Christians? But are we atheistic in our actions? Do we act as if we believe in God?

A few weeks ago, the preacher in our church said that agape love is a choice. We decide to love. This isn't the emotion of love; it is a love of action.

In the same way, do we chose to follow Christ? Do our actions demonstrate the words of our faith? If a person couldn't hear what we say, but could only see what we do, would that person call us a Christian, or an atheist?