It Takes A World
Bill Barney
First United Methodist Church
September 28, 2008
"Which of the two sons did what the fat=
her
asked?" "Which of the two sons did what the father asked?"
Matthew 21:31 The Message
Today’s Gospel reading comes in the Go=
spel
of Matthew right after the writer’s description of Jesus’ ride =
into
Jerusalem on what we have come to call Palm Sunday. Jesus is said to be speaking to a =
crowd
which included the dreaded Scribes and Pharisees, the religious leaders of =
the
Temple. They were obviously taken back by what he was teaching and the thre=
at
to their leadership was immediate to their way of thinking.
In his few months of ministry – one to
three years by most accounts - Jesus had already done and said enough to kn=
ow
that, in a modern way of saying, he was toast! They were already plotting to get =
rid of
him. So, he continued to teach with some very challenging stories.
Today’s Gospel reading is one of those
stories. We don’t like to think of ourselves as the objects of those
stories but in the Judeo-Christian stream of which we are a part, these sto=
ries
– parables – are clearly directed for our eyes to see and our e=
ars
to hear. Jesus is speaking directly to us, if we are to claim him as the on=
e we
were talking about during Matthew’s baptism, when we said:”we w=
ill
try to live according to the teachings of Jesus”.
Well, today’s Gospel lesson is a teach=
ing
of Jesus about following through on a statement like that in the baptismal
service. Here it is again:
A man had two sons. =
He
went up to the first and said, 'Son, go out for the day and work in the
vineyard.' 29 =
"The
son answered, 'I don't want to.' Later on he thought better of it and went.=
30 =
"The
father gave the same command to the second son. He answered, 'Sure, glad to=
.'
But he never went. 31 =
"Which
of the two sons did what the father asked?" They said, "The
first." Jesus said, "Yes, and I tell you that crooks and whores a=
re
going to precede you into the kingdom. 32 =
John
came to you showing you the right road. You turned up your noses at him, but
the crooks and whores believed him. Even when you saw their changed lives, =
you
didn't care enough to change and believe him. Matt
21:28-32 (MSG)
Jesus is challenging even us to live by his teachings, if we a=
re
to claim him as the ONE we will follow.
There was a preacher who was speaking during his sermon when a
baby started to cry. A short time later the boy’s mother got up and
proceeded to the door with the baby.
The preacher stopped and said to her, ”You don’t have to
leave, he isn’t disturbing me.” To which the mother replied,
“But you are disturbing him!”
Many times we can be sure, listeners were disturbed by
Jesus’ sayings and teachings. We can be sure, many got up and left the
crowd or shouted insults at him. To be honest, if we were to take seriously
many of Jesus’ teachings, many of us would be likely to want to leave=
the
community of his followers. Much of what the Gospels record Jesus’ as
teaching is just not compatible with our way of life. When he teaches us to
love the other he is often talking about our enemy. Those who would persecu=
te
us. When he says to feed the hungry, clothe the naked or visit the prisoner=
he
is not just creating an illusion of fantasy or talking rhetorically. He is
expecting great results from his followers.
Today and for the next two Sundays, we are giving attention to
Jesus mandate to “feed the hungry”. We are being challenged not to be
hearers of his word who merely walk away. After worship today, we will hold=
a
short forum in the library, where those of us who don’t have other
responsibilities, are invited to take a step toward informing ourselves abo=
ut
global hunger. The first half of a video will teach us about hunger in Afri=
ca.
In two weeks we will watch the second half together and learn more about ho=
w to
make a difference one person at a time.
Next Sunday we will share in hand wri=
ting
Bread for the World’s “Offering of Letters” to our Senato=
rs,
urging them to get Senate Bill 2433 on to the Senate Floor for a vote.
Fortunately, our Senators already co-sponsor this bill written by Senator
Barack Obama. Called the Glob=
al
Poverty Act,” if enacted it has the potential to develop and implemen=
t a
coordinated strategy of U.S. aid, debt relief, and trade policies to meet t=
he
goal of cutting by half the number of people who live on less than $1 a day=
by
2015.” End hunger? No. Make a huge difference? Yes.
Even though the House of Representatives has
already passed it this act has little chance of success in the Senate, with=
out
huge public pressure. With the failures on Wall Street and the possible res=
cue
plan costing 700 billion dollars, what do you think are the chances of The
Global Poverty Act even being on the radar? By contrast, Bread for The World
says we could end global hunger if the world would pony up only 20 billion
dollars a year. Less than 3% of the Wall St rescue. Wow!
Through our honest unvarnished acceptance of=
his
teachings and by the power of his present Spirit in our lives, we own the
responsibility to pony up ourselves with our spirit, body, mind and heart to
bring wholeness to our broken world.
Right here in this place we have the opportunity to support, sponsor=
and
join those hungry that are being fed in the Fellowship Hall at the Free Bre=
akfast
on Sunday morning. This is not a distant cause. Though hunger may be relati=
ve,
people in our own community are hungry. Our food pantries and free m=
eals
are wiped out on a daily basis.
Two million people in Zimbabwe alone are at =
risk
of starving just while we are here at worship. Can we risk a response to
Jesus’ challenge to us – feed the hungry. With all due respect =
to
the “It Takes A Village” crowd, this is an “It Takes A
World” project. But it =
starts
right here. The world still depends on the wealth of the United States of
America to make the first move. The world depends on the love for the other
claimed by the followers of Jesus to make the first move. Only Love and money can distribute=
the
food that is already available to feed everyone.
Don’t allow yourself the luxury of one
moment of guilt on this journey.
The hard sayings of Jesus are just that, hard! We hate to be reminded of many of t=
hem.
But we have been given the resources to respond. We only need the will and =
any
challenge from Jesus can be met with love and action. During these Sundays of considerat=
ion, may
we all allow ourselves to make an adjustment in your relationship to food, =
to
hunger and to poverty that will count one more person, who doesn’t wa=
lk
away when Jesus’ speaks tough words.
The Old Testament reading we heard this morn=
ing about
Moses striking the rock to get running water is but one episode in the myth=
ical
story of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness. No, the story is not
factual, but every episode is full of spiritual truths important to our fai=
th. We don’t know if Jesus actua=
lly
spoke the parable of the two sons we heard today, but it does present spiri=
tual
truths that can guide us today.
Unfortunately, the reality of over 30,000
people, especially children, dying of hunger and malnutrition every day in =
this
world is factual. The spiritual truths of the Bible stories, historical or =
not,
which we accept as sacred, compel us to act. Decision 2008 is more than about
electing a President. By the way, we didn’t hear world hunger mention=
ed
once in the Friday night debate on Foreign Policy. Beat Hunger 2008, Bread =
for
the World’s theme this year calls the world to action. It does take a world to act and
3