All Saints Day: Blessed to be a blessing

 

All Saints – Blessed to be a blessing    

Revelation 7:9-17 Salvation belongs to our God

Psalm 34:1-10, 22 Taste and see that the LORD is good

1 John 3:1-3 Beloved, we are God’s children now

Matthew 5:1-12 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain

Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. 

Give ear O heavens and I will speak, let the earth hear the words of my mouth; 

for I will proclaim the Name of the Lord, and ascribe greatness to our God.

Image created by Grok

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” 

Before we get to talking about the Feast of All Saints and all the saints we have known in our lives, I’d like to summarize what we’ve been learning about our faith since Pentecost. Don’t worry. I’m not going to review every lesson we’ve had for the past four or five months.

But to better understand what it is we’re talking about when we talk about saints, we want to remember that our focus is on the One who created us, who brought us here, and who, frankly, sees something special in each and every one of us – which may come as a shock to some of you, but it’s true.

We’re here not because of what WE believe, but because of who GOD is – that each and every one of us is a child of the Divine, a member of the Household of God, and is very much loved and embraced by the One who gave birth to each and every one of us – with the help of our parents, of course.

So let’s review:

The kingdom of heaven is like this: It’s like a pearl of great price. A merchant just had to have it, so he sold all he had and bought it (Matthew 13:35ff, Proper 12). 

We are the Pearl of great price for whom God made the ultimate sacrifice. That’s the kingdom of heaven!

The kingdom of heaven is like this: It’s like a man walking across a field and stubbing his toe against something hard. He almost fell, and his toe hurt a lot. But he looked down at the offending stumbling block, prepared to say something quite rude, and saw it was the corner of a large wooden box. Curious, he dug it up and discovered it held a great treasure, so he reburied it. He ran into town, sold all he had, and bought the field (Matthew 13:44ff, Proper 12). 

We are the treasure hidden in the field for whom God sacrificed everything. In Hebrew, a box is called an Ark – like Noah’s Ark, and the Ark of the Covenant. This church, this box, contains God’s treasure. That’s the kingdom of heaven!

The kingdom of heaven is like many things. For the past few weeks we have gotten some other images of the kingdom of heaven. We’ve gotten to what I like to call the Grumpy Jesus parables.

The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who owned a wonderful vineyard (Matthew 21:33ff, Proper 22), but when it was time to collect his cut, it turned out the tenants were thieves and cut-throats. What should the owner do? What would YOU do? Is this how YOU see the kingdom of heaven? Are there thieves and cut-throats amongst us?

In my forty years of ministry, I have had to attend to parishioners who have done many bad things: a father who shook his baby to death, a treasurer who molested little boys, a youth leader who stole church funds, others who cheated on their spouses, and things like that.

Of course I’ve also gotten to work with the survivors of those and many other trials and tribulations and things that shock us to the core – because they just shouldn’t happen in any civilized society, let alone in church.

Yes, says Jesus. The kingdom of heaven is like that. We do have our share of ne'er-do-wells and cut-throats. “The kingdom suffers violence,” says Jesus (Matthew 11:12), “and the violent take it by force.”

The kingdom of heaven is a messy enterprise.

The kingdom of Heaven is like a king who prepared a great wedding banquet (Matthew 22:1 ff, Proper 23). People were invited, but they made every excuse in the book to stay away. So the king eliminated his friends and had his slaves bring in every sort of vagabond and low-life they could find, and they came, and they did party hearty. They were happy to change when they got there, but one poor fellow failed to change. Did he refuse or was it negligence? It doesn't matter. The king had him tossed out on his ear.

The kingdom of heaven is like that. We’re invited to the party, the banquet, the feast, and we are changed in the process most of us. 

The kingdom of heaven does that to you. But if we refuse to change? Well, that’s on us. Change is hard, of course, as is the kingdom of heaven. But when God touches us, we risk a lot if we do not change.

What is the church’s great battle cry? “We’ve always done it this way!” Followed by its other great hit: “We tried that once before in 1958 and it didn’t work.” 

The kingdom of heaven is like this: God clothes us from on high. It’s laundry day in Anacortes! Have we put on our wedding suits? Our wedding dresses? Our Sunday go to Meeting duds?

The kingdom of heaven is like this: Give to Caesar that which is Caesar’s, and to God that which is God’s (Matthew 22:15ff, Proper 24). But before we split hairs (which I haven’t got much to split), what is it we say at the Offertory when the gifts of bread, wine, and treasure are brought forth? 

All things come of thee, O Lord, and 

of thine own have we given thee.

There is no such thing as 1) this is Caesar’s and 2) this is God’s. It is all God’s! Jesus wasn’t being cute or clever. He was being clear. “Yeah, there’s stuff you think belongs to Caesar, but this is my Father’s world.”

The kingdom of heaven is like this: Everything we call “ours” – our church, our work, our jobs, our education, our friends and family, our retirements, our investments and our bank accounts – it’s all God’s. 

We don’t give our money to the church to do its work. We pool together God’s resources from out of God’s treasury to carry out God’s work in our community, nation, and world. As Saint Paul says, “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7).

Years ago I saw a friend smoking, and I was surprised because I hardly ever saw him smoke. I asked him what he was smoking and he said, “Opies.”

I’d never heard of that brand so I asked him, “What are those?”

He laughed and said, “O.P.s – Other Peoples’ (cigarettes).”

The kingdom of heaven is like that. When it comes to making a pledge or turning in my offering week by week or month by month, I’m a cheerful giver, because those are O.P. funds. It’s God’s money, not mine, so who is the joke on, right? It turns out it's not a joke; it’s the sweet smell of incense rising up to heaven, a right fragrant offering.

The kingdom of heaven is like this (Matthew 22:34ff, Proper 25): 

Hear what our Lord Jesus Christ saith:

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, 

and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 

This is the first and great commandment. 

And the second is like unto it: 

Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 

On these two commandments 

hang all the Law and the Prophets. 

The kingdom of heaven is like that. Loving God with every aspect of our being, and loving our neighbor, no matter who they are, or the color of their skin, or details of their DNA, or any of that guff – the kingdom of heaven means loving all no matter how inconvenient or dangerous it might be – and loving them the way we are called to love ourselves because, remember, we too are a reflection of the glory of God. Each of us is created in the image of God, and each of us has been put here to take care of God’s creation, and to take care of one another. On these two commands hang all the Law and the Prophets.

So we’ve got to learn how to love ourselves, how to be gentle with our neighbors, but also with ourselves. As the old saying goes, “God don’t make no junk.” That includes us. 

• We are the pearl of great price for which God sacrificed everything. 

• We are the treasure box against which God stubbed her toe and sacrificed everything so she could hold us and take us home. 

• We are good tenants who give God her portion at the harvest. 

• We are those who have come to realize that not only do all things come of thee, O Lord, but we are among the “all things” who come “of thee” and who come “to thee” as well.

This is what makes SAINTS. God, not us.

Which brings us to the Feast of All Saints Day. I know Halloween gets all the press and publicity in this hyperglycemic world of ours. There is no moderation when it comes to decorating or handing out sweets. We hand ours out by the fistful, partly to get rid of the excess, because I’m no cheapskate. And besides, I have no self-control when it comes to chocolate. Yes, all things come of thee, O Lord, but these chocolates are mine. Bless me Father, for I have sinned. I hand them out as penance!

So while the world gets all caught up in ghosties, ghoulies, and things that go bump in the night, you and I have gathered here today to celebrate the lives of all the saints – past and present.

Who are the Saints? There is the old saying that the saints are the ones the light shines through (stained glass variety). We’ve all known saints in our lives. The good news is that you don’t have to be dead to be a saint. Saint Paul didn’t write his letters to the dead saints of Rome, or Corinth, or Philippi. As we’ve been talking about, the kingdom of heaven is here, the kingdom of heaven is now.

“The kingdom of heaven is at hand,” says Jesus (Matthew 4:17). So in addition to the names of those people who were special in lives past, and who helped make us the people of God we are today, we are discovering that we are tomorrow’s saints today! 

We are the ones for whom God was glad to make a great sacrifice, so that we can be here today – doing the things that need doing, and being the kind of people the world needs more of.

• We are poor in spirit.

• We grieve the loss of life and dignity.

• We are a small, meek, and humble people.

• We hunger & thirst for righteousness.

• We are a forgiving & merciful people.

• We have warm & loving hearts.

• We are a peaceable people.

• We are laughed at by people who don’t understand who we are, what we’re about, or what we seek in this divine kingdom.

• That’s all OK, for as Jesus says in his great Sermon on the Mount: We’re blessed.

See, All Saints isn’t just about the lives of saints past, but a celebration of all the saints, including us here and now. 

So what are we saints supposed to do? In our catechism we read:

	What is the duty of all Christians?
	The duty of all Christians is to follow Christ; to come together week by week for corporate worship; and to work, pray, and give for the spread of the kingdom of God. [BCP p. 856]

I don’t care for that word “duty.” I prefer to think of this as a privilege. We are God’s treasure. We have things to do in God’s vineyard. We are given Sabbath time to rest up and spend time with God and one another, and God clothes us from on high so that the world can see the light of Christ shining in and through us, and come to know that God is holy, loving, and good – all the time. 

Blessed are you … Rejoice and be glad, for our reward is great. Amen

Sermon delivered to the saints at Christ Episcopal Church, Anacortes, WA November 1, 2026 (All Saints Day, 2026)

The Gospel for All Saints Day

Matthew 5:1-12

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
"Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

Meditating on Proper 24: The Glory of God

 

Proper 24    

The Sunday closest to October 19

Almighty and everlasting God, in Christ you have revealed
your glory among the nations: Preserve the works of your
mercy, that your Church throughout the world may
persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of your
Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

Preface of the Lord's Day

Image created with Grok

There are three dimensions to the Christian faith: Beliefs, Behaviors, and Belonging. This is true for most faiths (or at least I can’t think of any exceptions). For some reason the Church founders felt it necessary to codify some particular beliefs in the form of the creeds (from a Latin word that means “I believe”). This drive for “right” belief has led, over the years, to so many atrocities (in the “Name” of God or Christ) that it is a wonder that anyone ever chose to embrace the faith over these intervening centuries.

I suppose much of that is due to the third dimension referenced above, the desire to “belong.” There was a time when one needed to belong to the local church if they were going to find work or get ahead. I interviewed for a two-point charge one time where the two churches were literally a mile or less apart. One parish was home to mine owners and shop keepers, and the other one was home to mine workers and shop staff. Any priest called to serve was little more than a wishbone over which the two parishes tugged for sport (more than mutual support). 

The second dimension to one’s faith is Behavior. That’s simply another way of describing how we act or behave – our rituals in worship and how we are expected to relate to one another and do things. It might refer to a dress-code or avoiding certain kinds of food; avoiding people considered “unclean” and things like that. 

No matter how open and welcoming a faith community might believe itself to be, there are people and behaviors they will struggle to be open and welcoming towards, and that’s OK. It was and is a survival strategy  that was handed down and developed by our species, and as ugly as some of those behaviors can be, they served us well when we were hunters and gatherers and needed to find ways to protect ourselves from what we perceived to be predatory nations, tribes, and peoples. Our fear of the other often blinded us to our own predatory nature, which is one reason Christ Jesus came into the world – to be and to show us a better Way, to show us there are new ways of relating and responding to the world around us.

This is why our prayer today is so important. We confess that God has revealed Divine glory to the nations (“ethnos” – peoples) in Christ. If there is a behavior God expects of us, it is to be Christ-like, not Pharaoh-like, or Caesar-like. It is to be a peacemaker, not a warmonger. It is to be a healer, not an abuser. It is to be a life-giver, not a life taker. It is to be an other-lover, not an other-hater. It is to be a child of God, not a godless brat!

How is the glory of God revealed? Through God’s mercy! God does not just show mercy to we few, we precious few, we happy few, we baptized and washed denizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. No, the glory of God is revealed through God’s mercy extended to all humanity and all creation. And why does God extend divine mercy? So that we may be given the strength and courage we need to overcome our nihilistic tendencies. As Jesus teaches us in the parable of the unforgiving slave (Matthew 18:23ff), God extends mercy in order that we might extend mercy, as well. Mercy requires us to be humble and  just (as Micah tells us).

I worry that we are too quick to judge and too quick to assume the worst about the other (person, community, group, nation, tribe) and too quick to absolve ourselves of responsibility for contributing to many of our world’s woes. Our prayer asks God to strengthen us in order that our faith may be more steadfast (not faith as in “believing” but as in actions that are consistent with the life of our Savior) – the means by which we engage our faith in Christ’s (and God’s) Name. 

We need to be more patient and more deliberate in practicing, not our piety, but God’s mercy. We need God to remove the blinders from our eyes, just as Christ removed the scales from Paul’s eyes once he got to Damascus. Was it God’s healing of Paul’s blindness that converted him from a persecutor of the faith to a proponent? Perhaps, but I often think it is just as likely the conversion came about because one fearful soul (Ananias) set aside his fear of the man who had come to arrest him and other followers of The Way, and shared what he knew about Jesus, and the Way, and about this new approach to God and neighbor. Saul/Paul listened, was healed, and came to believe. Eventually he also came to belong.

Believe, Behave, Belong. That seems to be the Jesus Way for which we pray this day, and always. Lord have mercy. Amen.

Meditating on Proper 23: Given to Good Works

 

Proper 23

Collect: Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, that we may continually be given to good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Image by Grok

We see that word “grace” a lot in the life of the church. Most Christians say grace before meals, but there are some faith communities that say grace afterwards. I sometimes wonder which is the best way to offer grace: before in hopes it will improve the meal, or afterwards acknowledging that it was better than we had anticipated.

It probably doesn’t matter, but I was struck my today’s prayer in that we invoke God’s grace as something to go before us, like the pillar of cloud leading the children of Israel out of bondage, as well as to follow us, like a shepherd keeping an eye out for strays and stragglers.

I like this picture of God who walks before and behind us, who walks and stands beside us, hand in hand. It is an image of intimacy, love, protection, and comfort. But it’s not without purpose. It is the image of one who guides and directs, who confirms that we are not alone in life. We have a God who stands on the sidelines shouting out encouragement to all God’s children: “You can do it; you’re doing good; keep it up; I see you.”

This prayer reminds us we are to “continually be given to good works.” It’s not a start and stopping kind of thing. It’s a call to keep our eyes and ears open to opportunities to be of service. It’s really not hard. 

My wife and I stepped into the medical center for lab work the other day. We were moving more slowly  than I would like (but age does that). A young man was in the elevator and saw us coming. The elevator would be long gone before we got there, but the stranger stretched out his hand and held the car in place until we boarded it.

A smile. An outstretched hand. How hard was that? Not hard at all – for us or for him. “Which floor,” he asked, and punched the button. He even let us exit the elevator and get to the lab ahead of him. He was kinder than he needed to be, but then again, maybe he was one who knew he was to continually be given to good works, surrounded by God in front, back, and to the sides.

We need this prayer more than ever in this world of ours, where voices are more strident and opinions more divisive. We are more quick to speak than to listen. We are geared to listen in order to respond more than to understand. We are puffed up when we “win” or downcast when we “lose” the debate. We have fewer conversations and more arguments. We would rather convert (or destroy) our enemies than converse with them.

Today’s prayer reminds us we are called to continually be given to good works. Who really cares what our opinion is? What matters are our actions. When a drunk driver has an accident or kills someone, do we care whether or not they “intended” to do that? We are not judged by our intentions but by our actions. Accidents do happen, of course. When they do, we don’t ask people to ignore them. We acknowledge our part in what happened, make apologies (as appropriate), make amends, and then work to see that we don’t repeat whatever it was we did wrong. Those things are hard to do, but they are good works guided and directed by the Spirit.

We pray to God, asking the Holy One to help us do things that are good and holy. We ask God for grace to avoid doing things that harm others, or failing to do things that help others. Do we always get it right? Of course not. Again, we are not judged by our intentions but by our actions.

St. James was clear that it’s not enough to wish others well. As the old saying goes, spit in one hand and wish in the other and see which hand fills up first. While we generally think of Saint Paul as an advocate of “salvation by faith, not of works,” that is to misunderstand what Paul was saying. Saints Paul and James had their disagreements, but both know that faith is incomplete without a change in heart AND a change in behavior.

So let’s pray for the grace of God to lead us, push us, drag us along so that we might continually be given to do good works, and thank God for those opportunities that come our way. Meanwhile, hold the elevator, for we’re heading to the same floor! Peace.

Meditating on Proper 22: No Ask too Big

 

Proper 22    

The Sunday closest to October 5

Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to
hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire
or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy,
forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid,
and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy
to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus
Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the
Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Preface of the Lord's Day

I am not always a good Christian. Every now and then I look outside and if I see two young men in white shirts and black ties going through the neighborhood from house to house, my temptation is to close the curtains, turn off the lights, and hide. They are not burglars, of course. They are not solicitors in the strictest sense of the word. No, they are missionaries on a mission, and I generally have absolutely no desire to speak with them or invite them in. It is not that I am inhospitable. On the contrary, I do everything I can to make people feel at home.

Do you need a cup of water or coffee? You’ve got it. Do you need to borrow a cup of sugar or flour or a stick of butter? You’ve got it. Do you need the shirt off my back or the sweat off my brow? Nothing is too much to ask of me. But …

… to ask me to waste time discussing your religion as compared to mine, your theological perspective as compared to mine, God as you worship them as compared to how I worship mine? No, I am at the age where I am not borrowing fifteen to thirty minutes out of what’s left to waste time on such drivel. They honestly do not expect to make converts, nor are they willing to reconsider their own perspective on things. They are out to do their “duty” as they understand it, and converting the masses is almost beside the point. I figure if Paul could not convert the Athenians with his philosophical approach to the faith (in the Book of Acts), neither will I convert folks of other faiths no matter how eloquent I may be. If one’s not thirsty, it doesn’t matter what beverage the other has to offer.

That brings me to our collect for the day. We have a God who is more ready to HEAR than we are to pray. We have a God who listens – who listens to not just our words, but to our hearts. God knows what we are thirsty for, and sometimes we are just too busy, bothered, or confused to know what we want or what we need. Like the missionaries who travel through our neighborhoods two by two, we are busy doing our duty and not really listening to the promptings of our God.

Every now and then our kids will call and ask for a little help. Life is sometimes tough, and I know what it was like when we were young and faced a financial or family crisis. Over the years my father-in-law signed over a few vehicles to us when we were in need. We didn’t ask. He listened. He paid attention to what was happening in our lives, and he did what he could. When our kids need help, we pay my father-in-law’s generosity forward. If anything, I think our kids ask too little of us. But I try to listen. I try to listen to not only their words, but their hearts as well.

I worry that sometimes I am not bold enough in my requests to God. I also worry that if I ask too much, perhaps God will expect me to step up as well. I don’t mind God fixing the world, but if I am expected to lend a hand, I’m tempted to keep my desires modest. Is that any way to be? Is that any way to be a Christian – a child of God?

Of course not. So we pray to God knowing full well that our requests may be met with some practical ideas of how we can assist God with our requests. Do you really want peace on earth? Stop fighting with your neighbors or relatives. Do you want the hungry to be fed? Donate to the local food pantry, volunteer to work it. Contact the school and see if anyone has fallen behind their lunch payments. 

There is no shortage of work for us to do. Remember, God’s love is like that of the Prodigal son’s father (Luke 15). The child returns ashamed, embarrassed, worried about an uncertain future. He asks for nothing, yet the father hands him his ring. The child doesn’t ask for hand-me-downs, but the father drapes him with his robe. The child doesn’t ask for a meal, but the father lavishes him with a feast and dancing.

We do not need to beg God for anything. God’s desire is to fill us with God’s love and give us meaningful tasks to perform – each task suited to our gifts and abilities (which are also gifts bestowed upon us by God’s very own Spirit). So, let God know the desires of your hearts, and then, like God, listen for the answers. They may not come in the form we expect or hope for, but they will come, for God is more ready to answer than we are to ask. Just keep your curtains open, your lights on, and don’t be afraid of white shirts or black ties.

Sermon for Proper 21: By Who's Authority?

 By Who’s Authority?

Collect (Proper 21): O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. 

Exodus 17:1-7         Give us water to drink!

Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16    I will declare the mysteries of ancient times

Philippians 2:1-13         (he) emptied himself

Matthew 21:21-32         By what authority are you doing these things?

Give ear O heavens, and I will speak; let the earth hear the words of my mouth, 

for I will proclaim the Name of the Lord, and ascribe greatness to our God.

************

“What do you think,” asked Jesus. “A man had two sons …”

There is an old saying: A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.

We have a good example of that in the gospel today. A man has two sons. He asks one kid to go work in the vineyard. He says no, but later does what he was asked to do. The other child was also asked to go work in the vineyard. He said, “Sure pops. No problem.” But then he went and did something else and never got around to doing what he said he would do.

Which of the two was obedient? Which of the two was faithful? Which of the two was a model for what it means to be a child of God, a child of the covenant?

Now, if you're like me (and let's pray you're not), you know the right answer. The Pharisees and rulers of the temple knew the answer. “The one who did as they were told.”

But is that the right answer?

I look at both these kids and neither one is much to brag about. Neither one honors their father, really, do they? One says no; the other “does” no. Even though one changes their mind, I still find my face turning red, my stomach churning, and my brain wondering if maybe we shouldn't bring back the Rack and the Office of the Inquisitors!

But that's what Jesus does. He gives us a short story that tells us something about God and about God's children, and we make a mistake if we stop where the temple bosses stopped.

“Who is the honorable child?” he asks. And the answer is: neither one. And that's the point.

Our temptation is to immediately assume we are the obedient child. As soon as we do that, of course, we forget the first half of that child's response to their father's request. “No. No I won't. No, you can't make me. No, I don't want to.” The Brat!

Our temptation is to gloss over reality. Our temptation is to believe that we are the hero in our own story – and we are – but we are also the villain.

I always strive never to use my own children as examples in sermons, but since this story goes back 30+ years, I think the statute of limitations has run its course, and it's probably not too different from your own experiences as parents or as children.

Our son was about 10 or 12 and was responsible for closing the garage door at the end of the day. We had a detached garage. One winter’s night I looked out as our son went to bed and noticed the garage door was still open. I was tired of reminding him each night to go close it, so having reached the end of my tether I waited until he was all snuggled up under his nice warm blankets and eyes closed all angel-like. As soon as I was sure he was as warm and comfortable as was humanly possible I flipped on his bedroom light and said in my best imitation of a top-sergeant’s voice, “David, you forgot to close the garage door again. Get out there and close it NOW!”

I didn't let him put on a robe or coat, even though it was probably 20 degrees (give or take). I made him go do his job, and when he was done I said, “Thank you.” 

And the world went back to turning on her axis once again.

Was our son a disobedient child? Of course not. He was a ten year old airhead. He wasn't bad or evil. He was simply a little ADHD, and as best I can tell, he never forgot to close the garage door after that. 

“The kingdom of heaven is like that,” says Jesus. We do what we shouldn't, or we fail to do what we should, or we give things a half-hearted effort – close enough for government work, my dad would say – and we move on. 

Our temptation today is to look at this story and identify with the first child, the one who “repents” (to use that wonderful church word), but in reality, sometimes we do, and sometimes we don't, and either way, we are still children of the father, aren't we?

The parables of Jesus only have power if we put ourselves into them, not as one character or the other, but as each character in the story. The stories have power because there is no one “right answer." 

It’s not like taking a Math Quiz or a History Test where there is only one right answer.

Jesus is being tested, of course. “By what authority are you doing this?” they ask. 

These are the chief priests and elders of the temple. They have their place – their power – because they were born into it. That was their world and their world-view. 

For someone who was just a village handyman, the big-wigs want to know: “What gives you the right to come in here, interrupt the Temple Commerce and teach?”

Jesus laughs, of course, and asks them: “Let me ask you first: By what authority did John the Baptizer baptize?”

The irony, of course, is that the “authorities” wouldn’t answer their own question: “by what authority …?”

What’s even more ironic is that Jesus then answers the question with the parable we heard this morning, the Parable of the Two Sons – but it’s really the Parable of the Father’s Authority. (isn’t it?)

We get caught up with the two kids, but really, it’s the Father – the Head of the Household – we should be looking at. 

“Go work in my vineyard,” he says. 

That’s our authority as children of God. It’s such a short exchange we miss it, but that’s the crux of the matter. “Go work in my vineyard.”

That’s what John the Baptizer was doing as he baptized and challenged folks to clean up their lives and act like children of a holy God.

That’s what Jesus was doing when he went into the temple and pitched a fit: “People should be coming to pray,” he said, “but you’ve turned this into a house of ill repute.”

“The business of the temple is prayer,” he says, “but you’ve turned it into a den of thieves. You’ve gone from worshiping God to worshiping Gold.”

Jesus says, “There are really only two kinds of people: those who rebel, then change their lives and get back on track – and those who put on a happy face and do whatever the heck they want to, and leave the track behind.”

Nothing has changed. The mission of the church hasn’t changed. We are children of God, and God’s vineyard needs tending. There are fences to mend, vines to trim, grapes to harvest, seeds to plant, irrigation hoses to move around, weeds to pull. The list goes on and on.

In the life of the church, there’s committees and commissions, there’s altar guild and music, worship leaders and lectors, eucharistic visitors, ushers, and greeters, and all the work we have to do to keep our church safe for everyone who comes through those doors, who seek sanctuary or a cup of cold water, hot coffee, or a friendly smile. 

By what authority do we do these things and more? 

By the authority of the One who says, “Go work in my vineyard today.” Why? Because the vineyard needs tending, and that’s why God has put us here.

It all goes back to the first couple of chapters of Genesis. When God had finished all their work, and before they went down for their afternoon nap, they said to the first couple: “Take care of my creation; take care of one another.”

That’s the work we’ve been given. It’s really as simple as that. The only thing we have left to decide is: 

Will I be one who says NO, but does what they’re supposed to do eventually (with enough nagging), 

or will I be one who says yes, but then ignores their task-du-jour?

This is the Lord’s vineyard. Each of us and all of us together have work to do. No matter how well or how poorly we may do what we’ve been called to do, we are still children of God, loved by God, and called by God to take care of the vineyard and to take care of one another.

At the end of the day, that’s our mission, that’s our garage door. It is God who sends us out, and that’s all the authority we need to go and serve the Lord. Thanks be to God! 

Amen.

Sermon delivered by the Rev. Keith Axberg to St. Paul’s (Mount Vernon, WA) 09/27/2026

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.”