Ramblings

Guided Imagery – 10/16/2011

Matthew 22: 15-22

I would like to begin today by doing the following exercise. Are you comfortable --- as comfortable as you can be in hard wooden pews? If so, I want you to now close your eyes --- dangerous I know for me to ask you to do that but it is important for the exercise. Are they closed?

Now listen to my voice. "Pick a favorite place. It could be a garden, a waterfall, a room, or anything else. A place where you feel good and safe. Now, go to that favorite place. Walk around slowly and notice the colors and textures around you. What do you see? ... What do you feel? ... What do you hear? ... What do you smell? Take your time while you walk around. Spend some time exploring each of your senses. And notice how good and relaxed you feel."

Remember these sensations; they are the sensations of your very special place. A place where you can relax. Say to yourself: 'I am relaxed, my body feels warm and heavy, I am safe here.' Enjoy the feeling of deep relaxation.

When you are ready, gently open your eyes and come back to the present moment….

That of course --- as many of you know --- is an example of what is called "guided imagery." Guided imagery is a program that we can do together with an instructor or therapist or by listening to a CD. Guided imagery uses directed thoughts and suggestions that guide our imagination toward a relaxed, focused state. Guided imagery is based on the concept that our body and mind are connected. For examples, we know that pictures have an amazing ability to quickly change what we are thinking. This is because we all think in pictures. Therefore, based on that connection guided imagery tries to use all of our senses so that our bodies seem to respond as though what we are imagining is real.

Guided imagery has many uses. We can use it to promote relaxation, which can lower blood pressure and reduce other problems related to stress. We can also use it to help reach goals --- such as losing weight or quitting smoking --- manage pain, and promote healing. Using guided imagery can even help us to prepare for an athletic event or for public speaking.

I am wondering if Jesus was not the first practitioner of guided imagery to help answer questions and direct his disciples. In today's Gospel when the Pharisees and Herodians tried to trap him with their question, Jesus might well have chuckled to himself as he gently asked them to show him a coin. "Whose head is this? Whose title? Whose face, whose image do you see there?" "Why, it's the emperor's." "Of course it is." "Therefore give to the emperor the things that are the emperor's and to God the things that are God's."

First of, Jesus didn't lose face over what was supposed to be a tricky question. Those who were asking thought they had him. You see, at the time of Jesus there was an annual census tax. But this question truly was not a question about taxes; they were questioning Jesus' support of the Roman government. If Jesus answered no, he could be labeled a political insurgent, even a terrorist. To answer yes, Jesus would be renouncing his Jewish heritage and be jeopardizing his mission by paying homage to Caesar, whose divinity was inscribed on each coin.

It was difficult for any loyal Jew to pay this tax. The Jews were living in a land occupied by foreign rulers. The tax had to be paid with the Roman coin. And to carry this coin, was to hold a graven image of a false god in direct opposition to the First Commandment, "You shall have no other gods." For a Jew this challenged their identity; their faith and heritage, their religion. What were they to do?

I could imagine this scene with Jesus gently and slowly asking everyone to close their eyes and go through a process of guided imagery. "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are his, and give to God the things that are God's." Can you picture that place?

Jesus is helping the disciples but helping them and us imagine a place…a place way back in the beginning were God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and so God created humankind in his image, in the image of God, God created them; male and female God created them." Gen 1:26-27

We are made in the image of God. Jesus knew that. Jesus understood it at a very intimate level since Jesus was in the beginning with God. "And all things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being." John 1:2-3 Now why would Jesus have us go through this process of guided imagery?

The imagery Jesus guides us through --- of a coin made in the image of Caesar' over against our being created in the image of God --- is helpful for all of us. By doing so, Jesus is reminding us that we bear the image of God on our very being. When we look at each other, we see God. We are made in the image of God. That assists us by helping us to distinguish to whom our allegiance and loyalty belong.

Perhaps at this point we should discuss the question; How do we give to God what is God's? In days like these, our first instinct may be to clutch our fingers ever more tightly around the cash and coins we do have.

    Martin Luther explained the First Commandment --- you shall have no other gods --- in this way. "We are to fear, love and trust God above all things." Martin Luther does not say we should run from, hoard and be suspicious of God in all things. In fact the very opposite is true. If God is our creator, creator of heaven and earth, there is nothing that exists that does not already belong to God.

Furthermore, in Martin Luther's explanation of the First Article of the Apostles' Creed, Luther writes, 'I believe that God has created me together with all that exists. God preserves my body and soul. In addition, God daily and abundantly provides shoes and clothing, food and drink, house and farm, spouse and children, fields, livestock, and all property – along with all the necessities and nourishment for this body and life. All this is done out of pure, fatherly, and divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness of mine at all! For all of this I owe it to God to thank and praise, serve and obey him."

When Jesus says, "Give to the emperor what is his and give to God what is God's, it can be translated as "Give back." "Give back" to God all that God has already given you. How do we know what to give back to God? That which has God's image on it. Everything. Us! Our time, our talents, our possessions. They all bear God's fingerprints and God's face.

What does that mean practically speaking? Well last week some churches lit a candle or in other ways observed what is called "Mental Illness Awareness Sunday" As many of you know, mental illness strikes many people around the world without regard to age, sex, race or economic status. People suffer immeasurably in silence and humiliation, in treatment and recovery, in all communities, every day. I would guess that each of us might know one person who has struggled with mental illness, or we ourselves wrestle with this emotional pain.

But my point in bringing it up is that when one lives with mental illness of any sort, it is easy to forget that we reflect God. People's self image of who they are in their own eyes and other's eyes gets distorted. We forget that all God's children are made in God's likeness, each with a gift to give.

I want to finish by sharing this final guided image. There was once a woman who carried two large buckets, each hanging on the ends of a pole. She carried these across her shoulder to carry water for the day. One of the buckets was broken, with a split in its side, the other was intact, and always carried a full bucket of water. Each day she would arrive home from the stream with one and a half buckets of water, because one leaked and the other did not.

The leaky bucket however, was embarrassed of its ability and perceived failure to bring home a full amount of water. And it confessed this to the woman. She replied, "Didn't you notice the flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other bucket's side? I've known about your broken side and planted seeds so you could water them for me on the way home. Because of you, I've been able to decorate my table with beauty each day."

We all are broken. Yet because we are made in our creator's image, we have gifts to give. So when we remember that we and all we see is made in God's image, stamped with God's insignia, we can fear, love and trust God with everything: our lives, family, health, wealth and future. Everything we are and all that we have belongs to God.

As we look around Good Shepherd, with our eyes open, we see God all over the place! A congregation of broken bucket people, a building that enables us to meet and grow, worship where we are led back to the one who claims us and puts His stamp on us. It all belongs to God. Jesus once said, "There where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

That day, Jesus was perhaps using guided imagery as a reminder to the one's asking the questions that when we remember that we created in the image of God, and as we fear, love and trust God above anything else, it allows us to give it all back. We need only be careful and grateful stewards of this image. Amen.

Just another Wedding – 10/9/2011

Matthew 22: 1-14    Sermon preached on October 9, 2011 with a reminder that the printed version is not exactly the same as preached in worship.

    Now don't get me wrong, it is not that I don't like weddings. Nevertheless I am not a fan of many wedding ceremonies, although I love and still remember my own wedding day. Nevertheless with all due respect to gay men and women who still don't have the right to marry, I believe wedding ceremonies for many have moved into the "twilight zone;" an area of deep ambiguity between two states --- one married --- the other single.

    Maybe it could be that weddings are not just private, family affairs that take up Saturday afternoons or part of Sunday morning worship. It could be because in my travels and life outside of the United States, I have met countless couples whose families chose their children's partners. I have gained a deeper appreciation and respect for arranged marriages where people begin their journey together at the ceremony.

    My feelings could be from the many couples who have asked me to preside at their wedding ceremony. Typically, I have five or six meetings before the event. During our talks I have come to realize that preparing for the wedding ceremony is not necessarily a clue for what makes a healthy relationship. Some couples are bickering up to the wedding; couples that I am deeply suspicious will remain married, yet are married years later. And on the other hand, some couples who I work with before their wedding seem to have all the marks of a healthy couple with good patterns of communication who I find out later never made it to the first anniversary.

    Or my dismal feelings about wedding ceremonies could be because of the onslaught of cable, and the 21^st century version of a perfect wedding day. Just take one trip around your 100 or so basic cable channels and you're guaranteed to stumble upon any of a number of wedding-related reality shows.

    You've got Say Yes to the Dress which features brides-to-be trying on expensive gowns and Cake Boss on The Learning Channel that lets you admire the antics of an eccentric family as they crank out extravagant wedding cakes. You can peek in on the nuptials of the super-wealthy on WE's Platinum Weddings and then flip over to CMT for something slightly less formal with My Big Redneck Wedding. Oh, and there's even something for the kids. Engaged and Underage on MTV follows teens who take the plunge before they can legally vote.

    Possibly it is for those reasons and the expense of weddings that I have become rather cynical about the whole wedding industry. Nevertheless I know wonderful weddings exist, not only for my own wedding experience but in the stories of others. I remember one couple who shared their wedding day. They got married during the depression in the 1930's. She wore her best dress that she wore to work and church and he bought a new tie to wear with his one suit. They met together at the church, no rehearsal or bachelor or bachelorette parties in Las Vegas. No rules like not seeing the bride before the event. The number of guests filled two pews. And after the ceremony the new couple joined their guests for a wedding cake baked by the mother of the bride served at the home of the groom. No dance or band. It was the beginning of partnership that was only separated by death 60+ years later.

    I notice however that I am in a minority. For example, we read today that it seems that Jesus was apparently fond of weddings ceremonies. Not only did he help cater one in Cana by providing some last minute wine, but Jesus employed wedding imagery throughout his teaching and preaching career to illustrate important truths about life in God's kingdom. In fact, in today's gospel, Jesus gives us a wedding-themed parable in which the people involved have an even more extreme attitude toward weddings … perhaps we could even say they are … wedding allergic.

    Jesus tells us that a wealthy king has invited those special to him to a lavish feast to celebrate the marriage of his son. Only, rather than jump at the chance to attend a royal wedding, everyone on the guest list RSVP'd with a big, fat "no." The king reiterated its extravagance: "Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast." In other words, "The party is going to be nuts! You don't want to miss it." But what is everyone's attitude? Nothing. The king sends more servants only to have them flatly ignored or mocked and killed.

    Enraged at such apathy and violence, the disrespected king revokes their invites with an attack on their city and sends out a call for the rest of the world to attend his son's awesome celebration instead. With the wedding hall now full, the groom and father finally receive the respect they deserve.

    One interpretation of the parable is based on the fact that "a wedding feast" was a popular way of describing the coming consummation of God's kingdom; that day in the future when the long-awaited Messiah – often described as the "bridegroom" -- would receive the honor rightfully due and enjoy an extravagant feast of blessing and joy.

    Yet, rather than be filled with honor and excitement for that day, rather than "save the date" and mark their calendars, the first guests in the parable, simply couldn't care less. This interpretation suggests that the bridegroom had appeared in the person of Jesus and rather than embrace him in anticipation of the party, would eventually throw him on a cross. As a result, the feast, the kingdom, the new age of heaven on Earth, and the blessing from the bridegroom would be opened to everyone. That's where we come in.

    We, beginning with the first disciples in this one interpretation are the "other ones," the "found ones," Jesus talks about to whom the invitation to the wedding now belongs. The invitation to this wedding has come to you and me in the form of the gospel preached to us by other invitees and applied to us in baptism. Our sins are forgiven. Our status is secure. Our RSVP for the resurrection is in the mail. We will be a guest of the groom at the great feast, on the last day.

    And God's goal for us, as special guests, is to learn from those who were invited to the wedding but rejected the offer. In other words, we are to learn from those jaded wedding cynics like me. God would love for some excitement and interest some seem to have for crazy cakes and pricey dresses today to be focused on what is in store for us. We are to make the most of this special invitation.

    So, what are we supposed to make of this one interpretation that I highlighted? When it comes down to it, there are two aspects of making the most of God's kingdom invitation that I like. First -- and this may sound painfully simple -- we are to enjoy the fact that we've been chosen. The promises of God are true and the gifts are to be enjoyed now -- like forgiveness of every sin and the power of the Holy Spirit. These gifts are just a glimpse, a snippet of what we will enjoy when the real party arrives. We are to be the happiest people on the planet.

    However, there may be some people like me who wonder, if they receive an invitation to a wedding, what the couple is looking for in presents. But the wedding invitation we have received is just the opposite. The host is not looking for gifts. Rather it is like the wedding of Vanisha Mittal and Amit Bhatia is said to have cost some $60 million. The invitations arrived in silver boxes containing round-trip airfare and accommodations at a five-star Paris hotel. When invited to something so lavish, whatever we can give is irrelevant. All that matters is to be honored and joyful that we get to take part. The same should be true as we consider this invitation from God. We should feel excited to be involved.

    Also we are to make the most out of our invite to the wedding of all weddings by letting God be the bouncer at the door. We tend to spend too much time worrying about who's in and who's out. Like me, we could be wrong what couple will make it and what couple will not or be overly concerned about who makes the guest list. We have bickered over who worships the right way, who dresses appropriately, whose theology is tightest and whose life is cleanest. The end result is that such discussions end up either robbing us of the simple joy of being invited --- weighing us down with largely unimportant concerns --- or stopping us in our tracks from asking anyone else to join us.

    Who's invited and who's not is a God thing. You'll recall at the end of the parable the king enters the party and boots one attendee for not having the proper attire. Some commentators believe it to be an allusion to the righteousness afforded by faith and gifted by God that allows us to enter and enjoy God's kingdom. But the larger point for me is that only the king himself did the bouncing. The king determined who was in and out even after everyone else let the guest into the party. Our task instead is to enjoy and invite. Others have put it like this: Found people find people. Invited people invite people. God sorts out the rest.

    Perhaps there are some of you like me who are jaded by the wedding industry in the United States. Or perhaps you love weddings. Either way in this parable, we are reminded that we have been invited. We have submitted RSVP's to the wedding hosted by God. Let us tell others of their special invitation and let God throw the party, after all, it's going to be incredible. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

New Tenants – 10/2/2011

Matthew 21:33-46

We could say many of the gospel readings are fascinating and even uplifting, but to be honest, today's gospel does not provoke many good feelings. Today's parable I believe, puts us in the awkward state of being; are we or are we not new tenants in the vineyard of the Lord? For example, Suzanne Somers, the actress was once quoted as saying: "Fame is an uncomfortable state of being, but if I can use it and put out messages that are important, then I embrace fame." Can we embrace being new tenants?

It is not an easy state to be in. We just don't like not knowing for sure. For example consider this passage's history. This has been a passage that has been used throughout the ages --- unfortunately and sadly --- to justify anti-Semitism, --- anti-Jewish pogroms and other violent behavior over centuries. On the surface we can see how easy it would be to reach those conclusions.

Jesus tells a story about a landowner whose tenants keep beating up the slaves he sends to collect the grapes that will be made into wine. Finally, he decides to send his son, thinking "surely they'll leave my son alone." But the tenants kill the son, hoping somehow to get the son's inheritance. In the context of when Jesus tells the story, and that it follows shortly after with the death of Jesus on the cross, it would seem obvious that the Pharisees and other Jewish religious leadership to whom Jesus is telling the story to are supposed to be the old tenants, and Jesus himself is the son of the landowner --- God.

Thankfully many Christians no longer see the text with that narrow and crude view; nevertheless what perhaps are some other more thoughtful ways that Jesus could be opening our minds and hearts with the parable. If it is not just replacing old with new … what does it mean? Are we or are we not the new tenants?

Let's look at this story through a different set of lenses for a moment, because in doing so, we may deepen our own faith life as Jesus pulls us forward. Another way to look at today's gospel is ask again the questions that have troubled not only Christians but others who believe in one God. For example, this parable brings to mind the age-old question of: Why does God allow suffering? Why doesn't God do something to save people in difficult or desperate situations?

We can ask those questions because of the obvious violence. Today's Gospel is another parable set in the vineyard. This one however is a tragedy. The landowner sends his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce from the vineyard that he had built and improved upon. The slaves in response are beaten, stoned, and killed. The landowner sends more slaves and the same thing happens. Finally, the landowner sends his own son, and he is killed as well. At this point we could wonder what the landowner will do next.

However, the landowner is patient and long-suffering, both qualities we admire, --- qualities that we admire in God. Why doesn't the landowner in the parable do something to stop the killing rather than letting the tenants off with a warning? In fact if this was not a parable from Jesus (often an excuse many of us use to not probe too deeply) we may even blame the landowner's long suffering patience and his self-control as stupidity in the face of the death of the slaves and the son. Why not call out the police or even his neighbors and if God is the landowner, why not some massive lighting strike to destroy these tenants.

I don't know about you, but the patience of the landowner makes me impatient. How can a landowner allow a group of tenants to run wild in their violence for so long? Those are questions we also have of God; why didn't and why doesn't God do something?

The answer would seem obvious, just as obvious then as now and comes near the end. We even it see it expressed in the parable. "'He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,' they replied, 'and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.'" New tenants! According to Isaiah, the words from which Jesus draws in today's parable, the vineyard is a symbol for the people of Israel, God's chosen people. Today, we could imagine that the vineyard represents the world and we are God's chosen people who are the new tenants. So, we have been given the responsibility to care for this world and be a blessing to all people. Grapes for wine, which vineyards produce, are the biblical symbol for justice and righteousness. However, too often we not only forget to whom the world belongs, we also have not done a good job of caring for the world. We have often tried to keep the vineyard for ourselves and destroyed anyone who gets in our way.

If that is the case, is this lesson really challenging us to see ourselves as new tenants --- the true people of God --- who must seriously consider their responsibility to care for this world, so that the world would be a much better place and God's patience would not be so tried? If so, we would not be poised on the brink of ecological disasters. Starvation would not still be a global problem. The sidewalks of our communities would not be filled with homophobia, violence, poverty drug and alcohol abuse as well as homelessness. Children would not die for lack of food or medicine. People would not be killing each other in unthinkable numbers. And people in corporate offices would not be greedily amassing riches beyond belief. Is this parable calling for a revolution? Throw out the people in charge, the tenants with power, and let us who know better --- the chosen true tenants --- be in charge.

That may lead us to another portion of God's word to us today. The parable is a word of judgment like the other vineyard stories in the Bible. Just as surely as Jesus was judging the religious leaders of his day with the parable of the landowner and tenants, he is judging us, as we may be the tenants! And then, I am afraid the verdict is not good either.

Perhaps the whole point of the parable is that we want to be in charge. We want to be the good tenants … like the religious leaders who assumed that Jesus must be talking about them because they thought they must be the good tenants. As I mentioned this parable has been used to justify violence against Jews all based on the belief that we are the good tenants and the Jews were bad tenants. We would not kill the prophets or kill the son. We would be different!

Yet, the cycle starts all over again. The tenants, rebellious and illogical, new or been at for a while, we all make the same mistake. We think the vineyard belongs to us, whether we think we are in charge or not.

So how does this story end? Are we supposed to be the new tenants, all wonderful and nice, or are we supposed to continue to thank God for God's patience because we are the tenants? Or are we supposed sit around patiently desiring for God to quit being so patient?

There is more. Jesus reminds his listeners of a verse from the psalms: "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is amazing in our eyes." The rejected stone becomes the cornerstone on which everything else depends. Those gathered around Jesus who said that the rebellious tenants deserved to die are advocates for exclusion and violence. The best way to handle murderous rebels is, in their view, to make them taste their own medicine. This attitude is popular as well as both ancient and current and leads absolutely nowhere. It simply continues the cycle of new tenants rejecting old tenants who didn't do their job until the new tenants are no longer doing their job.

Rather, in this verse from the Psalms, Jesus suggests a different way, a way with no easy answers. Jesus tells us that it is precisely the rejected stone that is necessary, and must be the foundation for all the rest. The death and victory of Jesus is the prime example of this. Jesus is rejected, betrayed, and abused by those around him. Jesus becomes the cornerstone for a creation rebuilt from the ground up, not simply by bringing new tenants. The issue is no longer the old "vineyard," but rather a totally new structure of which Jesus himself is the "cornerstone." That structure is God's reign or empire, which Jesus has been proclaiming from the beginning of his ministry.

]Jesus leads us forward toward that future unknown but built on Christ, in which we will be both blessed … and judged, and about which we know only that it is to be anchored in Jesus Christ. Like I said this parable does not give me any good feelings… it is seems to have little good news and a lot of warning. But, perhaps that is what we need, aware of how much we have left to do and how much we depend on Christ--- because if you think about it --- we are in the uncomfortable state of being … both a sinner and saint. In other words we are old tenants and new. Amen.

Tiger Mom – 9/25/2011

Matthew 21: 23-32

    As many of you well know, it is certainly clear that Jesus reserved different remarks for different audiences. Jesus taught based on who was asking questions and who was listening. For example, last week we heard: "Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?" Peter was in the main audience. So, I wonder who else was in the crowd who heard Jesus today other than the elders and religious leaders. I wonder if Jesus is not also speaking to parents particularly like the parents of the controversial book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.

    Did you hear about that book that came out this past winter? The author, Amy Chua describes her efforts to give her children what she describes as a traditional, strict upbringing arguing that "academic achievement reflects successful parenting." Chua believes that if children did not excel at school then there was "a problem" and parents "were not doing their job." Chua advocates that in the long run it is better to parent strictly rather than by any method where the "child's self-esteem is paramount."

    In one extreme example, Chua described how she got her unwilling younger daughter to learn a very difficult piano piece. In Chua's words, "I hauled Lulu's dollhouse to the car and told her I'd donate it to the Salvation Army piece by piece if she didn't have a piano piece called the "The Little White Donkey" perfect by the next day. When Lulu said, 'I thought you were going to the Salvation Army, why are you still here?' I threatened her with no lunch, no dinner, no Christmas presents, and no birthday parties for two, three, four years. When she still kept playing it wrong, I told her she was purposely working herself into frenzy because she was secretly afraid she couldn't do it. I told her to stop being lazy, cowardly, self-indulgent and pathetic." Chua then relates that they "work[ed] right through dinner" without letting her daughter "get up, not for water, not even for bathroom breaks." The anecdote concludes by describing how her daughter was "beaming" after she finally mastered the piece and "wanted to play [it] over and over."

    Wow! Perhaps from that example we can see why that book created such controversy. But, here's the thing: many parents -- whether they're Chinese, Hispanic, American, Korean or Italian -- dream dreams for their child. Many parents want the very best for their children even if parents sometimes feel personally unable to deliver those dreams.

Not only do many parents want the very best for their children, I believe many parents imagine their children as successful, well-rounded, involved, both interested and interesting. And obedient – many parents yearn for healthy obedience. When parents give instructions, we want our children to respond --- not after the program ends, not after texting their friend, but right now. Parents try to map out a course of healthy obedience that will lead to success.

    But success and obedience at what price? Just how far are parents willing to go to get the response they expect from their offspring? According to Chua, no price is too high. Nothing less will be tolerated. This tiger mom will prevail because she is convinced that parents alone know what is best for their children.

    Perhaps tiger parents are wandering in that crowd today for Jesus tells about a parent who had two very different sons. That is interesting from a single man with no children. Yet, I wonder if Jesus doesn't get it right.

Jesus tells a story which reveals the traits of the parent who has hopes and dreams for the children, and yet a parent that at the same time also displays compassion and understanding. Jesus describes a father whose expectations are clear. "Go work in the field," he says with authority. The response; the first son refuses outright, yet after reflection, thinks better of his rebellion and goes out to the vineyard. Despite his initial resistance, he obeys his father.

    The second son is more devious. He puts on a good face and immediately agrees with his father's request; however, his actions do not measure up to his words. He ignores his father's wishes and never appears in the vineyard. Jesus asks the critical question in the parable, "Which of the two did the will of his father?" Parents like the tiger mom might have issued a punishment to both sons -- the first would be reprimanded for threatening to disobey and the other for actually ignoring the father.

    Jesus, however, speaks of a parent with a forgiving heart and is able to see a bigger picture. It's not the first son's words that are important to Jesus, but his actions. If you think about it, surprisingly, Jesus allows room for complaining and verbal resistance. The first son, despite his original reluctance and outward show of rebellion, follows the will of the parent and does the work to which he is called. The second son, however, only talks a good game. He promises much and produces nothing of value.

    Jesus points out the difference in their actions to his listeners. The first son, like the tax collectors and the prostitutes --- Jesus informs his listeners --- is headed toward the kingdom of God. Despite the mistakes of the past, this son has now chosen the right route. The scheming, double-talking religious leaders, like the second son, are not kingdom bound. One cannot simply talk the talk of faith and obedience. One must walk the walk, even when it means backtracking from a poorly chosen path, and starting again.

    However, as many of us know children are not always satisfied with explanations. We may be the same. Thus, today's parable may lead us to wonder, why do we say "No" in the first place? What fuels our refusal? We might say no because we're stubborn, afraid, doubtful, or we want to do something else. Given the choice -- labor in the field --- for example volunteer at the food bank, visit a sick neighbor, work on that fundraiser, forgive someone who did us wrong, reconcile with someone estranged from us --- or spend another hour in front of TV, or go party --- what would one choose?

    Maybe the "No" grows out of a sense of being overworked. Could it be that the first son refuses his father because he believes he has already done enough for the father; perhaps the first son considers his contribution to the family to be extensive. Clearly the father thinks otherwise and is not prepared to offer his son an early retirement package. The parent sees what the son is capable of and demands more. May be the elder son has a "Who me?" moment -- haven't I already done enough for this family --- yet eventually responds obediently.

    Or instead of wondering why we may say "no" we may wondering to ourselves, perhaps parents like God is too demanding? For example, can God demand too much of God's people? It might seem like it sometimes. So, the temptation might be to say to God's demands – "no, let someone else do it. I've already given." Or, "that's too much to ask of me." Or, "I think you mean someone else."

    Today's gospel however offers hope for us who has ever pushed the snooze alarm one too many times or simply had enough and said "Thanks but no thanks." There is good news for any of us who doubt our ability to make a difference and decides not to even try. The first son clears the path for naysayers and hesitant, unsure wannabe disciples.

    Unlike the "Tiger Mom," Jesus describes a parent who does not expect perfection. Rather, Jesus invites his followers to learn from their mistakes, put their failings behind them, and then choose to do the right thing. This is good news for some of us who can remember our moments of disobedience, or our times of ignoring the rules, or periods of poor choices.

    Today is a message of welcome and an invitation to try again. Our past blunders will not be counted against us when they are followed by both a change of heart and a change of course. We will not be judged on our initial, often impulsive mistakes. Instead we will be judged on the choices that lead us ever closer to God. Jesus is willing to look past the rebellion and doubt in his followers and invites them to put their earlier poor choices behind them so that they can follow.

    Finally, the parent in today's gospel issues a clear directive but also has confidence in the children's ability to follow it. The parent allows the sons to make their own decisions on their adherence to his command. Like the parent expressed in our gospel, Jesus is looking for followers who are not in mindless, lockstep precision but who, after reflection, are ready to grow and follow.

The kingdom of God is unlocked and the porch light has been left on to guide children home. God calls out to all people, "Come home." God is not like a tiger mom but fully and completely a loving and forgiving parent. All that is necessary is to ask ourselves "What do we need to put behind us so that we can go forward?"