Matthew 21.23-32 A parable of doing God’s will

PUMC Service 9-27-26 Guest Speaker- Jennifer Sayers

I didn’t post this Sunday morning because I wanted to provide the link for where I preached this sermon. I don’t preach at churches very often anymore that livestream. My sermons are not meant to be read, they’re meant to be heard.

I wrote and rewrote this sermon several times. I thought about rewrites for it even more. Every time I wrote it, the same message kept appearing, a message I didn’t want to give. But if you know me, you know that I gave that message despite my reservations.

So please, read what I wrote but also, please listen to what I actually said.

I had a pastoral nightmare this week. My husband and I overslept. I came to church in mismatched pajamas. I was not happy with the sermon I had prepared and didn’t feel it was worthy of delivering. The church was packed full of people. There was no way I could deliver a subpar sermon. Sitting in the congregation was my boss, the district superintendent. And as I was getting ready to go up front in walks the Bishop and half the cabinet. I process with the first song, which is a terrible old hymn that no one knows, no one sings; even the choir is confused and gives up halfway through the first verse. And for whatever reason, my husband brought my dog.

You’d think after having this dream I would rewrite my sermon so I could carry a stuffed animal up here with me to bring me comfort wouldn’t you? But no, what I did is I rewrote my sermon to this one. Why? Because I know by whose authority I do this thing and even when I’m terrified, I trust them because they asked me to be here. So by whose authority do I preach?

As a counselor and as a pastor, I associate a lot with people who wrestle with authority every day. Authority from parents, authority from bosses, authority from systems, authority from spouses, and for some, authority from God. I wrestle with it too although most of the time no one sees it. I don’t wrestle with God’s authority because I don’t love God, or because I don’t love Jesus, or because I don’t love the Holy Spirit. I wrestle with God’s authority because sometimes it presses into the places I’d rather not have pressure applied to.

This passage meets us between what we say and what we do. What we claim we believe and what our lives reveal. The place where our words and our actions do not align. The place where justification for our actions begins.

The chief priests and the elders of the people come to Jesus, not out of love, not out of faith, not out of curiosity. They aren’t seeking truth or a valuable life lesson: They seek to undermine him and protect themselves. Rather than trying to build themselves us through their own faith, they want to tear down his. So they question his authority.

I see this a lot as a pastor and counselor Client’s often ask me personal questions not to seek change but to find an excuse not to change. If the therapist hasn’t been through what they’ve been through, they think they can’t help. After all, if I’ve never done drugs, what could I know about addiction? If I don’t have children, what could I possibly know about parenting? If I haven’t been through the same trauma, what could I know about healing?

Jesus answers their questions with a question. The chief priests and elders have been cornered. To admit the truth would cost them. They know that John the Baptist baptized by the authority of God but to say that out loud would cost them their power and authority. There are moments in our spiritual journeys we resist God’s will not because we don’t understand but because we’re not willing to pay what we think it will cost.

Clients come to me saying they want help but many, regretfully, aren’t seeking help. They’re seeking an excuse not to help themselves. They are seeking a reason not to believe because to change is going to cost them more than they are willing to pay.

I provide counsel by the same authority which I preach. It is my job to challenge. It is my job to help you align your words with your actions. It is my job to help you see what God’s will is for you so that you can live that will out in your own life.

All too often in life we say we want something but we aren’t living in a way that brings us toward that goal. Sometimes we’re even actively engaging in things which take us away from what we say we want.

One son says no but later obeys. One says yes but never goes.

As a counselor, I would much rather work with those who say they have never engaged in counseling before than those who have worked with several therapists. They come in saying they want a specific type of counseling, self-diagnosed, or saying that therapy doesn’t work, and within a few sessions I quickly figure out it isn’t the therapy that doesn’t work. It’s the client who doesn’t work. They say yes but they don’t really go. They say they want change but what they really want is for everyone else to change.

As a pastor, I would much rather work with someone who refuses to become a church member, has never been baptized, and has never been baptized but volunteers at three different community organizations and wants to start a new program than to work with a pile of people who sit in a pew every Sunday but want nothing to do with actively engaging with God’s kingdom or growing their faith. People who pray because they think everyone else is broken but not themselves.

The tax collectors and prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you.

God’s will is that you go to the vineyard. Not that you look like someone else who goes there. Not that you speak like the people who go there. God’s will is that you go. Not that you make someone else go but that you do.

The first son gave an honest answer. No. God can work with honesty. If I am having a dinner party and you tell me no but show up I am going to be way happier than if you told me yes and don’t. Why? Because God always seems to have enough food whenever 2 or more are gathered in his name but if I’m sitting there by myself I will not be happy with too many leftovers.

Honesty can be worked with but the second son? The one who said yes? Maybe he thought he was being polite or respectful. But what he gave was an empty promise. A lie born out of fear of embarrassment, anxiety, worry, and false assumptions. A lie that harms both the teller and the one who hears. You told me you’d come but here I am all alone waiting. My trust broken.

What would have happened today if I let my pastoral nightmare guide my actions? If I had said yes but didn’t show up this morning? If I had let my fear that my sermon wasn’t good enough, someone was going to be here that was going to make me nervous, or my anxiety that my outfit was weird control me rather than the one by whose authority I preach?

For me, God’s will on Sunday is that I preach. During the week God’s will is that I provide counsel to those seeking God’s answers in their life but who are afraid to ask or don’t even know who to ask. Not because I have lived their lives but because I am willing to try to understand their lives and to be a part of them. Even if we have been through similar situations or have similar life circumstances, your life is not mine to live. What works for me may not work for you.

One of the main things I do for you is help you align your words with your actions. Does what you say what you believe look like how you actually live or are you allowing some internal fear to dictate your actions?

Dreams are sometimes your subconscious’ way of dealing with anxiety. It’s a space where we process the days events and transfer long-term memory into short-term memory. It’s your brain’s time to file all of the data it has collected away.

So how do you choose to file your fears? Under whose authority do you place them? Do they go under “I fear embarrassment,” “I just want to be liked,” “I want to be seen as,” or do they go neatly away under “I trust God’s will?” Is it an “Oh no, I can’t do that moment” or does it become a “Yes, then run and hide?”

The church cannot dress itself up one way, say it believes one things like “All are welcome” of “Open, hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors” and then turn around and act in a way that does not align with these values. That’s saying yes you are welcome and then setting up barriers. Jesus would rather see us being hesitant but ultimately realizing, we have made mistakes, and then doing whatever it takes to fix our errors.

It’s okay to change your mind. It’s okay to admit you are wrong. We call that repentance. We call that opening our hearts, to open our minds, to open our doors to have courage to follow God’s will in our personal lives, at our places of employment, and in God’s church. May we all have the grace to admit we’ve been wronged and our wrongdoings to save face have wronged others. May God give us the grace to turn toward Them, seek Their voice, and do Their will. Amen.

‘“The Lord bless you
    and keep you;
 the Lord make his face shine on you
    and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you
    and give you peace.”’