Nixon and Kennedy were the candidates in the first presidential debate I remember. Following the debate, my stepfather set his jaw, nodded firmly and said that his candidate had done an excellent job. I could only stare at him with my jaw hanging. My stepfather and I didn’t hold the same political views, and I couldn’t imagine how he could have missed how thoroughly my candidate had trounced his. That was the night I began to learn that debates rarely change the minds of those who have made their decision. The most candidates can hope for is to have an impact on those who are undecided. Given the large number of voters who have yet to make up their minds regarding the presidential election this year, I was keenly interested as I settled in with my knitting Friday night. I anticipated hearing strong debate about the key issues of the day: the economy and foreign policy. When it was all over, I stayed tuned for the commentators, wondering if I had somehow missed something. It was a relief as well as a disappointment to hear the commentators say that they had also expected to hear more than frequent repetitions of the two words “experience” and “judgment”.
Staying on message, no matter what question is asked, is a good way to avoid going into difficult territory, and professional politicians are skilled at staying out of harm’s way. The chief priests and elders were consummate politicians. They had to be. Their primary roles of guarding the salvation of the people through strict observance of the Law and maintaining the peace demanded by Rome frequently brought them into sticky situations—especially when Jesus was involved.
Jesus was always on message, and he was as politically savvy as any of the priests and elders, but avoidance of conflict was not on his agenda. Instead, he points out their failure to turn away from lipservice to God. Instead, he points out their unwillingness to go into the vineyard—their determination to protect the status quo rather than care for the vulnerable of society. Instead, he points out that their pious adherence to the letter of the Law misses the mark in obedience to God.
Jesus was always on message. And what about us? Where are we in relation to today’s gospel? Are we in the vineyard—or do we just say that we’re going to go there?
This week has been a scary one. Financial giants are falling like dominos. I woke up Friday morning to the news that my bank had been seized during the night. Our whole country is paying—one way or another—for the greed and shortsightedness of the few and of the many.
This week has been a scary one. This week and the weeks leading up to it have also been eye-opening. What we do with our money—either as a country or as individuals—sends a clear message about what we value. The speed and alacrity with which checkbooks have been opened to bail out institutions whose poor business practices—along with those of other institutions—have gotten them into trouble has been nothing short of amazing—especially when we consider the long list of things our government has not been able to afford to do.
Bono—leader of the rock band U2 and most effective fundraiser for the Millenium Development Goals—said it best this week. He says, “It's extraordinary to me that the United States can find $700 billion to save Wall Street and the entire G8 can't find $25 billion dollars to save the 25,000 children who die every day from preventable diseases.” It is extraordinary. It’s also extraordinary that some people believe they can predict the outcome related to any intervention in this very extraordinary situation. And it’s extraordinary that some people believe that any action—no matter how large—that allows continuation of former practice will result in any new outcome. It just doesn’t work that way. Changes in outcome require fundamental change in practice.
Fundamental change is what Jesus preached every day of his ministry on earth. Change in faith—change in acceptance—and change in behavior. He taught us to know God’s grace and the salvation that is ours—unearned and undeserved. He taught us to know that we are accepted by God as God’s own—and to accept all people as God’s children. He taught us to live out of the love he showed us—living in the way that takes his message into the world. The recipe for that fundamental change—for behavior that is consistently on message—is right there in our baptismal covenant—right there in those vows we make over and over again.
We make those vows at least four times each year. If your experience is anything like mine, we break at least four of them before the end of the day. We make vows that we know we will most likely break, but we continue to make them. Amazingly enough, that is as much a part of being on message as anything else we do in the name of Jesus. Even when our behavior doesn’t shout “Christian!” to the world around us, our desire for obedience—our turning back toward the vineyard—our faith that God is still reaching out to us—all those things are living in Christ’s message. Over time and in bits and baby steps and sometimes in great huge leaps that take our breath away, fundamental change happens in us and to us and around us. God working in us brings to pass things that are beyond our imagining. And as we keep taking those steps, one at a time, Christ’s message becomes increasingly visible in this world.
Who knows—with God’s help, finding 25 billion dollars may not take as long as we imagine.
Thanks be to God.