Do As I Say, Not As I Do

Exodus 17:1-7; Matthew 21:23-32

          You’re going to have to listen closely to these.  Are you ready?

          You measure my life in hours, and I serve you by expiring.  I am quick when I am thin and slow when I’m fat.  Here’s an important clue:  the wind is my enemy.  What am I?

          A candle, of course.

          Here’s another.  I have cities but no houses.  I have mountains but no trees.  I have lakes but no fish.  What am I?

          A map.

          Think carefully.  You see a boat filled with people.  It does not sink.      No one jumps overboard.  When you look again you do not see a single person.  Why? 

          They are all married couples.

          Okay, one more.  A father asks his two sons to work in the vineyard.  One says no but later changes his mind and works the vineyard.  The other son says yes but does not work in the vineyard.  Which son obeyed the father?

          The first son was the one who did the will of the father, even though he at first said he would not.  That son later had a change of heart and obeyed his father.  The second son was all talk.  He might even have boasted about his willingness to obey his father.  He may have been known as one who was committed to the father.  But in the end, he did not do he will of his father.

          Jesus used a riddle like that to indict the chief priest and elders of the Temple.  They wanted to debate.  They were good with words and riddles.  They were always trying to trap Jesus.  But they were not so good at obeying the Father.  It was like they were teaching, “Do as we say, not as we do.”

Jesus reached deeply into their teaching and brought out the heart of the law, not just the letter of the law.

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

          “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.”

          “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’… But I say to you, that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment.”

          “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies….”

          “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”

          That’s what it means to work in the vineyard.  To live by the heart of the law.  To have poverty of spirit, true humility.  To be merciful toward others.  To not hold onto anger.  To genuinely, honestly love others.  When we live that life of grace and love, we obey the will of the Father.  Jesus believed the chief priest and elders had failed to honor the way of the Father. 

          On the other hand, tax collectors and prostitutes, the New Testament epitome of those who rejected God, did not claim to live that way.  Not in the beginning.  But when they saw Jesus, when they heard his teaching, when they experienced his way, they had a change of heart and began to live by the spirit of the law.  Ultimately, they were the ones who did the will of the father.  As a result, Jesus told the chief priest and elders that the tax collectors and prostitutes had entered into God’s way ahead of them.

          This teaching of Jesus is directed at those of us who have been about this for a long time.  We’re not new to the game.  We’ve heard more sermons and teachings and lectures than we can count.  We’ve read the books.  We’ve taught the lessons.  Like the chief priest and elders.  But do we really live by the spirit of our faith?  Do we practice poverty of spirit?  Are we merciful?  Do we genuinely, honestly love others? 

          Do we do as we say? 

          I had a conversation with a dear friend last week.  He’s dying of cancer.  He knows his time is short.  He told me he is working on himself.

          “What do you mean?” I asked.

          “For example, I’m trying not to judge others.  When I see someone who is unattractive, my inclination is to say to myself, ‘That person is ugly.’”

          He said, “I’m trying to think of that person as a person first.  I’m trying to be understanding of what it means for that person to live as an unattractive person.”

          Humility.  Mercy.  Genuinely, honestly loving another person.  That’s obeying the father.  That is doing as I do, not as I say.

          You’re going to have to listen closely one more time.  The chief priest and elders said, “Do as I say, not as I do.”  Jesus taught to do as I do, not only as I say.  And he modeled it.  All the way to the cross.  Let us remember that now.