Origin Story

 
Origin Story from Joseph Taber on Vimeo.

Matthew 21:23-32

3When he 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?" 24 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. 25 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?' 26 But if we say, 'Of human origin,' we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet." 27 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.

28 "What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' 29 He answered, 'I will not'; but later he changed his mind and went. 30 The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, 'I go, sir'; but he did not go. 31 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. 32 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.

This is the Word of the LORD
Thanks be to God

Philippians 2:1-13

1If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, 2make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.
4Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.

5Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
6who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited,
7but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
8he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death--
even death on a cross.

9Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 12Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

This is the Word of the LORD
Thanks be to God.

Jesus is the kind of guy who sets himself up for questions. In every possible way, this carpenter's son cuts across the grain of his culture. He's not a Pharisee, yet he shares some of their beliefs, preaching the resurrection of the dead and the fulfillment of the law. Even so, he urges us to listen to the teachings of the Pharisees, but not to follow their example, because they are hypocrites.

He's not a zealot, standing in opposition to the occupying Roman government, yet he proclaims that a new kingdom is coming to sweep away the empire and establish the everlasting rule of God. Even so, he urges us to "render unto Caesar what is Caesar's," and to not resist the evildoer, even blessing those who persecute us.

He seems to defy expectation at every turn, even after all these centuries that have passed. The religious scholars and community leaders who heard him speak were always trying to pin him down to one established category or another, asking him trick questions that would reveal who he really was, and where he fit in their carefully cultivated social order.

Spoiler alert: he doesn't fit in their carefully cultivated social order. He is deeply rooted in the kingdom of God, and doesn't get entangled in their power plays.

By the time our Matthew 21 rolls around, the chief priests and elders of the people had figured out that he was something new. Out of tolerance and understanding, they decided to add a new category for this charismatic teacher, maybe it would give a place in their little cultural garden to put that wacko, John the Baptist, too. So, armed with their newfound tolerance for Jesus's "different-ness," they go find him in 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?'" A simple question, letting Jesus self-identify, maybe as some new sect within their religion. Maybe Jesus was starting a new political party in their government. Maybe there was room to reach some consensus with this Jesus of Nazareth figure.

The whole temple leans close to hear Christ's response. Maybe we expect Jesus to reveal himself as the Messiah once and for all. Maybe we are waiting for him to climb the temple steps and announce that God has come and that all who hear shall be saved if they believe. Maybe we are waiting for Jesus to fit our imperfect vision of what a Messiah should be.

Once again, though, Jesus sidesteps our expectations and responds with a trick question of his own: "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?'"

But you know, maybe it wasn't a trick question. What would have happened, I wonder, if the chief priests and the elders of the people had answered with the truth as they understood it, rather than holding back out of fear.

My guess is that Jesus, true to his word, would have answered their question. My guess is that Jesus's answer, true to his nature, wouldn't be one they would like. The chief priests and the elders of the people wanted to define Jesus, even if it meant being tolerant of something new in their midst. But they overlooked that God put Jesus here so that Jesus could show us our weakness. Jesus is here to show that we still need someone to walk alongside us. We all need some kind of guidance, even the chief priests and elders of the people.

"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."

We do not know. We have our own beliefs, but we're afraid of the crowd, so we're going to play it safe and tell you that we do not know.

I recognize that line of thinking. I do it all the time. Like many folks, I struggle with a fear of rejection. That means my tendency is to avoid conflict and to say what people want me to hear instead of what I know to be true. After a lot of practice, I’m pretty much to the point where that only happens when I’m caught off-guard, and I forget in the moment that my fear doesn't have to paralyze me from doing or saying the right thing.

The chief priests and the elders of the people, though, were certainly caught off-guard by Jesus’s response. They’re not evil, they just live in a world defined by fear. Perhaps they’re afraid that Jesus will reject them, saying “Why then did you not believe him?” Perhaps they are afraid of reprisals at the hands of an angry mob, “for all regard John as a prophet.” Or maybe they’re afraid that Jesus is on to something, and that their entire world will change underneath them and they won’t be able to hold on to the blessings and comforts they once knew.

We live in an awfully scary world. We hear wars and rumors of wars. Disease is spreading across national border after national border. Christians are being dragged from their homes and murdered for being different. And we all know that religion is not the only difference that can put someone’s life at risk in places around the world, including sometimes our own “developed” nation.

The evening news shows us violence and crime. The radio talk shows tell us that this person or that one is trying to destroy us all. The religious blogs tell us that the church has abandoned its principles and going against the will of God. Our social media passes scary hoax after terrifying chain e-mail around, even though most of them are completely made up.

The poorly dressed stranger looks like he may try and rob us. If we stop to help that stranded motorist they may mistake us for criminals and think we’re going to hurt them. If we ask someone for help when we need it, they’ll just think we’re trying to take advantage of them. Our culture is terrified of itself, and any potential change gets shouted down for fear that something worse will take its place. It’s no wonder that our own chief priests and elders of the people do not have strong answers to the questions Jesus asks.

We are surrounded by the symptoms of our sin-sick souls.

But we also know that even though we may be wrapped in sin, the image of God is still there, called good by God at the moment of creation. Even though we may see fear all around us, we do not have to be defined by it. We have encouragement in Christ, consolation from love, sharing in the Spirit, compassion and sympathy, and an unending connection with our Heavenly Father through the Messiah, called Emmanuel, God-with-us.

“There is no place in the universe, no created being, beyond the reach of the redeeming act of the servant Christ. God’s act is the vindication of what the hymn [in Philippians] has declared. The central event in the drama of salvation is an act of humble servitude.”

“If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.”

The compassion of Philippians 2 is the kind of compassion we feel in the pit of our stomachs when we see our brothers or sisters suffering. It’s deeper than just being nice to someone who is sad, this kind of compassion doesn’t fit on a greeting card. The compassion of Philippians 2, which we have in Christ Jesus, is one of shared heartbreak. Though it is profound, it is easier to bear because we do not face it alone.

The church at Phillipi was plague with conflict. You know how eventually someone bothers you so much that everything they do annoys you? Like, even they way they breathe is the most offensive thing you can imagine?

Every person in the room with a sibling just nodded...

Philippi had divided itself that deeply, probably over the issue of obedience to Jewish laws and customs. Whatever the cause, Paul felt the need to remind them of their identity as a church. They are not united by doctrine, or by social standing, or even by family ties. We are the church because we have" the same mind... that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death--
even death on a cross."

In the face of that, no divisive issue, large or small, can tear us apart. We may face issues again, small sins that keep us from loving one another fully, “Small issues could be an indication that the church was suffering from the biggest problem of all: pettiness. Paul’s response to pettiness was a big answer: a hymn, a creed, a confession of faith. At stake is not so much the question of truth as that of the size when the church forgets the central event which begets, nourishes, and matures the community of faith.” In the face of disagreement, we still come together around one table, not because we are holy, but because God is holy beyond measure.

"The Word became flesh, and made his home among us." God became a human, so that we could have compassion, so that would no longer be bound up in our sin, but set free in the Spirit. Our origin story is no longer defined by our sin, but by God's son.

So we are no longer limited by our fear, or defined by our sin, because who Jesus is, and what Jesus did on our behalf, has changed what it means to be human. So the good things in our lives testify to God’s goodness “Because as Paul always reminds his congregation, what looks like their good work - even their humble service to one another - is really God at work in them.”

Our identity is rooted in the God who acts through us, and that we are no longer defined by our sinful nature, therefore we can take hope that even though we are not complete as individuals, even though we are not righteous by our own ability, God still works in us, through us, and on our behalf.