The Parable of the Yes and No Brothers . . .

The Parable of the Yes and No Brothers (Matthew 21:28-32), as it is sometimes called, is fairly straightforward, at least when you compare it to some of Jesus’ other parables.  A father asks his two boys to go work out in the family vineyard.  The first son refuses, but later has a change of heart and dutifully does his part.  Meanwhile, the second son immediately agrees to work, but never really gets around to doing much of anything.  So which brother, asks Jesus, did the will of his father?

It’s a question directed toward the chief priests and elders; and the answer was as obvious to them as it is for us.  It’s the first son, of course, because it’s not what either boy said that finally matters, it’s what he actually did!  After all, actions speak louder than words.  And if Jesus had just left it at that, he might have gotten away with it.

But what angers the chief priests and elders is Jesus’ accusation that they, in fact, are the second son.  In other words, they were God’s yes-men, who said all the right things, believed all the right things, stood for all the right things—but who steadfastly refused to do the right thing.

Mind you, they thought they were doing the right thing.  Indeed, the chief priests and elders devoted their entire lives to studying the Law, so that they would always do the right thing.  But somewhere along the line, they became so attached to their own idea about what was the right thing that they missed the new thing that God was doing in Jesus Christ.

There’s a lesson there for all of us, because sometimes we can get so caught up in what we think is the right thing that we stop paying attention to how the Holy Spirit may be trying to move us in a new direction.  To quote Soren Kierkegaard, Jesus wants followers, not just admirers—which is precisely why we need to remain open to what Christ is calling us to do next!