Prostitutes, Plagiarizers and the Pious:Who's in with God?

This Grand View chapel sermon was preached by Pastor Ken Sundet Jones on Sept. 27, 2011, and is based on Matthew 21:28-32.

I hate dodgeball. I suck at throwing. Nobody wants me on their team. I’m picked last. And I live in terror that the rest of life will operate on the same principles.

And it does. There is no such thing as free lunch. You do need to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps. You do get what you pay for. You do get ahead by being the best. Cleanliness is next to godliness. God does help those who help themselves (which, by the way, is not in the Bible). If you want something, you do just plain have to put in the effort. No pain. No gain. Get busy, buster.

In fact, that’s the impression that a lot of folks have about the church. Jesus really wants spiritual super-athletes. This is a place for really good people. Really. Good.

Except, if the church belongs to Jesus (and it’s the body of Christ, so it does), then we ought to hear what Jesus says about how things are supposed to function around here.

In today’s reading, he goes to town on the religious leaders who want to define the boundaries of God’s kingdom. They’re into people who toe the line, who straighten up and fly right, who are the heroes of their own stories. They can’t imagine that God might have a crush on prostitutes or that crooks and cheats might get to ride shotgun in the divine vehicle.

But in the parable, Jesus holds up the reprobate and the morally questionable is people who are actually in with God. And he rubs the religious leaders’ noses in it. They think it’s all about what you do that marks you as in. But Jesus is clear: It’s about what he does and whether you trust him to get it done.

So how do you get the same faith that gets prostitutes and tax collectors into the kingdom of God? Well, that’s the thing that Jesus is doing – back then and right here today. He comes to you with a promise. He says, “From now on, your future, your judgment and your eternal reward are in my hands. Run away from all that bookkeeping and judgment. I have a place for you. Cop a squat in my mercy seat.”

And to show how true he is to that promise, he goes and dies for you. That’s what the Lord’s Supper is about. You’re just the kind of person Jesus comes for: someone who can’t pull your life together, someone whose head is a little off, someone who a lot of times doesn’t want to trust him. And he gives himself up for that – not for religious super-athletes, super-prayers, or super-duper party-poopers who never want to have any fun.

No. He gives you a meal that’s free and for you. Today you get to swallow a chunk of forgiveness and drink swig of mercy. And you can walk away saying, “I’m as good as in already. That’s a better deal than I’ve ever gotten from the world. I’m coming back for more. So bring it on, Jesus. You had me at hello.”

So the invitation is open. Come and dine you reprobates, you sinners, you pious plagiarizers. Come and get what you have coming to you: Jesus himself, who will never turn his back on you. Amen.