"When Good Intentions Aren't Enough"

Matthew 21, 23-32

September 25, 2011 + Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Reverend Dr. David C. Brown
Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ

In the hit movie, “A Few Good Men,” Tom Cruise plays a military attorney who is searching for the truth behind the mysterious murder of a soldier. The mystery is not about who committed the murder, but rather, by whose authority was the murder committed? Cruise’s character, 2^nd. Lt. Daniel Kaffee, is convinced that justice will be served only if the officer who issued the order to kill is exposed and his authority stripped away. In a memorable performance, Jack Nicholson plays the Base Commander, Colonel Nathan Jessep, who issued the order leading to the death of PFC William Santiago. Jessep is a highly decorated military veteran who over time has come to believe that his wisdom and authority should not be questioned by anyone.

To prove his clients were not guilty, Lt. Kaffee must show that the accused soldiers were simply following orders to punish a fellow soldier for disobeying Marine authority when he was accidentally killed. Kaffee questions Col. Jessep, whose intentions as a soldier were good but had tragic results. Jessep agrees that no soldier under his command would dare disobey one of his direct orders. Challenged to tell the truth, he gives the movie’s most memorable line: “The truth? You can’t handle the truth!” Then he angrily admits that he gave the order which resulted in Santiago’s death.

In the end, Jessep’s authority as a Marine officer wasn’t enough. He wasn’t interested in telling the truth and being held accountable for his poor judgment. What mattered to him was maintaining his authority and power. But in the end, Jessep’s authority and power did not matter as much as the truth. His good intentions were not enough.

When was the last time someone questioned your authority? Were you surprised? Did you handle the situation well? Where were you when someone challenged your authority or opinion? While we may not have the power of life and death that Col. Jessep had, our authority can, and probably will,  be challenged at every age and stage of life. I like the story of the first grader who was late to school every day for the first week of school. When the teacher asked why he was always late he said, “If it wasn’t for the traffic I wouldn’t be late.” His teacher responded, “But we don’t have much traffic near the school.” He replied, “That’s the problem. The crossing guard won’t let me cross the street unless she has some traffic to stop.” The crossing guard had good intentions but authority and power can bring some strange results.

Sometimes our authority can be challenged because of what we’ve said. At other times our authority is challenged because of something we’ve done. Such was the case for Jesus in our scripture lesson this morning. Though this is not the time of year we think about Holy Week, the Gospel readings this fall take us through much of the Passion narrative. Today Jesus is in Jerusalem for the second day of what we call Holy Week. The previous day was the Palm Sunday parade. After the parade he went immediately to the Temple and chased away the money changers and animal sellers. Then he began healing disabled people who came to him for help.

The next day Jesus returned to the Temple and gave parables and other teachings that were highly critical of the religious leaders of his day. Naturally, they didn’t like that and so they questioned him: “By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority?”

The conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders of his day is worth exploring in a Bible class. But today I want us to move from ancient history to our history, from the there and then to the here and now. I am going to ask a question not often raised in a liberal church such as ours. What authority does Jesus have for you and me? Let me put it another way: who do you and I believe Jesus is? If asked, I am sure most if not all of us would say that we are Christians. In other words, we believe that in some way Jesus of Nazareth is, for us, a figure of supreme authority. But what does that mean for you and me?

For some it means a conviction that Jesus was the greatest teacher of all time. We do not deny that the Buddha, Socrates, Ghandi, and hundreds of other wise men and women in history have much to teach us but Jesus is, for us, the teacher against whom we measure all other teachers.

Others here this morning would go further and say that Jesus is our unique connection to God. We might use words like Savior or Redeemer to describe what we believe about him. In other words, Jesus not only shows us the way in his life and teachings, but faith in him also gives us the power to do what God wants us to do. Faith in Jesus gives us the authority and power we need to be God’s people of love and justice.

Some might use other words to describe what Jesus means to them. He is the Son of God. He is Immanuel, God’s presence here on earth, not just in first century Palestine but in our world today. Our United Church of Christ Statement of Faith says that Jesus Christ is our crucified and risen Lord who in his death and resurrection has conquered sin and death and reconciled the whole creation to its Creator.

Have I described what you believe about Jesus? What is important, I believe, is not the words we use to describe our faith in him, but the authority we give him in our lives. It is easy to talk about Jesus. It is not so easy to follow him and do what he asks us to do. Religious talk is cheap. Does being a Christian, however we may understand that, mean something in our lives? Does Jesus make a difference to you and to me? If he does, then we are Christians. Of course, no one ever gets it perfectly right in faith or in life.

This is where the parable Jesus told the religious leaders becomes crucial. A father had two sons. No, not that father, the father of the Prodigal! This is a different father who asks his two sons to go work in the family vineyard. It’s harvest time and the grapes will spoil if they are not picked soon, One son says, “Yes, Dad, I’ll do it,” but he doesn’t keep his word. The other son says, “No, Dad, I won’t do it.” But a little later he becomes ashamed of himself and goes to work after all. Which of the two sons do you identify with? In my lifetime I have been both.

Actually, when you stop and think about it, neither son perfectly obeyed his father. And you know, don’t you, that in Jesus’ parables, a father is always a stand-in for God? Like those two rebellious sons, you and I are never perfect in our response to God. We all fall short at some point in our lives. Our human authority and power fades and withers. We know we have said “Yes,” and then not done what we said we would. Sometimes we have said “No,” but later became ashamed of ourselves and did the right thing even if we really didn’t want to. We’re only human. But we are also Christian and the voice of Jesus never stops calling to us. Our intentions good or bad are not enough. No matter how long it takes we have to respond.

No one has ever said it better than Albert Schweitzer (“The Quest of the Historical Jesus”) so let him have the last word.

“He comes to us as One unknown, without a name, as of old, by the lake-side, He came to those men who knew Him not. He speaks to us the same word: “Follow thou me!” and sets us to the tasks which He has to fulfill for our time. He commands. And to those who obey Him, whether they be wise or simple, He will reveal Himself in the toils, the conflicts, the sufferings which they shall pass through in His fellowship, and, as an ineffable mystery, they shall learn in their own experience Who He is.”