Walking the Talk

Alison Williams - Sep 28/29, 2014 - Bethel Lutheran Church - Prayer Shawls, 50th Anniversary for BLC Foundation, 3rd Grade Bibles, Baptisms

(Readings below)

Today, Jesus tells a story about two sons responding to their father’s instruction to go and work in the vineyard. One son says he will go but he doesn’t actually go. Another says he will not go but then he eventually does. So one is a verbal yes but with no action. And the other is a verbal no but with action. Then Jesus asks, which son do you think did what their father asked?

The answer seems as obvious to me as it was to the disciples: the one who did the will of his father was the one who actually worked, not the one who merely SAID he would. And we all know the adage, “Actions speak louder than words.” Then again, I also heard a different one growing that goes, “Do as I say, not as I do.” Did any of you get that growing up or say it when raising your kids?

Though the issue is laid in two extremes, each of us are scattered along the line in between the two extremes. We move along that line from day to day or from one situation to the next. We all say no to certain things and eventually change our minds and take action. We all say an immediate yes to something, only to never get around to actually doing it. Regardless of where you fall on the scale, I'd like to explore the idea that we are not the workers in the vineyard, that there are parts of us that SAY yes to God, but do NOT work.