Have you ever been asked an unanswerable question?
Lewis Carroll, when he wrote "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," has the Hatter ponder what became the most famous unanswerable riddle.
He queries: Why is a raven like a writing desk?
It's so bizarre, isn't it? Yet people spend much time trying to sort it out. And if you've only ever read an early version of the book, or seen one of the film adaptations, you've not been given the response.
This pun was intentional - and interestingly enough, the answer was not originally intended to be given. In the script, when Alice admits that she doesn't know, she asks the Hatter for the answer. And he says: "I haven't the slightest idea."
Sound familiar?
It should. This is the same type of thing that's happening in the Gospel passage today.
A question is asked, without a clear or simple answer: Did John's baptism originate from heaven or earth?
Even the question as it is posed has multiple layers. Is Jesus referring to the baptism that John received, or the baptism that John provided?
Ignoring THAT conundrum, the Chief Priests and the Elders are left with the difficult reality that their answer will have ramifications that they cannot control. And so these folks, who are educated and accustomed to getting their own way based on their 'ours is the only way to heaven' polity, are stumped.
If they declare the baptism heavenly, it suggests that they did not believe.
If they declare it earthly, it shows how different they are from the beliefs of the crowds - who pay their livelihoods.
What a new experience for these folks, for whom "we've always done it our way before" has just been challenged. So they answer this unanswerable question just as Wonderland's Hatter did: "We do not know!"
And so Jesus lets them sit in their not knowing. He refuses to answer them the question they have asked of him, about whose authority he carries, and the source of that authority.
This, in itself, is a different reality for the Priests and Elders. I can almost picture them sputtering "but... but... we asked you a question. People answer our questions when we ask them. It's how we DO things here!"
I wonder if Jesus recognised that they really couldn't handle the answer to that question. It would have baffled them even more than not knowing. The answer - that his authority came from God - didn't really fit with their worldview. They understood that everything must be done by the letter of the law - even if it meant human difficulty and suffering. But Jesus - especially in Matthew's Gospel account - really focuses on being community, on being the people of God that love and serve one another. Keeping the law is great, obviously, but not if it causes hurt to the community.
This point of view was shocking and offensive to the "We've never done it that way before!" folks. They've been a bit surprised by him already - he's been talking about forgiveness (when they have been speaking of condemnation); he speaks of commitment (when they have been finding reasons to break apart); he has been promoting generosity (when they have been defending injustice), he makes the Temple a place where all are welcomed (when they have been putting up barriers to inclusion)... the list goes on.
And then Jesus takes it one step further... when he asks them a new question about the sons and their labours. Both say one thing and do the opposite; which is right?
Yet again, Jesus asks an unanswerable question. And they fall for it, and give a stock reply based on their perspective: the first son, who changes his verbal refusal into the desired action (and presumably outcome), has done the legal and culturally-approved thing; so that must be right. Whereas the second son, despite his good intentions at the start, has NOT produced the expected outcome, and is therefore wrong.
And Jesus gives his reply: Nope. Sorry friends, but you still don't get it.
Jesus shows the people there - the Jews, the Gentiles, the chief priests and the lowly - everyone who is gathered - that faith is not about getting it right by someone else's standards. It's about the power of believing; it's about the willingness to adapt and change and BE changed by faith.
The tax collectors and sinners? They knew who they were and what their sins were - and they heard the message of John the Baptist, who taught them about God's forgiveness. And as a result they believed, and were changed.
And yet the authoritative leadership, who have heard this exact same message, refused to open their minds and hearts to the truth that was before them. And as a result, they were not changed, and they did not believe... even when the Christ was standing right in front of them.
There are implications for all of us in this; opportunities for us to reflect on our own belief.
Do we see ourselves as the Priests and elders did; pristine and blameless? If we do, are we overlooking something less than perfect that exists in our past? Are we unable or unwilling to be open to the changing ways that God is revealed in our lives?
Do we see ourselves as the tax collectors or prostitutes, knowing that we have sinned against God and against one another? Yet reminding ourselves and others that no matter what lies behind us, we can be changed by the grace of God and through the power of our own belief?
Or do we see ourselves as somewhere in between? Some days more Chief Priest than prostitute, some days more tax collector than Elder. Maybe the mixture of our makeup shifts with each encounter.
How DO we see ourselves in this story? Our response may simply quote so many: We do not know. Our response, however, should itself be part of our ongoing journey: of self-reflection on who and whose we are, of awareness to the presence of the divine in our lives; of the never-ending opportunity for us to change our direction and strengthen our belief.
It's worth noting, of course, that Jesus did not tell the elders that they could not or would not enter the Kingdom of Heaven - only that they wouldn't be first in line. Again, shocking to ears that are unwilling to hear the Good news of God's generous justice.
And so, if this Gospel interchange assures us of nothing else, may we truly hear that Jesus promises all of us that we have the authority of God to be labourers in God's vineyard: and indeed that is how God invites us to be, working side by side.
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