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There is something wonderfully uncomfortable about the little story Jesus tells in Matthew 21.
A father has two sons and asks the first to go and work in the vineyard. The answer is immediate and abrupt.
“I will not.”
There is no attempt to explain or offer excuses for being busy. He does not even promise to think about it later. The son simply looks at his father and outright refuses.
Then the father approaches his second son and makes exactly the same request. His answer could hardly be more different.
“I will, sir.”
If we stopped the story there, I doubt many of us would struggle to decide which was the better son. One is rude and disobedient. The other is respectful and apparently willing to do exactly what his father has asked.
But Jesus does not stop there. The first son changes his mind and goes to the vineyard, while the second never turns up. Suddenly, the son who gave the abrupt answer is the one doing what his father asked, while the son who said everything correctly is nowhere to be seen.
I have been thinking about that contrast because I suspect many of us become rather good at giving God the right answer.
