Graceonomics: Sons At Work

In Matthew 21:23-32, Jesus tells the religious leaders a parable about two sons — one who says no to his father and then goes to work, and one who says yes and never shows up. This week we sit with the parts of that story that don't resolve easily: what it means that Jesus never says the tax collectors and prostitutes changed their lives, why there's no option for the son who says yes and does the work, and what it costs us to build our spirituality around looking like the kind of person who always says yes to God instead of actually doing the work of love. This one doesn't wrap up neatly, and that's kind of the point.