Vineyard Work - 11/30

Daily Lectionary for Wednesday in the 1st Week of Advent:
(click the link to read the passage)
AM  Psalm 119:1-24     PM  Psalm 12, 13, 14
Amos 3:12--4:5
2 Peter 3:1-10
Matthew 21:23-32

23 When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?"  24 Jesus said to them, "I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things.  25 Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?" And they argued with one another, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  26 But if we say, 'Of human origin,' we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet."  27 So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And he said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.  28 "What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard today.'  29 He answered, 'I will not'; but later he changed his mind and went.  30 The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, 'I go, sir'; but he did not go.  31 Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you.  32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.

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"By what authority are you doing these things?"   This question was asked of Jesus after he "occupied" the temple, throwing out the moneychangers.  But I don't believe it was a question just concerning his actions in the temple.  If you read through the verses before this, it becomes clear that it was also about his healings and teachings.  It was about him allowing the children (the most powerless) to have a voice within the temple, as they cried out "Hosanna to the Son of David." 

Then Jesus basically questioned the authority of "the authorities" through his parable.  Did what they do and how they live show them to be acting under the authority of the kingdom of God?

The question of authority seems to be one of those critical ones these days.  'By what authority are you in this park?'  And on the other side: 'By what authority do you (the 1%) make decisions that hurt us (the 99%)?'

And how do we spot authority?  Is it just by laws and systems which (in Amos' words) "oppress the poor, and crush the needy"?  What do we do when those with power (economic and political) are not doing 'kingdom vineyard work'?  How will we know if the Occupy movement is about kingdom vineyard work? 

And, maybe even more important, what do I do with the power I have in this world?  What do my actions this very day say about my response to God's call - - go and work in the vineyard today?