I grew up in the south … and when I was a kid there were a couple of older gentlemen who sat down front (people used to sit down front in those days!) who could always be counted on for a few "Amens" during the preachers' sermons. I wasn't real sure what "Amen" meant … usually it signaled the end of a prayer and the time when you could open your eyes … so I thought maybe they had fallen asleep and were jerked awake and automatically said "Amen" when their eyes popped open. Then I learned that they said "Amen" when they were tracking right along with the preacher and when they were in solid agreement with what was being said.

After I became a preacher, I often longed for a vocal "Amen" somewhere along the way. I was preaching at a jurisdictional event in Painted Post, N.Y. quite a few years ago and in the midst of my sermon two voices … one from the back left and one front right at the same time belted out "AMEN … PREACH IT, SISTER!" and I nearly fell over! I tell you, it pumped me up so much, it's a wonder they ever got out of there that day! With encouragement like that I just kept going and going and going!!

I know someone who is not a church-going person who refers to those of us who profess to be Christian as the AMEN PEOPLE or the ALLELUIA FOLKS. And actually I've always felt pretty good about that. But in light of what Jesus says in the gospel reading today I have reflected on the rather glib handle my friend has imposed upon us.

Now that you've heard Elaine's time with the children this morning you know what "Amen" really means. Children, remind us. It means "YES!! RIGHT ON! I AGREE!!"

You see, we ARE the ones who have said, "Yes, Lord." We read this book and are told that we are meant to be sisters and brothers without exception and we say, "Amen." We are told that with God there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, woman nor man, and we say … "Amen." We read the gospel stories about Good Samaritans, about turning the other cheek, and about feeding the hungry, and we respond, "Alleluia, Jesus Saves! Amen." We heard in the Epistle Lesson from Philippians this morning that we are to "look not only to our own interests, but also to the interests of others," and we affirm, "Amen." Truly, we are in many ways the AMEN PEOPLE, THE ALLELUIA FOLKS.

But the gospel today suggests that our "Amen" is simply a beginning. It is not the part that the little girl liked because it meant that it was time to go home. It would be far more accurate to say that our "Amen" indicates how we are going to behave and how we are going to name our priorities at home and in all the other corners of our lives.

But I think Jesus is saying that this puts us in a precarious position. For example: Who is in a more precarious position, the person who is driving along a mountain road on ice and knows that he is on ice or the person who is driving along the same mountain road thinking he is on dry pavement? It's the ice we don't know about that gets us into big trouble.

So what does that have to do with the professing Christian being in a precarious position? The reason is that certain presumptions are commonly made about religion. It is presumed, for example, that individuals who go to church are by that fact closer to God than those who do not go to church. Even within the church we see these presumptions at work. For instance, whenever it's a time for prayer and I'm in the room, everybody expects me to pray … Why? … God doesn't listen to me any more than to anyone else. At picnics and weddings I'm always jokingly asked to take care of the weather … the implication being that I have the ear of God on such matters. Let me assure you that is not true.

Some presumptions are made by churchgoers about various groups of people who do NOT believe as we do. This is not to suggest who is right or wrong. But it is to say that perhaps God does not draw lines the way we do.

Jesus could not have put it in stronger terms than what we just read today in the gospel. "The publicans and prostitutes are ahead of you on the way to the kingdom of heaven." WOW! I don't imagine that went over very well with the people who heard him speak. In fact, we know that it was this very kind of language that paved the road to Calvary.

Most of us have never met a publican and although we might have an opinion or two about prostitutes, we probably don't know that much about them either. How would Jesus express himself on this matter today? Perhaps he would tell us that as we stand in line at the pearly gates we will be looking over the shoulders of a number of folks for whom we had little respect here on earth. Perhaps he is telling us to look closely at the fruits of people's lives instead of just listening to the words they say.

Being baptized, or taking part in the Lord's Supper, singing a hymn or reciting a prayer, may be akin to the son in the field who said, "Yes," to his father. But as Jesus made clear in today's gospel it is what follows that makes the difference.

Perhaps the difficulty is that we tend to see realities such as faith or conversion as events or actions rather than as on-going experiences. We know that a marriage does not happen at a wedding. We know that knowledge is not gained at a graduation ceremony and that the recitation of the pledge of allegiance to the flag does not make a responsible citizen or indicate their patriotism. But somehow we seem to look to the rituals performed, or the creeds recited, in determining the level of our relationship to God. The Outreach Team of our church has a display in Fellowship Hall today … they are initiating an awareness of the United Methodist Social Principles … a creed of behavior if you will … pick up a copy that we have made available for you … this is what we say we believe socially in the UMC. Study it. Do we follow it by the way we invest our money? … By the way we vote? … By the way we treat the environment? … By our world view? By our relationships globally?

Relationships are not maintained simply by perfunctory actions. All the roses in the world will not keep alive a relationship in which two people do not sincerely care for each other in an on-going way. Relationships with other human beings are kept alive by the priority we give to each other's welfare throughout a lifetime.

Neither is conversion a one-time event. It is, rather, a way of life. It is a constant turning toward a life guided by gospel priorities. Faith is not a creed recited. It is a direction that we give to our life.

Despite all of this, today's gospel is not nearly as much a reprimand as it is an invitation. Jesus is looking at you and at me and he is saying, "I'm not necessarily impressed that you said, 'Amen.' But neither am I concerned that you didn't. I am not weighing how much you did or did not do. I am inviting you to follow me now. Perhaps you don't think that you are worthy. Perhaps you think you've blown it. But that does not concern me. Some people think they are not worthy to be loved. Others know they are loved and that's what makes them worthy." Jesus says, "I love you and you ARE worthy, and I want you to be with me where I am. I want you to know that yesterday's refusal is not nearly as important as today's willingness. Last year's closed mindedness is not nearly as important as this year's openness."

It is true that Jesus warned us that it will not be the ones who say, "Lord, Lord," who will enter the kingdom of God … because they don't always follow thru. But it is also true that he is not nearly as concerned over our failures of yesterday as he is anxious for us to accept the invitation that is given today.

The invitation still stands. Perhaps, in a very real sense, we are – or at least can be – the second son in the field. Perhaps we said no to the gospel yesterday, or this morning, or five minutes ago. The only thing that matters is that we accept the invitation now.

This part of the gospel is simply a part of the total message of Jesus. It was not written to put down Pharisees or anyone else who did not accept what Jesus had to say. We know what the final thing Jesus had to say about them was – "Father, forgive them." No it was written as an invitation of Good News. And invitations are given to be accepted. So Jesus is saying here, "Even if you did not accept my invitation yesterday, you are still welcome to accept it now. I would really like to have you."

It is good to hear Amen from the lips, but it is the AMEN that we live out every day of our lives that speaks the language of the Kingdom of God!