Saint Margaret’s Anglican Church Budapest, Hungary Exodus 17:1-7; Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16; Philippians 2:1-13; Matthew 21:23-32

What do you think…?

Questions arise one after the other in our account today from the Gospel of

Matthew. By my count, there are arguably as many as seven questions in

this brief passage of ten verses, depending on what you count as a question,

or more than one question for every two verses. I am not sure if that is a

record for number of questions in a Gospel story, but it is a lot. Reason

enough to question the reason for or meaning of all the questions.

Questions of course come natural to all of us. We are after all inquisitive

beings, never quite satisfied with simply accepting things as they are. Why,

ask little children of mommy and daddy about everything, sometimes to

their parents’ exasperation. As we grow older, the questions become more

sophisticated but never go away. How do things work, we want to know.

Where did I come from…? Why is there something instead of nothing? And,

what on earth am I doing here…?

Asking questions might almost be considered a defining element of human

nature itself. Behind every thought, it seems to me, is a question, an

implicit one at least. It is a beautiful day today answers the question: What

kind of day is it…? Plants and animals on the other hand are not known for

their probing questions and insightful inquiries into life’s finer distinctions

and deeper meanings. Rover and Kitty just accept things pretty much as

they are. When’s dinner, is probably the question on most pets’ minds. Or

when can we go for a walk…?

Only people want to know more, want to know why. Only people ask

questions and demand answers of life itself. Why are you doing what

you’re doing, the priests and elders ask of Jesus. Who gave you the right to

do it…? Of course, there are philosophers who will tell us that there are no

answers to any questions, and at some level they may be right. For that

matter, there is no final question either. All questions and all answers

spawn more of the same. And that may be an answer in itself. So, what do

you think…?

The “chief priests and elders” in our Gospel account today decide to quiz

our Lord, grill him might be a more apt description, for they are apparently

seeking a way in which to trip Jesus up in his response or trap him in what

he says; not unlike a twenty-first century prosecutor, I suppose, or perhaps

a twenty-first century politician. Theirs is not after all a genuine seeking

after truth, much less a search for understanding or wisdom.

Our Lord will have none of it, of course, posing questions of his own,

questions which not only highlight the insincerity of his hearers’ inquiries,

but which challenge all of us to question our own integrity and answers.

For as Jesus’ exchange implies, what we believe and who we trust

determines in large measure what we do and who we become. It

determines our integrity. It determines whether we are prostituting

ourselves to the false prophets of the age or proselytising the eternal truths

of the Gospel.

Are we, in other words, like the priests and elders, using questions as a

snare and a trap…? Or, for that matter, are we like the sons in Jesus’ short

parable who say one thing but do another…? Are we bearers of the truth of

God’s Word…? They say that how you frame the question you ask will often

determine the answer you get. Pollsters, unscrupulous politicians, and

purveyors of so-called fake news know this only too well and are more than

happy to exploit it.

Yet manipulation and mind-games are a far cry from mindfulness and

truth. And polemics, what sometimes passes for genuine inquiry and

discourse in our world today, often amounts to nothing more than

shameless grandstanding and self-aggrandisement. Still, for those who

share a genuine love of the truth, asking the right question can sometimes

be more important than finding the right answer.

Anglicans are said to be known for their love of questions. And I rather

hope it is true. To some measure, this is what our Annual Archdeaconry

Synod is all about, from which I just returned, an opportunity to share

questions and learn from the answers of others whom we know and trust.

After all, it is only by asking sincere questions and together seeking

genuine answers and solutions that the Kingdom can ultimately be made

real in our lives today.

Well, Jesus never does entirely answer the question posed to him by the

priests and elders. "By what authority are you doing these things, and who

gave you this authority?" Perhaps the answer is too obvious to be stated.

Yet, our Lord’s encounter with the scholars of his day does suggest that he

is not afraid of open and honest inquiry and questions.

Why else would he ask them and us, “What do you think…?” The very

question in a sense we had been asking of ourselves and our community of

faith this past week at Synod in Warsaw. What do you believe…? The

question we must ask ourselves each time we gather in worship and prayer

as we are this morning.

So, one more question…

Just what do you think…?

Amen.

The Rev. Dr. Frank Hegedűs