St Mary's

Today Talk from Steve

27th September 2026

If you are like me, you don’t like long talks! You lose focus or can’t remember what was said.

My talk this morning is short so apologies to those who normally like to have a quick snooze at this point of the service.

So, here is a quick summary of the talk this morning.

I have a few numbers for you to remember…

Do I have your attention, here we go.

1. Two major biblical scenes covered, one in the wilderness (Exodus 17) and one in the Temple (Matthew 21).

2. Four groups of people highlighted - Israelites, religious leaders, tax collectors and prostitutes.

3. Two sons in Jesus’ parable, each showing a different kind of response to God.

4. Two place names Moses gives at a rock

5. One central theme running through both passages - how people respond when God speaks, provides, or challenges.

6. There are Four key takeaways.

7. One Closing Prayer.

Amen

1. Introduction – Why These Passages Matter Today

Before we get into our readings this morning, I want to pause for a moment and recognise something simple but important: most of us haven’t arrived here today floating on a cloud. We’ve come in from real life. From busy weeks, tired mornings, worries we didn’t ask for, and responsibilities that don’t always give us much breathing space.

Some of us are carrying questions. Some of us are carrying frustrations. Some of us may well be carrying hopes we’re not sure how to hold onto.

And that’s exactly why these passages are worth hearing today.

Because both of them one from the wilderness with Moses, and one from the Temple with Jesus deal with people, people who are struggling, people who are stubborn, people who are unsure what God is doing, and people who are trying their best but not always getting it right.

In other words, people a lot like you and me.

These stories remind us that faith isn’t neat. It isn’t tidy. It isn’t about having everything sorted. It’s about learning to trust God in the middle of ordinary life, with all its ups and downs, and discovering that God meets us exactly where we are.

So, as we look at these passages together, let’s do it with open hearts not perfect ones, just honest ones. Because there’s something here for all of us today.

2. The Israelites at Rephidim – Thirsty and Fed Up

Let’s start with Exodus 17. The Israelites have been travelling through the wilderness. They have seen miracles, they have been rescued from Egypt, they’ve walked through the sea… but now they’re thirsty. And not just “I could do with a brew” thirsty proper, life-or-death thirsty.

They arrive at Rephidim and there’s no water. None. And the panic sets in.

So, what do they do? They turn on Moses. They quarrel, they complain, they say things like, “Why did you bring us out here? Is the Lord even with us?”

It’s a very human moment. When life gets hard, when something essential feels missing, we often look for someone to blame. We can forget what God has already done. Sometimes we forget the journey we’ve been on. We just see the problem in front of us.

Moses, worn out and worried, cries out to God. And God doesn’t give a lecture. He doesn’t say, “Come on, pull yourselves together.” He simply provides. He tells Moses to strike the rock at Horeb, and water flows out. Enough for everyone.

Moses names the place Massah and Meribah “testing” and “quarrelling” because the people tested God and argued with Moses.

It is a story about need, fear, and trust. But it’s also a story about God’s patience. Even when the people are at their worst, God still gives them what they need.

3. Jesus in the Temple – Authority and Awkward Questions

Now jump forward to Matthew 21. Jesus is in the Temple, teaching, and the religious leaders come up to him with a question: “By what authority are you doing these things?”

It’s not a genuine question. It’s a trap. They’re trying to catch him out, undermine him, make him look stupid.

Jesus responds with a question of his own: “What about John the Baptist was his authority from heaven or from people?”

Suddenly they are the ones who are stuck for an answer. If they say, “from heaven,” they look disobedient. If they say, “from people,” the crowd will turn on them.

So, they do what people often do when they’re more interested in keeping control than seeking truth, they dodge the question. “We don’t know.”

And Jesus says, “Well, if you won’t answer that, I’m not answering yours.”

4. The Parable of the Two Sons – Actions Speak Louder

But then Jesus tells a parable. A father asks two sons to go and work in the vineyard.

The first says, “No chance,” but later changes his mind and he goes. The second says, “Aye, of course I will,” but never actually does anything.

Jesus asks, “Which one did what the father wanted?” And the leaders quite rightly say, “The first.”

Then Jesus delivers the punchline: Tax collectors and prostitutes, people the religious leaders looked down on are entering the kingdom ahead of them. Why? Because they listened to John, they repented, they changed direction. They were like the first son: rough around the edges, maybe saying the wrong thing at first, but ultimately turning back to God.

The religious leaders were like the second son: polite, respectable, saying all the right words… but not actually doing what God askes of them.

5. What These Two Stories Share – Response Matters

So, what could be linking these two passages?

Both are about response. How people respond when God speaks, when God challenges and when God provides.

In Exodus, the people respond to hardship with complaint and fear. In Matthew, the leaders respond to Jesus with defensiveness and pride.

But in both stories, God is looking for something deeper than outward behaviour. He’s looking for trust. He’s looking for honesty. He’s looking for people who are willing to turn around when they realise they’re heading the wrong way.

6. Real Life Faith

If we’re honest, most of us have a bit of both sons in us.

Sometimes we say “no” to God maybe not out loud, but in our hearts. “I’m too busy.” “I’m too tired.” “I’m not good enough.” “I don’t want to deal with that right now.”

But then, like the first son, something nudges us. We soften. We turn around. We do the thing God askes of us.

Other times we’re more like the second son. We say the right words. We nod along. We look the part. But nothing actually changes.

I can say I have responded in both of these ways; I have so often reacted to my kids in the past or to Karen, when they ask for something that is expensive financially or costly to me in some way, be that my time or physical effort. I react.

But then I reflect and in a lot of cases I have to back track and say, “ok go on then”. Why, because I am in a loving relationship with my wife or a loving Farther who can’t help but want to meet the needs of my own children.

And yes I am ashamed to say, I have been that person who said, “Yes I will do that for you” Then either deliberately choose not to do it because I really did not want to, or I neglect my promise because of other distractions in my life.

Sometimes my actions did not match my words.

And then there are the moments in our lives like Massah and Meribah what was the meaning of these again? “Testing” and “Quarrelling” when life gets hard, when we feel empty or thirsty or fed up, and our first instinct is to complain, panic, or blame someone else.

But God doesn’t give up on us. He doesn’t say, “Come back when you’re perfect.” He meets us in the mess. He gave water to the quarrelling Israelites. He gave truth to the stubborn leaders. He gives grace to the people everyone else writes off.

7. What This Means for Us Today – Four Takeaways

First: God can handle our honesty. If we’re struggling, if we’re thirsty spiritually, emotionally, practically we can say so. We don’t need to pretend.

Second: God cares more about what we do than what we say. Faith isn’t about looking religious. It’s about turning around when we need to, even if we started off on the wrong foot.

Third: No one is beyond God’s reach. The people who responded to John were the ones society had written off. But they were open. They were willing to change. And that’s what God looks for.

Fourth: God provides. Maybe not always in the way we expect, or the timing we want, but he does. The rock in the wilderness didn’t look like a water source but God brought life out of it.

8. Closing Thought

So, as we go into the week ahead, maybe ask yourself:

Are there circumstances where I am thirsty? Am I resisting? Or where might God be nudging me to turn around?

And where might God be providing water from a rock I haven’t noticed yet?

God is patient. God is present. And God is always inviting us not to perfection, but to trust and follow.

Amen.

Closing Prayer

Lord God, You know the thirst we carry the worries, the weariness, the questions we don’t always say out loud. Thank you that you meet us in all of it, not with frustration, but with patience and grace.

Give us the courage this week to be like that first son, honest enough to admit when we have said “no,” and humble enough to turn around when you call us back.

Where our hearts are stubborn, soften them. Where our faith is thin, strengthen it. Where we are tempted to complain or give up, remind us of the water you bring from unexpected places.

Help us not just to speak your truth, but to live it in our homes, in our work, and in the quiet moments when no one else sees.

Lead us, Lord, to trust you more deeply, to follow you more faithfully, and to recognise your presence in every step of the journey ahead. Amen